Spatial pattern of microchannel formation in fused silica irradiated by nanosecond ultraviolet pulses.
We present numerical simulations of propagation of ultraviolet pulses through fused silica using a model that allows for the accumulative action of compaction back on the light. Compaction-induced self-focusing causes the light field to develop into a pattern of hot spots around the incident aperture that correlates with the damage patterns observed during marathon experiments designed to determine the onset of microchannel formation.
Wright
E M
EM
Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. ewan.wright@optics.arizona.edu
Mansuripur
M
M
Liberman
V
V
Bates
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K