Aurélien Houard
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View article: Polarization maintaining multi-segment dispersion-tailored fibers for frequency comb generation with 27 fs pulses at 10 GHz repetition rate
Polarization maintaining multi-segment dispersion-tailored fibers for frequency comb generation with 27 fs pulses at 10 GHz repetition rate Open
We demonstrate a polarization-maintaining, all-fiber electro-optic modulation comb source delivering 27.5 fs pulses at 10 GHz and 13 kW peak power. A novel architecture based on cascaded normal- and anomalous-dispersion fibers, with minima…
View article: Measurement of optical amplification and population dynamics using ultrafast XUV spectroscopy of N<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup>
Measurement of optical amplification and population dynamics using ultrafast XUV spectroscopy of N<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> Open
We demonstrate a very strong laser gain in the near UV, at 391 nm, involving one- and two-photon transitions between initial and final levels of the transition. This opens the way to the realization of all-optical lasers at short wavelengt…
View article: A transportable laser-plasma accelerator in the MeV range
A transportable laser-plasma accelerator in the MeV range Open
Laser-plasma accelerators emerge as ultra-compact and versatile sources for numerous applications. Although the acceleration length is short (a few millimeters), they typically require large-scale infrastructures including ultra-high-power…
View article: Ionization-coherence-enhanced-vibration photoexcitation in nitrogen ions
Ionization-coherence-enhanced-vibration photoexcitation in nitrogen ions Open
International audience
View article: Laguerre–Gaussian laser filamentation in ambient air
Laguerre–Gaussian laser filamentation in ambient air Open
The filamentation of ultrashort laser pulses in air with Laguerre–Gaussian beams opens up numerous possibilities for atmospheric applications. In this work, we demonstrate a novel method to measure the critical power for self-focusing of s…
View article: Steering Laser-Produced THz Radiation in Air with Superluminal Ionization Fronts
Steering Laser-Produced THz Radiation in Air with Superluminal Ionization Fronts Open
We demonstrate that pulsed THz radiation produced in air by a focused ultrashort laser pulse can be steered to large angles or even in the backward direction with respect to the laser propagation axis. The emission angle is adjusted by the…
View article: Controlling lightning with lasers
Controlling lightning with lasers Open
Lightning is one of nature's most extreme phenomena. As fascinating as it is destructive, it causes billions of euros worth of damage every year. The idea of using lasers to control lightning dates back to the 1970s, but it wasn't until 50…
View article: Physics and technology of laser lightning control
Physics and technology of laser lightning control Open
The recent development of high average, high peak power lasers has revived the effort of using lasers as a potential tool to influence natural lightning. Although impressive, the current progress in laser lightning control (LLC) technology…
View article: Steering laser-produced THz radiation in air with superluminal ionization fronts
Steering laser-produced THz radiation in air with superluminal ionization fronts Open
We demonstrate that pulsed THz radiation produced in air by a focused ultrashort laser pulse can be steered to large angles or even in the backward direction with respect to the laser propagation axis. The emission angle is adjusted by the…
View article: Extending femtosecond laser superfilamentation in air with a multifocal phase mask
Extending femtosecond laser superfilamentation in air with a multifocal phase mask Open
Laser filamentation is a spectacular phenomenon where the self-focusing of the laser pulse generates ionizing light channels. Many applications of filamentation, such as the laser lightning rod, require the generation of superfilaments, lo…
View article: Laguerre–Gaussian laser filamentation for the control of electric discharges in air
Laguerre–Gaussian laser filamentation for the control of electric discharges in air Open
We study the use of Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) femtosecond laser filament with multi GW peak power to guide electric sparks in the atmosphere. We demonstrate that an LG beam with a vortex phase or with 6 azimuthal phase steps generates a filam…
View article: Physics and technology of Laser Lightning Control
Physics and technology of Laser Lightning Control Open
The recent development of high average, high peak power lasers has revived the effort of using lasers as a potential tool to influence natural lightning. Although impressive, the current progress in laser lightning control technology may o…
View article: Impact of gravitational force on high repetition rate filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in the atmosphere
Impact of gravitational force on high repetition rate filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in the atmosphere Open
We study the influence of the gravitational force on the generation of low-density channels of air left in the path of femtosecond laser filaments at high repetition rate. We observe a more important density variation along the filament lo…
View article: 45 W average-power, high-energy deep-UV generation at 257 nm in LBO
45 W average-power, high-energy deep-UV generation at 257 nm in LBO Open
International audience
View article: Experimental Investigation of Repetitive Femtosecond Laser Energy Deposition in a M=3 Supersonic Airflow
Experimental Investigation of Repetitive Femtosecond Laser Energy Deposition in a M=3 Supersonic Airflow Open
International audience
View article: Multiple-Photon Resonance Enabled Quantum Interference in Emission Spectroscopy of N2+
Multiple-Photon Resonance Enabled Quantum Interference in Emission Spectroscopy of N2+ Open
Quantum interference occurs frequently in the interaction of laser radiation with materials, leading to a series of fascinating effects such as lasing without inversion, electromagnetically induced transparency, Fano resonance, etc. Such q…
View article: Standoff detection of an electric field by bidirectional nitrogen lasing
Standoff detection of an electric field by bidirectional nitrogen lasing Open
International audience
View article: Study of consecutive long-lived meter-scale laser-guided sparks in air
Study of consecutive long-lived meter-scale laser-guided sparks in air Open
We study the creation and evolution of meter-scale long-lived laser-guided electric discharges and the interaction between consecutive guided discharges. The lifetime of guided discharges from a Tesla high voltage generator is first increa…
View article: Laser emission at 428 nm in N2+: Competition between two- and three-level amplification
Laser emission at 428 nm in N2+: Competition between two- and three-level amplification Open
Lasing of N2+ at 428 nm is studied as a function of the delay dt between two 800 nm ultrashort pumping pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser. This lasing corresponds to a population-inverted transition between levels B2Σu+(0) and X2Σg+(1) of a s…
View article: Spectral splitting of the lasing emission of nitrogen ions pumped by 800-nm femtosecond laser pulses
Spectral splitting of the lasing emission of nitrogen ions pumped by 800-nm femtosecond laser pulses Open
We report on a spectral splitting effect of the cavity-less lasing emission of nitrogen ions at 391.4 nm pumped by 800-nm femtosecond laser pulses. It was found that with the increase of the nitrogen gas pressure and pump pulse energy, bot…
View article: Quantum and quasi-classical effects in the strong field ionization and subsequent excitation of nitrogen molecules
Quantum and quasi-classical effects in the strong field ionization and subsequent excitation of nitrogen molecules Open
The processes leading to the N 2 + lasing are rather complex and even the population distribution after the pump laser excitation is unknown. In this paper, we study the population distribution at electronic and vibrational levels in N 2 +…
View article: Femtosecond filamentation of optical vortices for the generation of optical air waveguides
Femtosecond filamentation of optical vortices for the generation of optical air waveguides Open
We study the filamentation in air of multi-millijoule optical vortices and compare them with the classical filamentation regime. The femtosecond vortex beam generates multiple plasma filaments organized in a cylindrical geometry. This plas…
View article: Nonlinear Propagation and Filamentation on 100 Meter Air Path of Femtosecond Beam Partitioned by Wire Mesh
Nonlinear Propagation and Filamentation on 100 Meter Air Path of Femtosecond Beam Partitioned by Wire Mesh Open
High-intensity (∼1 TW/cm2 and higher) region formed in the propagation of ∼60 GW, 90 fs Ti:Sapphire laser pulse on a ∼100 m path in air spans for several tens of meters and includes a plasma filament and a postfilament light channel. The i…
View article: Laser-guided lightning
Laser-guided lightning Open
Electric currents circulating between charged clouds and the earth surface during lightning discharges are responsible for considerable damages and casualties. It is therefore important to develop better protection methods in addition to t…
View article: Second and third harmonic generation from simultaneous high peak- and high average-power thin disk laser
Second and third harmonic generation from simultaneous high peak- and high average-power thin disk laser Open
We report Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and Third Harmonic Generation (THG) energy conversion efficiencies up to 59% and 27%, respectively for laser pulses simultaneously delivering high peak power in the sub-TW range and average powers…
View article: Coherently controlled ionization of gases by three-color femtosecond laser pulses
Coherently controlled ionization of gases by three-color femtosecond laser pulses Open
International audience
View article: Cumulative air density depletion during high repetition rate filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses: Application to electric discharge triggering
Cumulative air density depletion during high repetition rate filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses: Application to electric discharge triggering Open
We study the influence of the laser repetition rate on the generation of low-density channels of air left in the path of femtosecond laser filament. At high repetition rates, we observe the formation of a permanent millimeter-wide low-dens…