Plasmon channels in the electronic relaxation of diamond under high-order harmonics femtosecond irradiation

We used high order harmonics of a femtosecond titanium-doped sapphire system (pulse duration 25 fs) to realise Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) measurements on diamond. The UPS spectra were measured for harmonics in the range 13 to 27. We also made ab initio calculations of the electronic lifetime of conduction electrons in the energy range produced in the UPS experiment. Such calculations show that the lifetime suddenly diminishes when the conduction electron energy reaches the plasmon energy, whereas the UPS spectra show evidence in this range of a strong relaxation mechanism with an increased production of low energy secondary electrons. We propose that in this case the electronic relaxation proceeds in two steps : excitation of a plasmon by the high energy electron, the latter decaying into individual electron-hole pairs, as in the case of metals. This process is observed for the first time in an insulator and, on account of its high efficiency, should be introduced in the models of laser breakdown under high intensity

Influence of radiation polarization on optical breakdown threshold of glasses by two beams

To investigate the intrinsic laser induced damage of transparent dielectrics the tight focusing of radiation inside samples bulk is usually used. In this case the threshold electric field strength of light radiation is calculated starting from irradiance, and the customary formulae for non focused radiation are used. At the same time under tight focusing conditions the vectors of electrical field strength of diametrically placed rays are directed under large angles each to another. In this work it is experimentally shown that the calculations performed on the basis of customary formulae can lead to the substantial errors in quantitative estimation of field strength

Color-center generation in silicate glasses exposed to infrared femtosecond pulses

The optical properties of silicate glasses under high-power, 850-nm femtosecond laser irradiation have been studied. Photoinduced processes occurred at irradiances well below the threshold for laser-induce damage. Laser spectral line broadening leading to supercontinuum generation in the visible and UV spectral regions was observed in all the glasses studied. Color-center generation and intrinsic luminescence were found in boro-silicate and alkali silicate glasses. It is believed that these processes result from linear and two-photon absorption of the short-wavelength component of the supercontinuum, causing ionization of the glass matrix. No color-center absorption in the visible region was observed in fused silica at irradiances up to the laser-damage threshold. © 1998 Optical Society of America

Efficiency of Photoconductive Terahertz Generation in Nitrogen-Doped Diamonds

The efficiency of the generation of terahertz radiation from nitrogen-doped (∼0.1–100 ppm) diamonds was investigated. The synthetic polycrystalline and monocrystalline diamond substrates were pumped by a 400 nm femtosecond laser and tested for the photoconductive emitter operation. The dependency of the emitted THz power on the intensity of the optical excitation was measured. The nitrogen concentrations of the diamonds involved were measured from the optical absorbance, which was found to crucially depend on the synthesis technique. The observed correlation between the doping level and the level of the performance of diamond-based antennas demonstrates the prospects of doped diamond as a material for highly efficient large-aperture photoconductive antennas