Self-consistent modeling of photoionization and the Kerr effect in bulk solids

Jeremy R. Gulley; Thomas E Lanier

doi:10.1117/12.2195293

23 November 2015 Self-consistent modeling of photoionization and the Kerr effect in bulk solids

Jeremy R. Gulley, Thomas E Lanier

Proceedings Volume 9632, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2015; 96320X (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2195293
Event: SPIE Laser Damage, 2015, Boulder, Colorado, United States

Abstract

In calculations of ultrafast laser-induced ionization the treatment of fundamental mechanisms such as photoionization and the Kerr effect are treated in isolation using monochromatic perturbative approaches. Such approaches are often questionable for pulses of ultrashort duration and multi-chromatic spectra. In this work we address this issue by solving the quantum optical Bloch equations in a 3D quasi-momentum space and show how to couple this model to ultrashort pulse propagation in dielectrics. This approach self-consistently couples a quantum calculation of the photoionization yield, the photoionization current, and the current from free-carriers with the traditional Kerr effect (self-focusing and self phase modulation) without resort to a perturbative treatment. The material band structure is taken in the tight binding limit and is periodic in the crystal momentum space. As this model makes no assumption about the pulse spectrum, we examine the laser-material interaction of strongly chirped pulses and multi-color multi-pulse schemes of laser-induced material modification. These results are compared to those predicted by standard treatments, such as the Keldysh model of photoionization, for pulses of ultrashort duration.

Citation Download Citation

Jeremy R. Gulley and Thomas E Lanier "Self-consistent modeling of photoionization and the Kerr effect in bulk solids", Proc. SPIE 9632, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2015, 96320X (23 November 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2195293

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available