Avalanche Ionization and the Limiting Diameter of Filaments Induced by Light Pulses in Transparent Media

A limiting intensity is shown to exist for light propagation in transparent liquids and solids. In pure bulk materials it is determined by avalanche ionization over a wide range of pulse durations, wavelengths, and band gaps. The ionization rate per unit time is deduced from the thickness dependence of the dc breakdown. The negative real part of the index of refraction of the carriers stabilizes the size of self-focused filaments.