A. M. Kiselev, Yu. N. Ponomarev, A. N. Stepanov, A. B. Tikhomirov, B. A. Tikhomirov, “Nonlinear absorption of femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm) by atmospheric air and water vapour”, Kvantovaya Elektronika, 2011, Volume 41, Number 11,Pages <nobr>976

This article is cited in 11 papers

Nonlinear optical phenomena

Nonlinear absorption of femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm) by atmospheric air and water vapour

A. M. Kiselev^a, Yu. N. Ponomarev^b, A. N. Stepanov^a, A. B. Tikhomirov^b, B. A. Tikhomirov^b

^a Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod
^b Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Tomsk

Abstract: Quantitative data on the nonlinear absorption cross sections of femtosecond Ti : Sapphire laser pulses in air and water vapour have been obtained. A photoacoustic spectrometer calibrated based on the calculated value of linear absorption of laser pulses with a wavelength of 800 nm and a spectral width of 17.7 nm is used to find the nonlinear absorption cross sections of water vapour and air: σ₂^w = (2.6±0.4) × 10^-55 cm⁴ s and σ₂^a = (8.7±1.0) × 10^-56 cm⁴ s, respectively. Based on measuring the absorption of femtosecond Ti : Sapphire laser pulses with a photoacoustic detector calibrated with the known linear absorption of ruby laser radiation by water vapour in air, the air nonlinear absorption cross section is found to be (8.2±0.9) × 10^-56 cm⁴ s.

PACS: 33.80.-b, 42.25.Bs, 43.20.Ye, 42.68.Ay, 42.65.Re

Received: 22.03.2011
Revised: 24.08.2011