Beam profile monitor for pulsed CO2-laser

Commercial beam profile monitors for pulsed CO₂ lasers (10.6 μm wavelength) are expensive and suffer from a low damage threshold. To overcome these problems, a robust detector with a high damage threshold was developed. The detector is made of a special type of graphite which is evaporated during the interaction with the laser beam. A plasma is formed which radiates visible light. Using a conventional fast shutter imaging system, this plasma light directly shows the spatial intensity distribution of the laser beam. The detector works in the power range of 10⁵-10⁷ W/cm²      

Extending plasma accelerators: guiding with capillary tubes

In order to extend plasma accelerators, the laser beam has to be guided inside gas or plasma over a distance of the order of the dephasing length, which is typically much larger than the diffraction length z_R of the laser. A capillary tube can be used as a waveguide for high-intensity laser pulses over distances well in excess of z_R. Experimental demonstration of monomode guiding over 100 z_R of 10¹⁶ W/cm² pulses has been obtained in evacuated capillary tubes (45-70-μm inner diameter). A drop of transmission has been observed when the intensity of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is high enough to ionize the capillary tube entrance. Propagation in helium gas-filled (10-40 mbar) capillary tubes has been studied at intensities up to 10¹⁶ W/cm²; a plasma column with on-axis density of the order of 10¹⁷ cm^-3 has been created on a length of the order of 4 cm. The use of a capillary tube for an extended accelerator is discussed for the ease of linear, resonant excitation of plasma waves by laser wakefield     

Investigation of a channeling high-intensity laser beam inunderdense plasmas

The interaction of an intense short pulse laser (>5×10 ¹⁸ Wcm^-2) with underdense plasma was extensively studied. The beam is found to be highly susceptible to the forward Raman scattering instability. At sufficiently high growth rates, this can lead to wavebreaking with the resultant production of a high flux of accelerated electrons (>10¹¹ for E>2 MeV). Some electrons are found to be accelerated well above the dephasing energy, up to 94 MeV. Self-scattered images intimate the presence of high-intensity channels that extend more than 3.5 mm or 12 Rayleigh lengths. These filaments do not follow the axis of laser propagation, but are seen to be emitted within an f4 cone centered around this axis. Spectra of the self-scattered light show that the main contribution of the scattering is not from light captured within these filaments. But there is evidence for self-phase modulation from effects such as ionization and relativistic self-focusing. However, no clear correlation is observed between channel length and the number or energies of accelerated electrons. Evidence for high intensities within the channels is given by small-angle Thomson scattering of the plasma wave generated therein, with this method, the intensity is found to be of the order of 10¹⁸ Wcm^-2 greater than 12 Rayleigh lengths from focus     

等离子体密度对激光拉曼放大机理的影响

等离子体中的背向拉曼散射机理可以用来产生超短超强的激光脉冲. 本文采用粒子模拟方法模拟研究了等离子体密度对激光拉曼放大过程的影响. 研究发现, 过低的等离子体密度会导致等离子体波提前波破而降低能量转换效率; 而过高的等离子体密度又会导致其他不稳定性的快速增长, 限制作用距离和输出能量. 因此, 拉曼放大机理的最佳等离子体密度应处于等离子体波破的密度阈值附近, 可以获得最高的能量转换效率和能量输出. 另外, 空间频谱分析显示放大激光的强度饱和主要来自于自相位调制不稳定性的发展. 利用10¹³ W·cm^-2的抽运激光脉冲, 模拟证实拉曼放大机理可有效地将种子激光的强度从10¹³ W·cm^-2 放大到10¹⁷ W·cm^-2, 脉宽压缩到40 fs, 且能量转换效率达到58%.     

Positronium Decay in a Circular Polarized Laser Field

We calculate the lifetime of both the o-Ps and the p-Ps positronium annihilation decay Ps→γγ in the strong circular polarized laser field. We take a strategy of the factorization to separate the effects caused by the Coulomb interaction and the strong laser field interaction. It is factorized in the time direction but not in the space direction. Our results show that in the laser with long wavelength and high intensity, the lifetimes of those Ps states are dramatically increased. For CO₂ laser with 10 μm wavelength and 10¹³ W/cm² intensity, lifetime of the spin-single positronium is increased by 10⁸ times. Our result is consistent with those obtained by solving the Schödinger equation. This effect may be useful for the high harmonic generation (HHG) effects provided with the Ps [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70 (1993) 774; Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 013601].     

超短超强激光脉冲辐照超薄碳膜电离状态研究

为了进一步理解极端条件下物质的电离特性, 特别是超短超强激光脉冲辐照超薄靶时等离子体的形成与分布, 本文以超薄碳膜为例, 细致研究了超短超强激光脉冲辐照下原子的离化过程. 分析和比较了强激光场直接作用电离和靶内静电场电离等两种场致电离形式, 在碰撞电离可以忽略的情况下, 发现更多的电离份额是来自靶内静电场的电离方式. 研究了激光脉冲强度对电离的影响, 发现激光脉冲强度越强, 电离速度越快, 产生的高价态离子所占比例也越高.当激光强度为1×10²⁰ W/cm²时, 尽管该强度高于电离生成C⁺⁶所需要的激光强度阈值, 但该激光脉冲并不能将整个靶电离成C⁺⁶离子, 对此本文进行了详细的分析. 在研究激光脉冲宽度的影响时, 发现激光脉宽越小, 电离速度越快, 但越小的激光脉冲电离获得的高价态离子越少.     

Ultrabright γ-ray emission from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-critical-density plasma

An efficient scheme for generating ultrabright γ-rays from the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a near-critical-density plasma is studied by using the two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation including quantum electrodynamic effects. We investigate the effects of target shape on γ-ray generation efficiency using three configurations of the solid foils attached behind the near-critical-density plasma: a flat foil without a channel (target 1), a flat foil with a channel (target 2), and a convex foil with a channel (target 3). When an intense laser propagates in a near-critical-density plasma, a large number of electrons are trapped and accelerated to GeV energy, and emit γ-rays via nonlinear betatron oscillation in the first stage. In the second stage, the accelerated electrons collide with the laser pulse reflected from the foil and emit high-energy, high-density γ-rays via nonlinear Compton scattering. The simulation results show that compared with the other two targets, target 3 affords better focusing of the laser field and electrons, which decreases the divergence angle of γ-photons. Consequently, denser and brighter γ-rays are emitted when target 3 is used. Specifically, a dense γ-ray pulse with a peak brightness of 4.6×10²⁶ photons/s/mm²/mrad²/0.1%BW (at 100 MeV) and 1.8×10²³ photons/s/mm²/mrad²/0.1%BW (at 2 GeV) are obtained at a laser intensity of 8.5×10²² W/cm² when the plasma density is equal to the critical plasma density n_c. In addition, for target 3, the effects of plasma channel length, foil curvature radius, laser polarization, and laser intensity on the γ-ray emission are discussed, and optimal values based on a series of simulations are proposed.     

Absolute spectral distribution of soft X-ray emission from laserproduced gold plasma

Quantitative measurement of spectral distribution of soft X-ray emission from laser produced plasmas and estimation of X-ray conversion efficiency are reported. The X-ray emission from planar gold target irradiated by an Nd:glass laser was recorded using a high resolution transmission grating spectrograph. Spectral distribution of X-ray intensity was derived using calibrated film data and a deconvolution procedure to account for contribution of higher diffraction orders. Results of conversion efficiency per unit solid angle, at a laser intensity of ~4×10¹² W/cm² (λ_L = 1.054 μm), for 10< λ <80 Å and in the water window spectral region (23< λ< 44 Å) are presented. A three-fold increase in conversion efficiency was observed for second harmonic laser irradiation (λ_L = 0.527 μm) at an intensity of 8×10¹² W/cm²     

kHz激光与固体靶相互作用产生的X射线源

利用kHz激光与固体靶相互作用产生了平均流强为1.3×10⁷ photons·sr^-1·s^-1的X射线源, 研究了激光的对比度和能量对激光与固体靶相互作用产生的X射线能谱及K_α 产额的影响, 使用刀边成像技术测量了X射线源的源尺寸, 并进行了初步的成像实验. 实验中观察到对于非相对论级别的激光脉冲, 降低激光的对比度有利于提高K_α 产额, 而使用高对比度高强度激光, 更有利于获得高通量高信噪比X射线源. 关键词： kHz激光 固体靶 X射线     

激光诱导AlO自由基B2∑+–X2∑+跃迁光谱研究

基于激光诱导击穿光谱技术, 利用Nd:YAG脉冲激光激发Al₂O₃ (含量为99%)陶瓷片产生等离子体, 获得了AlO自由基B²∑⁺–X²∑⁺跃迁的33条发射谱线. 就AlO自由基光谱的时间演化规律和激光能量对谱线的影响规律进行了研究与分析. 结果表明, AlO自由基光谱出现在Al原子和Al离子光谱之后, 且持续时间较长. 当激光的脉冲能量由10 mJ起不断增加时, AlO自由基光谱强度逐渐减小, 且最大值出现时间随激光能量的增加而后移. 在此基础上, 进行了陶瓷等离子体在空气和氩气环境下的对比试验, 发现从Al₂O₃陶瓷片中激发所产生的AlO自由基必须有空气中O₂参与反应. 关键词： 激光诱导击穿光谱 AlO自由基 B²∑⁺–X²∑⁺跃迁光谱')" href="#">B²∑⁺–X²∑⁺跃迁光谱     

Supra—thermal Electron Generation at Moderate Laser Intensity

The effects of re-scattering on the supra-thermal electron (STE) produced in moderate laser fields are analytically considered (laser intensity I is up to 5.0×10¹⁶ W•cm^-2) with a simple model. The electron kinetic energy distribution given by the model is consistent to that given by the particle-in-cell simulation. Based on this fact, it is shown that the scattering of electron in intense laser by the ion in plasma plays an important role in the generation of STE in a moderate laser field.     

120TW/30fs激光产生的Al等离子体X射线发射谱分析

在SILEX激光装置上利用超强超短激光(120TW/30fs)与Al靶相互作用产生热稠密等离子体.采用类氢共振线与类氦共振线线强比诊断得到电子温度在480～670eV之间,采用类锂jkl伴线与类氦共振线强度比得到电子温度在430～610eV之间,两种诊断方法得到的结果基本一致.用类氦互组合线与类氦共振线强度比方法获得电...     

Laser-particulate interactions in a dusty RF plasma

The interaction of particulates formed in an argon RF discharge containing 1-5% CCl₂F₂ admixture with a pulsed infrared laser (Nd:YAG, intensity ~10⁹ W m^-2, pulse duration ~10^-4 s) has been studied in situ. The white light emitted during this process has been monitored as a function of time and wavelength using a fast photo diode and an optical multichannel analyser. The spectra have been fitted with blackbody curves with a standard deviation of 5%. A spectral temperature of about 3500 K has been obtained for various plasma conditions and attributed to the decomposition temperature of the particulate material. A model based on laser heating, internal heat conduction and chemical decomposition is compared with the experimental results. This model predicts the time constants for heating and decomposition of the particulates and explains the dependence of the measured emission intensity on the laser intensity     

A cold thermionically emitting dusty air plasma formed by radiativeheating of graphite particulates

Formation of an atmospheric pressure dusty air plasma is explored experimentally in this paper. The plasma is created by seeding an air flow with graphite particles and irradiating the particulates with a focused CO₂ laser beam. The graphite particles are, thus, heated to thermionically emitting temperatures, and average particle temperatures and average particle number densities are measured. The presence of charges is inferred both from these measured quantities using a simple theoretical transient model, and experimentally by applying a dc bias across the irradiated region. It is found that an electron density of ~6.7 × 10⁵ cm^-3 (6.7 × 10¹¹ m^-3) can be produced at steady state in the presence of O₂. This value can be increased to 3.6 × 10⁷ cm^-3 (3.6 × 10¹³ m ^-1) in the ideal case where an electron attachment to O₂ is suppressed and where a lower work function particulate is used     

Odd harmonic generation of ultra-intense laser pulses reflectedfrom an overdense plasma

A method of generating odd harmonics from an intense laser incident upon a sharp vacuum-overdense plasma interface is presented. One- and two-dimensional simulations are used to investigate the interaction of ultra-intense laser pulses with a sharp vacuum-plasma interface. With an intensity greater than 10¹⁸ W/cm² , these pulses have a pressure greater than 10³ Mbar creating large density oscillations and relativistic electron velocities at the surface. This results in efficient odd harmonic generation. The author present is a physical model for this harmonic generation mechanism, along with some scaling of the power in the third harmonic. This is compared with relativistic particle-in-cell simulations that include mobile and immobile ions, as well as a variety of upper shelf densities. A discussion on how ion profile modifications influence the harmonics is also presented     

Modeling single-frequency laser-plasma acceleration usingparticle-in-cell simulations: the physics of beam breakup

We investigate electron acceleration from space-charge waves driven by single-frequency lasers using a fully explicit particle-in-cell (PIC) model. The two dimensional (2-D) simulations model ~100 fs pulses at densities near n=4×10¹⁹ cm^-3 for 1-μm lasers. The pulses are found to break up due to a combination of longitudinal and transverse bunching of the laser intensity via Raman forward scattering type instabilities. The ponderomotive force of these intensity modulations generates large amplitude plasma waves. Large numbers of self-trapped electrons and multiple Raman forward scattering satellites are observed. The relevance of these simulations to experiments is discussed     

A two-component model for the electron distribution function in ahigh-current pseudospark or back-lighted thyratron

Temperature, energy, and densities of two electron distribution function components, including an isotropic bulk part and an anisotropic beam, are analyzed for a hydrogen pseudospark and/or back-lighted thyratron switch plasma with a peak electron density of 1-3×10¹⁵ cm^-3 and peak current density of ≈10⁴ A/cm². Estimates of a very small cathode-fall width during the conduction phase and high electric field strengths lead to the injection of an electron beam with energies ⩾100 eV and density of 10¹³-10¹⁴ cm^-3 into a Maxwellian bulk plasma. Collisional and radiative processes of monoenergetic beam electrons, bulk plasma electrons and ions, and atomic hydrogen are modeled by a set of rate equations, and line intensity ratios are compared with measurements. Under these high-current conditions, for an initial density n_H2=10¹⁶ cm^-3 and electron temperature of 0.8-1 eV, the estimated beam density is ≈10¹³ -10¹⁴ cm^-3. These results suggest the possibility of producing in a simple way a very high-density electron beam     

ZBLAN玻璃中Pr3+掺杂离子3P0和1D2能级的发光特性和寿命

对ZBLAN氟锆酸盐玻璃中Pr³⁺掺杂离子³P₀和¹D₂能级的寿命和发光特性进行了较详细的光谱学研究。首先测量了两种掺杂浓度(质量分数分别为1×10^-3,5×10^-3)的Pr³⁺:ZBLAN玻璃的吸收光谱,然后运用时间分辨激光光谱技术测量了³P₀和¹D₂能级在激光单光子共振激发下的荧光发射谱和能级寿命。将不同荧光发射谱带的强度和文献报道的Judd Ofelt理论计算辐射跃迁几率数值做了比较分析,证明了文献中理论计算结果的可靠性。由于浓度猝灭效应,在相同的激发条件下,掺杂浓度为1×10^-3样品的荧光发射强度明显大于5×10^-3样品的荧光发射强度。但是从我们的测量结果看,掺杂浓度对³P₀和¹D₂ 的能级寿命值无显著影响。掺杂浓度为1×10^-3时,Pr³⁺离子³P₀和¹D₂能级的寿命值分别为46,322μ_s。     

Electron density and temperature contour plots from alaser-produced plasma using collective ultraviolet Thomson scattering

Temporally integrated ultraviolet collective Thomson scattering measurements were performed with frequency-quadrupled Nd:YAG laser radiation on an underdense long-scalelength aluminum plasma (n_c ~10²¹ cm^-3, Z≈7, T_e≈T_i ⩾50 eV, L⩾100 μm). The plasma was preformed by an Nd:YAG fundamental beam (1.06 μm) with focusable intensities of 10 ¹¹ W/cm². Color images of two-dimensional (2-D) spatially resolved (30 μm) electron density and electron temperature were obtained. These are the shortest wavelength Thomson scattering measurements on a plasma to date     

Spectral distribution of X-Ray yield of the M-shell emission fromlaser produced gold plasma

Experimental measurements of the spectral distribution of keV X-ray energy conversion of the M-shell emission from gold plasma produced by a 4 GW, 5 nS Nd:glass laser are presented. At a laser intensity of 2×10¹³ W/cm², the overall X-ray yield for 2.0 ⩽hv⩽3.6 keV is determined to be 0.1% of the laser energy. The effect of the keV X-ray spectral distribution on radiation preheat is discussed