Self-compression controlled by the chirp of the input pulse

Area of Science:

• Nonlinear Optics
• Ultrafast Lasers
• Plasma Physics

Background:

• Generating ultrashort laser pulses is crucial for many scientific applications.
• Traditional methods often require complex dispersion compensation setups.
• Filamentation in air offers a promising route for high-intensity pulse generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To achieve self-compressed (SC) pulses through filamentation in air.
• To investigate the role of input pulse chirp as a control parameter.
• To explore a scalable method for intense short pulse generation.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the filamentation process in air.
• Employing input pulse chirp as the primary control parameter.
• Systematically varying input group-delay dispersion (GDD).

Main Results:

• SC pulses were successfully generated without external dispersion compensation.
• Two specific, opposite sign GDD values were identified for SC pulse generation across studied energies (3-5 mJ).
• Approximately 20% of the input pulse energy was consistently coupled into the filament core.

Conclusions:

• Input pulse chirp is an effective parameter for controlling SC pulse generation in air.
• The identified GDD values enable systematic SC pulse formation.
• The consistent energy coupling suggests a scalable and efficient method for generating intense short pulses.