Abstract
We report on the observation of backward lasing at 391.4 nm of nitrogen ions pumped by linearly polarized intense femtosecond pulses at 800 nm. The strongly enhanced spectral intensity at 391.4 nm, as well as the amplification of an externally injected backward seeding pulse, confirm that the backward 391.4 nm signal is due to optical amplification in the nitrogen gas plasma. Compared to the forward emission at 391.4 nm, the optimal backward emission is achieved at a lower gas pressure around 10 mbar, which is due to asymmetry of the backward and forward directions rooted in the traveling excitation geometry. Comparison of the signals in pure nitrogen and air revealed a strong quenching effect of the oxygen molecules, preventing backward lasing action in ambient air.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Dogariu, J.B. Michael, M.O. Scully, R.B. Miles, High-gain backward lasing in air. Science 331, 442–445 (2011)
J. Yao, B. Zeng, H. Xu, G. Li, W. Chu, J. Ni, H. Zhang, S.L. Chin, Y. Cheng, Z. Xu, High-brightness switchable multiwavelength remote laser in air. Phys. Rev. A 84, 051802(R) (2011)
J. Yao, W. Chu, Z. Liu, J. Chen, B. Xu, Y. Cheng, An anatomy of strong-field ionization-induced air lasing. Appl. Phys. B 124, 73 (2018)
A. J. Traverso, R. Sanchez-Gonzalez, L. Yuan, K. Wang, D.V. Voronine, A.M. Zheltikov, Y. Rostovtsev, V.A. Sautenkov, A.V. Sokolov, S.W. North, M.O. Scully, Coherence brightened laser source for atmospheric remote sensing. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109, 15185–15190 (2012)
Y. Liu, Y. Brelet, G. Point, A. Houard, A. Mysyrowicz, Self-seeded lasing action of air pumped by 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses. Opt. Express 21, 22791 (2013)
H. Xu, E. Lotstedt, A. Iwasaki, K. Yamanouchi, Sub-10-fs population inversion in N2 + in air lasing through multiple state coupling. Nat. Commun. 6, 8347 (2015)
T. Wang, J. Ju, J.F. Daigle, S. Yuan, R. Li, S.L. Chin, Self-seeded forward lasing action from a femtosecond Ti: sapphire laser filament in air. Laser Phys. Lett. 10, 125401 (2013)
J. Yao, S. Jiang, W. Chu, B. Zeng, C. Wu, R. Lu, Z. Li, H. Xie, G. Li, C. Yu, Z. Wang, H. Jiang, Q. Gong, Y. Cheng, Population redistribution among multiple electronic states of molecular nitrogen ions in strong laser fields. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 143007 (2016)
M. Lei, C. Wu, A. Zhang, Q. Gong, H. Jiang, Population inversion in the rotational levels of the superradiant N2 + pumped by femtosecond laser pulses. Opt. Express 25, 4535 (2017)
A. Dogariu, R. B. Miles, Lasing in atmospheric air: similarities and differences of oxygen and nitrogen. Frontiers in Optics 2013/Laser Science XXIX, LTh2H.2, Orlando, Florida, 2013 (Laser Science, Orlando, 2013)
Q. Luo, W. Liu, S.L. Chin, Lasing action in air induced by ultra-fast laser filamentation. Appl. Phys. B 76, 337 (2003)
A. Laurain, M. Scheller, P. Polynkin, Low-threshold bidirectional air lasing. Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 253901 (2014)
D. Kartashov, S. Ališauskas, G. Andriukaitis, A. Pugžlys, M. Shneider, A. Zheltikov, S.L. Chin, A. Baltuška, Free-space nitrogen gas laser driven by a femtosecond filament. Phys. Rev. A 86, 033831 (2012)
S. Mitryukovskiy, Y. Liu, P. Ding, A. Houard, A. Mysyrowicz, Backward stimulated radiation from filaments in nitrogen gas and air pumped by circularly polarized 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses. Opt. Express 22, 12750–12759 (2014)
P. J. Ding, S. Mitryukovskiy, A. Houard, E. Oliva, A. Couairon, A. Mysyrowicz, Y. Liu, Backward lasing of air plasma pumped by circularly polarized femtosecond pulses for the sake of remote sensing (BLACK). Opt. Express 22, 29964–29977 (2014)
P. Ding, E. Oliva, A. Houard, A. Mysyrowicz, Y. Liu, Lasing dynamics of neutral nitrogen molecules in femtosecond filaments. Phys. Rev. A 94, 043824 (2016)
J. Yao, H. Xie, B. Zeng, W. Chu, G. Li, J. Ni, H. Zhang, C. Jing, C. Zhang, H. Xu, Y. Cheng, Z. Xu, Gain dynamics of a free-space nitrogen laser pumped by circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses. Opt. Express 22, 19005–19013 (2014)
S. Mitryukovskiy, Y. Liu, P. Ding, A. Houard, A. Couairon, A. Mysyrowicz, Plasma luminescence from femtosecond filaments in air: evidence for impact excitation with circularly polarized light pulses. Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 063003 (2015)
C. Weitkamp (ed.), Range-resolved optical remote sensing of the atmosphere (Springer, Berlin, 2005)
P. N. Malevich, R. Maurer, D. Kartashov, S. Aliauska, A.A. Lanin, A.M. Zheltikov, M. Marangoni, G. Cerullo, A. Baltuka, A. Puglys, Stimulated raman gas sensing by backward UV lasing from a femtosecond filament. Opt. Lett. 40, 2469–2472 (2015)
G. Li, C. Jing, B. Zeng, H. Xie, J. Yao, W. Chu, J. Ni, H. Zhang, H. Xu, Y. Cheng, Z. Xu, Signature of superradiance from a nitrogen-gas plasma channel produced by strong-field ionization. Phys. Rev. A 89, 033833 (2014)
Y. Liu, P. Ding, G. Lambert, A. Houard, V. Tikhonchuk, A. Mysyrowicz, Recollision-induced superradiance of ionized nitrogen molecules. Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 133203 (2015)
Y. Liu, P. Ding, N. Ibrakovic, S. Bengtsson, S. Chen, R. Danylo, E.R. Simpson, E.W. Larsen, X. Zhang, Z. Fan, A. Houard, J. Mauritsson, A. L’Huillier, C.L. Arnold, S. Zhuang, V. Tikhonchuk, A. Mysyrowicz, Unexpected sensitivity of nitrogen ions superradiant emission on pump laser wavelength and duration. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 203205 (2017)
J. Kasparian, R. Sauerbrey, S.L. Chin, The critical laser intensity of self-guided light filaments in air. Appl. Phys. B 71, 877–879 (2000)
A. Becker, N. Aközbek, K. Vijayalakshmi, E. Oral, C.M. Bowden, S.L. Chin, Intensity clamping and re-focusing of intense femtosecond laser pulses in nitrogen molecular gas. Appl. Phys. B 73, 287–290 (2001)
S. I. Mitryukovskiy, Y. Liu, A. Houard, A. Mysyrowicz, Re-evaluation of the peak intensity inside a femtosecond laser filament in air. J. Phys. B At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 48, 094003 (2015)
J. Andreasen, M. Kolesik, Nonlinear propagation of light in structured media: generalized unidirectional pulse propagation equations. Phys. Rev. E 86, 036706 (2012)
M. Kolesik, J.V. Moloney, Nonlinear optical pulse propagation simulation: from Maxwell’s to unidirectional equations. Phys. Rev. E 70, 036604 (2004)
Acknowledgements
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11574213, 11904232), Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. 2017-01-07-00-07-E00007), Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (No. 17060502500), ELITAS (ELI Tools for Advanced Simulation) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16-013/0001793 from the European Regional Development Fund. The authors acknowledge the fact that the nonlinear pulse propagation simulation has been performed by Dr. X. H. Gao of Shaoxing University of Science and Technology (China) based on the gUUPE core software developed by Prof. M. Kolesik and his colleagues of Arizona University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, X., Danylo, R., Fan, Z. et al. Backward lasing of singly ionized nitrogen ions pumped by femtosecond laser pulses. Appl. Phys. B 126, 53 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-020-7402-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-020-7402-x