Team Members: Ido Nir, Eilon Amir

Supervisors / Mentors: Gilad Marcus

 

Creating a Remote Radiation Source Based on a Plasma Filament

Background There is a growing demand in military and sensing applications for compact sources of mid-infrared (mid-IR) radiation that could be generated remotely. Existing technologies are limited in their ability to emit IR light at a distance without bulky or complex equipment. One promising approach is the use of femtosecond laser pulses to create plasma filaments in air — a phenomenon capable of emitting broadband light, including in the IR region.

Project Summary The project focused on demonstrating a method for remotely generating mid-IR radiation using plasma filaments in atmospheric air. We constructed an experimental setup to produce and stabilize filaments using femtosecond laser pulses, measured their visible and IR spectral output, and implemented strategies to enhance IR emission. Specifically, we introduced an auxiliary heating laser to raise the filament temperature and experimented with various timing delays between the two pulses to optimize IR intensity and spectral characteristics.