Tesla coil discharges guided by femtosecond laser filaments in air

Abstract

A Tesla coil generator was designed to produce high voltage pulses oscillating at 100 kHz synchronisable with a nanosecond temporal jitter. Using this compact high voltage generator, we demonstrate reproducible meter long discharges in air at a repetition rate of 1 Hz. Triggering and guiding of the discharges are performed in air by femtosecond laser filaments.