Unveiling nonlinear regimes of light amplification in fused silica with femtosecond imaging spectroscopy

Abstract

This paper presents the first observation of two temporally separated regimes of nonlinear stimulated emission in a piece of laser-excited fused silica. The authors study temporal and energetic dependencies on excitation and amplification and show that one amplification regime is directly linked to the ultrafast formation of long-lived self-trapped excitons.