Self-focusing in air with phase-stabilized few-cycle light pulses

D. E. Laban, W. C. Wallace, R. D. Glover, R. T. Sang, D. Kielpinski
2010 Optics Letters  
We investigate the nonlinear optical phenomenon of self-focusing in air with phase-stabilized few-cycle light pulses. This investigation looks at the role of the carrier-envelope phase by observing a filament in air, a nonlinear phenomenon that can be utilized for few-cycle pulse compression [Appl. Phys. B 79, 673 (2004) ]. We were able to measure the critical power for self-focusing in air to be 18± 1 GW for a 6.3 fs pulse centered at 800 nm. Using this value and a basic first-order theory, we
more » ... predicted that the self-focusing distance should deviate by 790 m as the carrier-envelope phase is shifted from 0 to / 2 rad. In contrast, the experimental results showed no deviation in the focus distance with a 3 upper limit of 180 m. These counterintuitive results show the need for further study of self-focusing dynamics in the few-cycle regime.
doi:10.1364/ol.35.001653 pmid:20479839 fatcat:wfkbtjiaybabjiplunw4q5jnze