Long-lived laser-induced arc discharges for energy channeling applications

Guillaume Point,Aurélien Houard,Emmanuelle Thouin,André Mysyrowicz,Leonid Arantchouk,Jérôme Carbonnel

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14054-z

Abstract

Laser filamentation offers a promising way for the remote handling of large electrical power in the form of guided arc discharges. We here report that it is possible to increase by several orders of magnitude the lifetime of straight plasma channels from filamentation-guided sparks in atmospheric air. A 30 ms lifetime can be reached using a low-intensity, 100 mA current pulse. Stability of the plasma shape is maintained over such a timescale through a continuous Joule heating from the current. This paves the way for applications based on the generation of straight, long duration plasma channels, like virtual plasma antennas or contactless transfer of electric energy.

Highlights

Laser filamentation is a nonlinear optical phenomena that was discovered in the early days of the laser era, when damage tracks and thin fluorescent channels were witnessed in transparent condensed matter through which a powerful laser pulse propagated[1,2]
This propagation regime results from the dynamic competition between the self-induced collapse of a powerful laser pulse due to the optical Kerr effect, on the one hand, and diffraction, group velocity dispersion, nonlinear absorption of the laser energy and photoionization-induced plasma defocusing, on the other hand
After a nanosecond-scale thermalization, this fast energy deposition is eventually converted into heat and leads to the formation and subsequent hydrodynamic expansion of a hot air cylinder along the filament, leaving a central air channel with reduced density[11,12,13,14,15,16,17]

Summary

Introduction

Laser filamentation is a nonlinear optical phenomena that was discovered in the early days of the laser era, when damage tracks and thin fluorescent channels were witnessed in transparent condensed matter through which a powerful laser pulse propagated[1,2]. A filament lightning rod could be used to protect sensitive facilities by triggering the inception of downward leaders from lightning clouds[29] or intercepting naturally-generated downward leaders before they reach the ground[23,30,31] They can be used to channel electrical energy along a well-controlled path, with several pending technologies like the design of sturdy and reliable closing switches with a very low jitter[32] or even a replacement for the pantograph on trains, leading to the suppression of mechanical friction with overhead power lines[33,34]. A second problem, which is expected to become more and more important as the plasma lifetime is increased, is to be able to preserve the shape of the plasma column for the required time

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Discussion

Conclusion