Atmospheric clearness is a key issue for free space optical communications (FSO). We present the first active method to achieve FSO through clouds and fog, using ultrashort high intensity laser filaments. The laser filaments opto-mechanically expel the droplets out of the beam and create a cleared channel for transmitting high bit rate telecom data at 1.55 µm. The low energy required for the process allows considering applications to Earth-satellite FSO and secure ground based optical communication, with classical or quantum protocols. http://dx.Significant efforts are currently dedicated to establish free space optical communications (FSO) [1], both classical [2-5] and quantum [6][7][8][9][10], within a network of satellites [11,12], between the Earth and satellites [5,10] and between the Earth and drones [13]. For instance, the first free space quantum communication satellite from the Chinese Aerospace Agency demonstrated quantum key distribution over 1200 km between the satellite and the Earth [9]. Space agencies also support laser telecommunication programs [14] aiming at significantly increasing the data rates as compared to radio-frequencies (RF) and reducing the problem of the availability of RF bands.The major limitation for optical free space telecommunication is the availability of a clear sky, i.e. free from fog and clouds. This critical issue is currently only addressed by the multiplication of networked ground stations, which is complex and expensive. No active methods, with the objective of creating a clear channel within clouds or fogs to allow data transmission, have been proposed and implemented so far. This is the aim of the present paper.Early attempts to clear the sky from fog and clouds with high power CO2 lasers took place in the 70's and 80's, mainly for increasing visibility on the battlefield. However, the very high energy required to vaporize and shatter water drops (lasers of typically 10 kW.cm −2 continuous wave [15] and 10-1000 MW.cm −2 pulsed [16,17]) was prohibitive for applications with fogs extending over 100 m thickness. Moreover, the laser energy was deposited in the first meters of the optical path, according to the usual Beer-Lambert exponential decay.The 2000's saw the emergence of femtosecond TW-class lasers (1 TW = 10 12 W), hence the opportunity to reconsider laser transmission through fog with a fundamentally different approach: non-linear propagation in the atmosphere and laser filamentation [18]. Due to the high peak-power, focusing (Kerr effect) and defocusing (Kerr saturation, plasma generation) non-linearities involved in the propagation lead to the formation of laser filaments [19][20][21][22][23]. Laser filaments are self-sustained light structures of typically 100 µm diameter (at 800 nm) and up to hundreds of meters in length, widely extending the traditional linear diffraction limit. They bear high intensities (10-100 TW.cm -2 ) and generate a low density plasma in air with typically 10 16 charges per cm 3 . A laser filament also survives interaction with water d...
Lightning discharges between charged clouds and the Earth’s surface are responsible for considerable damages and casualties. It is therefore important to develop better protection methods in addition to the traditional Franklin rod. Here we present the first demonstration that laser-induced filaments—formed in the sky by short and intense laser pulses—can guide lightning discharges over considerable distances. We believe that this experimental breakthrough will lead to progress in lightning protection and lightning physics. An experimental campaign was conducted on the Säntis mountain in north-eastern Switzerland during the summer of 2021 with a high-repetition-rate terawatt laser. The guiding of an upward negative lightning leader over a distance of 50 m was recorded by two separate high-speed cameras. The guiding of negative lightning leaders by laser filaments was corroborated in three other instances by very-high-frequency interferometric measurements, and the number of X-ray bursts detected during guided lightning events greatly increased. Although this research field has been very active for more than 20 years, this is the first field-result that experimentally demonstrates lightning guided by lasers. This work paves the way for new atmospheric applications of ultrashort lasers and represents an important step forward in the development of a laser based lightning protection for airports, launchpads or large infrastructures.
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