Optical transmission during mid-infrared femtosecond laser pulses ablation of fused silica

We report on the optical transmission of near-infrared (1.8 μm) femtosecond laser pulses during multiple pulses laser ablation of fused silica surface. In addition to the previously reported ciliary white light phenomenon (Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 097601 (2013)), two new optical transmission phenomena were observed for relatively low energy laser pulses. We systemically examined the damage morphologies of the ablation site as a function of laser pulse energy and laser shot number. Laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) with different periods and orientations were observed for different pulse energy regimes. Comparison of the damage morphologies and the optical transmission reveals that the two new optical transmission phenomena origin from the refraction of the incident near-infrared pulses on the LIPSS covered damage surface followed by nonlinear propagation of the beamlets and even filamentation if the laser energy was high enough. We found that the interference of the neighboring white light emissions gives rise to radially orientated optical fringes. Based on this observation, we proposed another interpretation for the ciliary white light phenomenon.