Numerically Implemented Impact of a Femtosecond Laser Pulse on Glass in the Approximation of Nonlinear Maxwell Equations

Abstract

A finite-difference scheme is presented for the solution of the problem on the interaction of a femtosecond laser pulse with glass in the approximation of nonlinear Maxwell equations supplemented by equations of the hydrodynamic type for conduction electrons. The model takes into account all the basic physical processes involved in this interaction. An axially symmetric problem is considered. The construction of the scheme allows for the specifics of the problem, which ensures the efficiency of the developed method. The use of the scheme is illustrated by the results of modeling the interaction between glass and femtosecond laser pulses of an ordinary Gaussian shape with linear polarization and doughnut pulses with radial and azimuthal polarization. Significant differences in the dynamics of the interaction between glass and these three types of pulses are revealed.