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Optical Science and Engineering ETDs
Publication Date
Spring 5-15-2017
Abstract
Laser filaments are extremely interesting entities for their unique characteristics. The high intensity inside the laser filaments creates nonlinear effects that are useful in many areas of optics. The laser filamentation is an appealing tool in the stand-off spectroscopy for its ability to propagate over long distances while maintains its extreme intensity. However, depletion of energy hinders its propagation over any desired distance. In order to understand the effect of laser filaments on the transparent medium that they propagate through, one needs to investigate interaction of the laser filaments with the constituents of media. In this work we study the interaction of laser filaments with the molecular and atomic gaseous media. We try to separate the molecular and electronic responses of the media. Effect of laser polarization on the response of media is studied for linear and circular polarizations. Emission from the nitrogen molecules and ions pumped by the laser filaments is studied. We show that there are emission in the forward and backward directions from nitrogen gas when it is irradiated by strong pulses that go through filamentation. Effects of laser polarization are also considered by using circular and linear laser pulses.
We propose a technique to enhance the longevity of 800 nm laser filaments. By spatially combining the UV laser filaments that have low loss and longer propagation distance one can feed the energy reservoir of the IR laser filament through four-wave mixing. We theoretically study this beam combining and show that this scheme is viable and under tunable conditions the energy will flow from the UV filament to the IR filament.
Degree Name
Optical Science and Engineering
Level of Degree
Doctoral
Department Name
Optical Science and Engineering
First Committee Member (Chair)
Ladan Arissian
Second Committee Member
Jean-Claude Diels
Third Committee Member
James Thomas
Fourth Committee Member
Alejandro Aceves
Document Type
Dissertation
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Rasoulof, Mohammadamin. "Anisotropy and Emission from Air with Laser Filaments." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ose_etds/59