Spatial and spectral features of the luminescence of liquid nitrogen stimulated by infrared lasers

Abstract

Spectral features of cryogenic liquids, especially nitrogen, seem to be clearly investigated due to the wide application in science. On the other hand, material properties can really be different under intensive laser irradiation. During irradiation of liquid nitrogen with pulsed (pulse duration 20 ns) YaG: Nd 1064 nm laser with average power of 0.3 W we have found bright luminescence in the visible region with five narrow spectral lines. This phenomenon can be explained by the multiphoton excitation of nitrogen molecules and ions with infrared photons. Its spatial and spectral characteristics are attributed to Amplified Spontaneous Emission. The main features include super-linear dependence of the emission intensity on the intensity of the excitation radiation, limited amount of narrow spectral bands and conical geometry of the emission with the clear separation of the cones in correspondence with the spectral lines of the emission. This phenomenon manifests liquid nitrogen as the convenient substance of Kerr type for studies of various non-linear optical processes by means of nanosecond lasers instead of femtosecond lasers applied usually for these purposes.