High-intensity femtosecond pulses of laser light can undergo cycles of Kerr self-focusing and plasma defocusing, propagating an intense sub-millimeter-diameter beam over long distances. We describe a technique for generating and using these filaments to perform remote imaging and sensing beyond the classical diffraction limits of linear optics.
Springer, M. M., Strycker, B. D., Wang, K., Sokolov, A. V., Scully, M. O. Femtosecond Laser Filaments for Use in Sub-Diffraction-Limited Imaging and Remote Sensing. J. Vis. Exp. (146), e58207, doi:10.3791/58207 (2019).