Nonlinear Laser-Dielectric Optical Media Interaction Modeling and Characterization

Intense laser interactions in condensed optical media are under study at NRL for several Navy applications, including remote undersea laser acoustic generation and advanced micromachining. We have developed models and simulation codes for nonlinear propagation and interactions in water. Our modeling includes the effects of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), optical Kerr effect, parametric four-wave mixing (FWM) and nonlinear coupling involving pump, Stokes and anti-Stokes waves, multiphoton and collisional ionization, plasma refraction, diffraction and dispersion. 1 , 2 Our models are incorporated into the SNOPROP 2D axisymmetric nonlinear propagation and interaction simulation code (open-source, in Python). 3 , 4 Our modeling simulations showed good agreement with recent nonlinear propagation experiments. 1 Both our model and code can be used for a variety of condensed dielectric optical media.