Abstract : We study the influence of the laser repetition rate on the generation of low-density channels of air left in the path of femtosecond laser filament. At high repetition rates, we observe the formation of a permanent millimeter-wide low-density channel that exceeds the depth and width of the transient depletion due to a single filament. We also show that this permanent cumulative effect decreases the breakdown voltage between two electrodes and can alter the path of the discharge. By comparing this effect in air and in pure nitrogen, we show that an accumulation of O−2 ions contributes to the reduction in the breakdown voltage.
https://hal-ensta-paris.archives-ouvertes.fr//hal-03510763 Contributor : Aurélien HouardConnect in order to contact the contributor Submitted on : Tuesday, January 4, 2022 - 4:06:32 PM Last modification on : Wednesday, May 11, 2022 - 3:22:05 PM
Pierre Walch, Benoît Mahieu, Leonid Arantchouk, Yves-Bernard André, André Mysyrowicz, et al.. Cumulative air density depletion during high repetition rate filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses: Application to electric discharge triggering. Applied Physics Letters, American Institute of Physics, 2021, 119 (26), pp.262101. ⟨10.1063/5.0077635⟩. ⟨hal-03510763⟩