Beam smoothing effects on stimulated Raman and Brillouin backscattering in laser-produced plasmas

We describe plasma physics experiments using the Nova laser that investigate the temporal and spectral characteristics of directly backscattered laser light. The stimulated Raman and Brillouin instabilities are studied for a variety of plasma conditions, drive laser intensities, and beam smoothing conditions. The experimental facility, beam smoothing techniques, and some experimental results are described.     

Simulations of Stimulated Raman Scattering in Low-Density Plasmas

Stimulated Raman particle-in-cell （PIC） simulations scattering （SRS） in a low-density The backward stimulated Raman plasma slab is investigated by scattering （B-SRS） dominates initially and erodes the head of the pump wave, while the forward stimulated Raman scattering （F-SRS） subsequently develops and is located at the rear part of the slab. Two-stage electron acceleration may be more efficient due to the coexistence of these two instabilities. The B-SRS plasma wave with low phase velocities can accelerate the background electrons which may be further boosted to higher energies by the F-SRS plasma wave with high phase velocities. The simulations show that the peaks of the main components in both the frequency and wave number spectra occur at the positions estimated from the phase-matching conditions.     

离子辐照GaAs的光致发光和拉曼散射研究

利用250 keV质子和4.5 MeV氪离子(Kr17+)辐照未掺杂GaAs,注量分别为1×10~(12)-3×10~(14) cm~(-2)和3×10~(11)-3×10~(14) cm~(-2),使用光致发光谱和拉曼散射谱分析表征。发光谱的结果表明,随着剂量增大,质子辐照后的CAs峰及其声子伴线逐渐减弱,913 nm处的复合缺陷峰则先增大后减小,此峰与材料制备时的Cu掺杂无关。Kr离子辐照后本征发光峰则完全消失。拉曼散射谱的结果表明,相比于质子辐照,Kr离子辐照后LO声子峰峰位向低频方向移动,出现非对称性展宽,晶体结构发生明显改变。质子和Kr离子辐照效应的差异是由于移位损伤相差至少三个量级造成的。最后采用多级损伤累积(Multi-step damage accumulation,MSDA)模型得到了材料内缺陷的演化过程,并很好地解释了随损伤剂量增大GaAs光学性能及晶体结构的变化趋势。     

Comparison of double layer in argon helicon plasma and magnetized DC discharge plasma

We present in this paper the comparison of an electric double layer (DL) in argon helicon plasma and magnetized direct current (DC) discharge plasma. DL in high-density argon helicon plasma of 13.56 MHz RF discharge was investigated experimentally by a floating electrostatic probe and local optical emission spectroscopy (LOES). The DL characteristics at different operating parameters, including RF power (300–1500 W), tube diameter (8–60 mm), and external magnetic field (0–300 G), were measured. For comparison, DL in magnetized plasma channel of a DC discharge under different conditions was also measured experimentally. The results show that in both cases, DL appears in a divergent magnetic field where the magnetic field gradient is the largest and when the plasma density is sufficiently high. DL strength (or potential drop of DL) increases with the magnetic field in two different structures. It is suggested that the electric DL should be a common phenomenon in dense plasma under a gradient external magnetic field. DL in magnetized plasmas can be controlled properly by magnetic field structure and discharge mode (hence the plasma density).     

Modification of exposure conditions by the magnetic field configuration in helicon antenna-excited helium plasma

Modification of exposure conditions downstream in the diffusion chamber has been performed in helicon antenna-excited helium plasma by adjusting the magnetic field(intensity and geometry).In the inductively coupled mode(H mode), a reduction in ion and heat fluxes is found with increasing magnetic field intensity, which is further explained by the more highly magnetized ions off-axis around the last magnetic field lines(LMFL). However, in helicon wave mode(W mode), the increase in magnetic field intensity can dramatically increase the ion and heat fluxes.Moreover, the effect of LMFL geometry on exposure conditions is investigated. In H mode with contracting LMFL, off-axis peaks of both plasma density and electron temperature profiles shift radially inwards, bringing about a beam with better radial uniformity and higher ion and heat fluxes. In W mode, although higher ion and heat fluxes can be achieved with suppressed plasma cross-field diffusion under converging LMFL, the poor radial uniformity and a small beam diameter will limit the size of samples suitable for plasma irradiation experiments.     

Measurement of electron density and electron temperature of a cascaded arc plasma using laser Thomson scattering compared to an optical emission spectroscopic approach

As advanced linear plasma sources, cascaded arc plasma devices have been used to generate steady plasma with high electron density, high particle flux and low electron temperature. To measure electron density and electron temperature of the plasma device accurately, a laser Thomson scattering(LTS) system, which is generally recognized as the most precise plasma diagnostic method, has been established in our lab in Dalian University of Technology. The electron density has been measured successfully in the region of 4.5?×?10(19)m~(-3) to7.1?×?10~(20)m~(-3) and electron temperature in the region of 0.18 eV to 0.58 eV. For comparison,an optical emission spectroscopy(OES) system was established as well. The results showed that the electron excitation temperature(configuration temperature) measured by OES is significantly higher than the electron temperature(kinetic electron temperature) measured by LTS by up to 40% in the given discharge conditions. The results indicate that the cascaded arc plasma is recombining plasma and it is not in local thermodynamic equilibrium(LTE). This leads to significant error using OES when characterizing the electron temperature in a non-LTE plasma.     

Measurement of time-varying electron density of the plasma generated from a small-size cylindrical RDX explosion by Rayleigh microwave scattering

It is challenging to measure the electron density of the unsteady plasma formed by charged particles generated from explosions in the air, because it is transient and on a microsecond time scale. In this study, the time-varying electron density of the plasma generated from a small cylindrical cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine(RDX) explosion in air was measured, based on the principle of microwave Rayleigh scattering. It was found that the evolution of the electron density is related to the diffusion of the detonation products. The application of the Rayleigh microwave scattering principle is an attempt to estimate the electron density in explosively generated plasma. Using the equivalent radius and length of the detonation products in the bright areas of images taken by a high-speed framing camera, the electron density was determined to be of the order of 10~(20) m~(-3). The delay time between the initiation time and the start of variation in the electron-density curve was 2.77–6.93 μs. In the time-varying Rayleigh microwave scattering signal curve of the explosively generated plasma, the electron density had two fluctuation processes. The durations of the first stage and the second stage were 11.32 μs and 19.20 μs,respectively. Both fluctuation processes increased rapidly to a peak value and then rapidly attenuated with time. This revealed the movement characteristics of the charged particles during the explosion.     

Time-resolved evaluation of uranium plasma in different atmospheres by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

This work reports spectroscopic studies of uranium containing plasma generated in air and argon environments. The 532 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser generates the optical breakdown plasma, which was recorded by a spectrometer and an intensified charge coupled device having a resolution of 25 pm. Neutral and ionized uranium lines in the wavelength range of 385.8–391.9 nm indicate significant width and shift variations during the first few microseconds. Electron temperature and density of the plasma are determined using the Boltzmann plot and the Saha–Boltzmann equation at various time delay. The study reveals the power law decay pattern of electron temperature and density, which changes to exponential decay pattern if large gate- width is used to acquire the signal, due to an averaging effect.     

HRXRD and Raman study of irradiation effects in InGaN/GaN layers induced by 2.3 MeV Ne and 5.3 MeV Kr ions

In_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN bilayers irradiated with 2.3 MeV Ne and 5.3 MeV Kr ions at room temperature were studied by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and micro-Raman scattering. The Ne ion fluences were in the range from 1 × 10¹² to 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻², and the Kr ion fluences were in the range from 1 × 10¹¹ to 1 × 10¹³ cm⁻². Results show that the structures of both In_0.15Ga_0.85N and GaN layers remained almost unchanged for increasing fluences up to 1 × 10¹³ and 1 × 10¹² cm⁻² for Ne and Kr ion irradiations, respectively. After irradiation to higher fluences, the GaN layer was divided into several damaged layers with different extents of lattice expansion, while the In_0.15Ga_0.85N layer exhibited homogenous lattice expansion. The layered structure of GaN and the different responses to irradiation of the GaN and In_0.15Ga_0.85N layers are discussed.     

Preliminary Study of Isotopic Methanes Analysis by Laser Raman Spectroscopy for In-Situ Measurement at Fusion Fuel Gas Processing

Application of laser Raman spectroscopy for fusion fuel gas processing was studied by measuring isotopic methanes exchanged with hydrogen isotopes, which are considered to be a major impurities in the processing. For experimental gases, isotopically equilibrated deuterium and methane were prepared in the presence of solid catalyst. Large Raman scattering peaks of v ₁, bands were observed at 2,917 cm^?1 for CH₄ and at 2,100-2,200 cm_?1 for deuterated derivatives of methane C(H,D)₄. Under a spectral resolution of 5 cm_?1, the v ¹ bands of CH₃D and CH₂D₂ were observed as an overlapped peak, the relative absolute Raman intensity ratio of each isotopic methane was obtained as CH₄: CH₃D+CH₂D₂: CHD₃: CD₄=230: 74: 144: 100. On the other hand, the Raman intensity ratio obtained from pure deuterated standard methane was CH₄: CH₃D: CH₂D₂: CHD₃: CD₄=230: 53: 33: 115: 105. It was confirmed that isotopically equilibrated hydrogen isotopes and methane mixed gas would be applicable for an alternative standard gas for fusion fuel processing gas analyzing system.     

Diagnosis of Electron, Vibrational and Rotational Temperatures in an Ar/N2 Shock Plasma Jet Produced by a Low Pressure DC Cascade Arc Discharge

In this paper,a low pressure Ar/N2 shock plasma jet with clearly multicycle alternating zones produced by a DC cascade arc discharge has been investigated by an emission spectral method combined with Abel inversion analysis.Plasma emission intensity,electron,vibrational and rotational temperatures of the shock plasma have been measured in the expansion and compression zones.The results indicate that the ranges of the measured electron temperature,vibrational temperature and rotational temperature are 1.1 eV to 1.6 eV,0.2 eV to 0.7 eV and 0.19 eV to 0.22 eV,respectively,and it is found for the first time that the vibrational and rotational temperatures increase while the electron temperature decreases in the compression zones.The electron temperature departs from the vibrational and the rotational temperatures due to non-equilibrium plasma efects.Electrons and heavy particles could not completely exchange energy via collisions in the shock plasma jet under the low pressure of 620 Pa or so.     

Analysis of Neutron and Secondary Gamma-Ray Transport in Air-Over-Ground Geometry by PALLAS-2DCY-FC Code

Comparisons are made between PALLAS calculated with meaured neutron and γ-ray doses above the ground in an air-ground medium for HENRE accelerator and BREN reactor, yielding good agreements except for a 8.23-m height of HENRE source, in which the calculation overestimates the neutron dose by a factor of 1.5 due to the use of a rough angular quadrature set. Disregard of the ground results in a decrease by a factor of 2 in both neutron and γ-ray doses compared with those for the presence of the ground, while for an infinite-air medium both these doses increase with distances from the source, which indicates that the ground should not be. ignored in the neutron and secondary p-ray transport calculation. For assumed neutron skyshine calculations disregard of the ground results in a decrease in the neutron dose by a factor of 1.5 and 1.7 and also in the secondary γ-ray dose by a factor of 1.35 and 3~5 respectively for a 14-MeV source and a fission source. In addition to the importance of inclusion of the ground in neutron skyshine calculations, an additional essential factor is the secondary γ-ray production due to neutron inelastic scattering interaction with nitrogen for the 14-MeV source, or the one due to neutron capture interactions in both ground and air for the fission source.