Triggering and guiding electric discharge by a train of UV picosecond pulses combined with a long UV pulse

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that combining a train of UV picosecond pulses with a long UV pulse significantly enhances electric discharge triggering and guiding, resulting in higher photocurrent and extended breakdown distance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of using combined UV pulses to improve electric discharge control, surpassing previous single-pulse techniques.

Findings

Photocurrent is two orders of magnitude higher with combined pulses.

Electric breakdown distance is doubled compared to using only a long UV pulse.

The method enables more effective discharge triggering and guiding.

Abstract

Non-self-sustained electric discharge and electric breakdown were triggered and guided by a train of picosecond UV pulses overlapped with a long free-running UV pulse of a hybrid Ti:Sapphire-KrF laser facility. Photocurrent sustained by this train is two orders of magnitude higher, and electric breakdown distance is twice longer than those for the discharge triggered by the long UV pulse only.