Quasi-steady-state air waveguide

TL;DR

This paper introduces the first quasi-steady-state air waveguides created by high-repetition femtosecond laser filamentation, enabling efficient high-power laser beam guidance with near-continuous operation.

Contribution

It presents a novel method for generating quasi-steady-state air waveguides using high-repetition femtosecond laser pulses, improving power handling and guiding efficiency.

Findings

Successful demonstration of near-continuous guiding of a CW probe beam

Higher efficiency compared to transient guides at lower repetition rates

First generation of quasi-steady-state air waveguides for high-power lasers

Abstract

We report the first generation of quasi-steady-state air waveguides capable of guiding high average power laser beams. The guides are produced by high-repetition rate patterned filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses. We demonstrate near-continuous guiding of a CW probe beam with significantly higher efficiency than transient guides at lower repetition rates.