Dr. Pavel Polynkin from University of Arizona Visits AIR

Dr. Pavel Polynkin from the University of Arizona visited AIR on June 13 and gave a talk titled “Ultrafast nonlinear optics at ionizing intensities”.

Dr. Polynkin's recent research focuses on ultrafast light-matter interactions, material processing with ultrashort lasers, laser filamentation, and related phenomena. He has authored more than 70 original publications in refereed journals and 11 US patents. He has been working for the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona since 2003, which is among top 3 optical research centers.

Extreme nonlinear optics is an interdisciplinary branch of laser science that deals with optical intensities exceeding damage threshold for most materials. The major focus is on the studies of plasmas produced by strong-field ionization and on the utilization of these plasmas for various applications ranging from laser ablation to weather control.

In the talk, he elaborated basic and applied aspects associated with the extension of these studies to the mid-infrared and long-wave infrared regimes and to very high pulse repetition rates.

The mechanism and advantages of laser filamentation using mid-infrared and long-wave infrared lasers have been discussed. He also introduced the potential applications on fs-LIBS, air lasing and channeling the electrical breakdown of air.