Microwave guiding in air along single femtosecond laser filament

摘要

Microwave guiding along single plasma filament generated through the propagation of femtosecond (fs) laser pulses in air has been demonstrated over a distance of about 6.5 cm, corresponding to a microwave signal intensity enhancement of more than 3-fold over free space propagation. The current propagation distance along the fs laser filament is in agreement with the calculations and limited by the relatively high resistance of the single plasma filament. Using a single fs laser filament to channel microwave radiation considerably alleviate requirements to the power of fs laser pulses compared to the case of the circular filaments waveguide. In addition, it can be used as a simple and non-intrusive method to obtain the basic parameters of laser-generated plasma filament.