title: Change of self-focusing behavior of phosphate glass resulting from exposure to ultraviolet nanosecond laser pulses.
abstract: The self-focusing characteristic of 355 nm, 3.3 ns pulses propagating through phosphate glass samples is found to significantly change during repeated exposure. The results indicate this change is related to the formation of color centers in the material as well as the generation of a transient defect population during exposure to the laser pulses. A model is used to fit the experimental data and obtain an estimated range of values for the modified linear and nonlinear indices of refraction.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94551, USA. Demos1@llnl.gov
authors.forename: Stavros G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Demos
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Ehrmann
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Kathleen I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Schaffers
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rubenchik
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Feit
mesh_terms: D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D007834:Lasers; D007909:Lenses; D008422:Materials Testing; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates