| Abstract | Femtosecond light pulses focused inside transparent materials permanently modify their dielectric properties locally within the focal volume due to multiphoton ionization. Under certain conditions, the localization of dielectric modification can be severe and confined to nanometre dimensions, much less than the diffraction limit of light. To better understand the complexity of the light-solid interaction, we review multiphoton processes in isolated systems such as atoms, molecules and clusters, and discuss how collective and local field effects influence the interaction of light with transparent materials. |
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