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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Femtosecond Laser Filaments for Use in Sub-Diffraction-Limited Imaging and Remote Sensing
Published on: April 25, 2019
Laser filaments generated and transmitted in highly turbulent air
R Ackermann1, G Méjean, J Kasparian
1Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Ionic et Moléculaire, Unité Mixte de Recherche Associée au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 5579, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
Abstract:
The initiation and propagation of a filament generated by ultrashort laser pulses in turbulent air is investigated experimentally. A filament can be generated and propagated even after the beam has propagated through strongly turbulent regions, with structure parameters C(n)2 as many as 5 orders of magnitude larger than those encountered in the usual atmospheric conditions. Moreover, the filament's position within the beam is not affected by the interaction with a turbulent region. This remarkable stability is allowed by the strong Kerr refractive-index gradients generated within the filament, which exceed the turbulence-induced refractive-index gradients by 2 orders of magnitude.
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