Nonlinear underwater propagation of picosecond ultraviolet laser beams
Abstract
Meter-scale nonlinear propagation of a picosecond ultraviolet laser beam in water, sufficiently intense to cause stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), nonlinear focusing, pump-Stokes nonlinear coupling, and photoexcitation, was characterized in experiments and simulations. Pump and SRS Stokes pulse energies were measured, and pump beam profiles were imaged at propagation distances up to 100 cm for a range of laser power below and above self-focusing critical power. Simulations with conduction band excitation energy U C B = 9.5 e V , effective electron mass m e f f = 0.2 m e , Kerr nonlinear refractive index n 2 = 5 × 10 − 16 c m 2 / W , and index contribution due to SRS susceptibility n 2 r = 1.7 × 10 − 16 c m 2 / W produced the best agreement with experimental data.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 30, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1364/ol.398153
Entities
People
- Alexander B. Stamm
- Antonio Ting
- Bahman Hafizi
- Dmitri Kaganovich
- J Ryan Peterson
- John P. Palastro
- Luke A. Johnson
- Michael Helle
- T. G. Jones
- Yu-hsin Chen
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory