Control of the collapse distance in atmospheric propagation

Opt Express. 2006 Jun 12;14(12):4946-57. doi: 10.1364/oe.14.004946.

Abstract

We show experimentally for ultrashort laser pulses propagating in air, that the collapse/filamentation distance of intense laser pulses in the atmosphere can be extended and controlled with a simple double-lens setup. We derive a simple formula for the filamentation distance, and confirm its agreement with the experimental results. We also observe that delaying the onset of filamentation increases the filament length.