Abstract
Supercontinua extending from the ultraviolet to the infrared are observed from high-pressure (1-40 atm) Ar, Kr, Xe, , , or C illuminated with 2-psec or 70-fsec, 0.6-μm pulses with an energy ≲500 μJ. The blue spectral component is shown to display a nearly universal behavior for all gases and pulse durations. Although the maximum intensity of the focused, femtosecond pulse in an evacuated cell was ∼ W/, continuum generation was only observed with the femtosecond pulse when the threshold for self-focusing was exceeded.
- Received 11 June 1986
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.57.2268
©1986 American Physical Society