Effects of picosecond terawatt UV laser beam filamentation and a repetitive pulse train on creation of prolonged plasma channels in atmospheric air

Amplitude-modulated UV laser pulse of up to 30 J energy was produced at hybrid Ti:Sapphire/KrF GARPUN-MTW laser facility when a preliminary amplified train of short pulses was injected into unstable resonator cavity of the main e-beam-pumped KrF amplifier. The combined radiation consisted of regeneratively amplified picosecond pulses with subTW peak power overlapped with 100-ns pulse of a free-running lasing. The advantages of combined radiation for production of long-lived prolonged plasma channels in air and HV discharge triggering were demonstrated: photocurrent sustained by modulated pulse is two orders of magnitude higher and HV breakdown distance is twice longer than for a smooth UV pulse. It was found that in contrast to IR radiation multiple filamentation of high-power UV laser beam does not produce extended nonlinear focusing of UV radiation.