Femtosecond Laser Filamentation gives a comprehensive review of the physics of propagation of intense femtosecond laser pulses in optical media (principally air) and the applications and challenges of this new technique.

This book presents the modern understanding of the physics of femtosecond laser pulse propagation, including unusual new effects such as the self-transformation of the pulse into a white light laser pulse, intensity clamping, the physics of multiple filamentation and competition, and how filaments' ability to melt glass leads to wave guide writing. The potential applications of laser filamentation in atmospheric sensing and the generation of other electromagnetic pulses from the UV to the radio frequency are treated, together with possible future challenges in the excitation of super-excited states of molecules. Exciting new phenomena such as filament induced ultrafast birefringence and the excitation of molecular rotational wave packets and their multiple revivals in air (gases) will also be discussed.

This volume provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of these topics currently available. It will be of great interest to scientists and researchers using intense femtosecond laser pulses as well as to graduate students and researchers who wish to learn more about the field.

Résumé
This book attempts to give a discussion of the physics and current and potential applications of the self-focusing of an intense femtosecond laser pulse in a tra- parent medium. Although self-focusing is an old subject of nonlinear optics, the consequence of self-focusing of intense femtosecond laser pulses is totally new and unexpected. Thus, new phenomena are observed, such as long range lam- tation, intensity clamping, white light laser pulse, self-spatial ltering, self-group phase locking, self-pulse compression, clean nonlinear uorescence, and so on. Long range propagation at high intensity, which is seemingly against the law of diffraction, is probably one of the most exciting consequences of this new sub- eld of nonlinear optics. Because the intensity inside the lament core is high, new ways of doing nonlinear optics inside the lament become possible. We call this lamentation nonlinear optics. We shall describe the generation of pulses at other wavelengths in the visible and ultraviolet (UV) starting from the near infrared pump pulse at 800 nm through four-wave-mixing and third harmonic generation, all in gases. Remotely sensing uorescence from the fragments of chemical and biological agents in all forms, gaseous, aerosol or solid, inside the laments in air is demonstrated in the labo- tory. The results will be shown in the last part of the book. Through analyzing the uorescence of gas molecules inside the lament, an unexpected physical process pertaining to the interaction of synchrotron radiation with molecules is observed.

Contenu
Filamentation Physics.- Theory of Single Filamentation.- Multiple Filamentation.- Filamentation Nonlinear Optics: General.- Filamentation Nonlinear Optics: Third Harmonic Generation and Four-Wave-Mixing Inside a Filament.- Remote Sensing Using Filamentation.- Challenges Ahead.