Influence of acceleration on relativistic nonlinear Thomson scattering in tightly focused linearly polarized laser pulses

The influence of acceleration of electrons on relativistic nonlinear Thomson scattering in tightly focused linearly polarized laser pulses is investigated for the first time. In the framework of classical electrodynamics, it is deduced and found that the more severe the change in the electron transverse acceleration, the stronger the asymmetry of the radiation angle distribution, and the greater the transverse acceleration, the greater the radiation energy. Tightly focused, ultrashort,and high-intensity lasers lead to violent electron acceleration processes, resulting in a bifurcated radiation structure with asymmetry and higher energy. Additionally, a change in the initial phase of the laser brings about periodic change of the acceleration, which in turn makes the radiation change periodically with the initial phase. In other cases, the radiation is in a symmetrical double-peak structure. These phenomena will help us to modulate radiation with more energy collimation.

Investigation of gyrotron-based collective Thomson scattering for fast ion diagnostics in a compact high-field tokamak

As a promising method for fast ion diagnostics,collective Thomson scattering(CTS)can measure the one-dimensional velocity distribution of fast ions with high spatial and temporal resolution.The feasibility of diagnosing fast ions in a compact high-field tokamak by CTS was studied in this work,and the results showed that a wide range of probing frequencies could be applied.A high-frequency case and a low-frequency case were mainly considered for fast ion diagnostics in a compact high-field tokamak.The use of a high probing frequency could effectively avoid the refraction effect of the beams,while the application of a low probing frequency allows greater flexibility in the selection of scattering angle which may help to improve the spatial resolution.Based on typical plasma conditions(B_(0)=12.2 T,n_(e0)=4.3×10^(20)m^(-3),T_(e0)=22.2 keV,T_(i0)=19.8 keV)for a compact high-field tokamak,a220 GHz CTS diagnostic that utilizes a small scattering angle ofθ=30°and a 160 GHz CTS diagnostic that utilizes an orthogonal geometry were proposed.Further study showed that the high-frequency case could operate in a wider range of plasma conditions and provide more information on fast ions while the low-frequency case could achieve higher spatial resolution of the poloidal direction.

Optical design of vertical edge Thomson scattering on HL-2M tokamak

A vertical edge Thomson scattering(ETS) diagnostic system on HL-2M tokamak has been designed.The ETS system collects the scattered light from Nd:YAG laser(1064 nm,2 J,30 Hz,15 ns).The laser beam propagates vertically through the plasma region and the polarization is parallel to the toroidal magnetic field.A special designed Galileo-type telescope with long Rayleigh length is applied to focus the laser size and ensure collimation.A group of doubleGaussian collection lenses image the 600 mm vertical scattered region onto rectangular fiber arrays with a spatial resolution of 10 mm.The 2.20 mm × 2.86 mm fiber optic bundle consists of 130 low hydroxyl(OH) 200/220 μm(core/cladding) diameter fibers with numerical aperture NA=0.22,carrying the light to remotely located multi-channel polychromators.Effect of oblique incidence on narrow band filter has been analyzed.The designed electron temperatures range from 5 to 1000 eV and electron densities from 5 × 10^(18) to 1×10^(20) m^(-3).

Development of a Thomson Scattering Diagnostic System on EAST

A multipulse and multipoint Nd：YAG （neodymium-yttrium aluminum garnet） laser Thomson scattering diagnostic system was developed on EAST to obtain more accurate electron temperature Te and electron density ne profiles. In this paper, the optical system, the VME （versa module eurocard）-based real-time computer system for laser control, data acquisition, analysis and calibration are discussed in detail. Furthermore, a developed data processing method is presented.

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？×10^19m^-3 to7.1？×10^20m^-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.

Design of Thomson scattering diagnostic system on linear magnetized plasma device

In addition to the magnetic confinement fusion plasma,Thomson scattering has been applied to measure electron density and temperature of low-temperature plasmas.Based on a linear magnetized plasma device,a set of Thomson scattering diagnostic system is designed to diagnose the plasma with n_(e)=10^(18)–10^(19)m^(-3)and T_(e)=2–5eV.Due to low plasma temperature and density,this diagnostic system needs high spectral resolution and collection efficiency to meet the requirements of electron velocity distribution function measurements.Through the bench test,it is confirmed that the spectral resolution reaches 0.01 nm,and theoretical collection efficiency is high enough to obtain a Thomson scattering spectrum by 1000 accumulations.

Design of Thomson Scattering Diagnostic System on EAST

Primary physical design of the Thomson scattering system for EAST, including the configuration of the system and the design considerations of different sections of the system, is presented. The expected measurability of this design, namely an electron temperature of 513 eV to 5 keV and a plasma density beyond 0.5× 10^19 m^-3, fulfills the requirements of the EAST operation.

HT-7 Multipoint Nd Laser Thomson Scattering Apparatus

A compact, low cost, multipoint Thomson scattering diagnostic system for HT-7 superconducting tokamak has been in operation since 1999. Its capability of measuring electron temperatures is in the range of 200 eV to 2 keV at a density of a few times IO12 cm-3, with a spatial resolution of 2.4 cm for 5 spatial points and a temporal resolution of 1 ms-1 s for 8 time points. The main components of the diagnostic system include a 20-25 J Nd: glass laser with 35 ns pulse width (8 pulses per burst), a KDP frequency-doubling unit, spherical mirrors of multipass input optical system, a wide-angle collection objective, a bandpass glass filter for reducing the stray light to zero a f/2.5 polychromator, a fiberglass collimator, a photomultiplier's box with electronic preamplifier, high gain and high signal/noise ratio, CAMAC data acquisition and so on. The multipass optical system has been successful at increasing the quantity of scattered photons by passing the probing laser beam 10 times through the plasma under investigation. The HT7 Thomson scattering diagnostic has provided successfully the information on two-dimensional electron temperature in the plasma of HT-7 tokamak with LHCD and IBW.

Attosecond x-Ray Pulse Generation by Linear Thomson Scattering of Intense Laser Beam with Relativistic Electron

Abstract Linear Thomson scattering of a short pulse laser by relativistic electron has been investigated using computer simulations. It is shown that scattering of an intense laser pulse of -33 fs full width at half maximum, with an electron of γ0 = 10 initial energy, generates an ultrashort, pulsed radiation of 76 attoseconds with a photon wavelength of 2.5 nm in the backward direction. The scattered radiation generated by a highly relativistic electron has superior quality in terms of its pulse width and angular distribution in comparison to the one generated by lower relativistic energy electron.

Numerical simulation for all-optical Thomson scattering X-ray source

Energy spectra, angular distributions, and temporal profiles of the photons produced by an all-optical Thomson scat- tering X-ray source are explored through numerical simulations based on the parameters of the SILEX-I laser system （800 nm, 30 fs, 300 TW） and the previous wakefield acceleration experimental results. The simulation results show that X-ray pulses with a duration of 30 fs and an emission angle of 50 mrad can be produced from such a source. Using the optimized electron parameters, X-ray pulses with better directivity and narrower energy spectra can be obtained. Besides the electron parameters, the laser parameters such as the wavelength, pulse duration, and spot size also affect the X-ray yield, the angular distribution, and the maximum photon energy, except the X-ray pulse duration which is slightly changed for the case of ultrafast laser-electron interaction.

Analysis and Performance of the Thomson Scattering Diagnostics on HT-7 Tokamak Based on I-EMCCD

A visible light imaging Thomson scattering （VIS-TVTS） diagnostic system has been developed for the measurement of plasma electron temperature on the HT-7 tokamak. The system contains a Nd：YAG laser （A = 532 nm, repetition rate 10 Hz, total pulse duration ≈ 10 ns, pulse energy 〉 1.0 J）, a grating spectrometer, an image intensifier （I.I.） lens coupled with an electron multiplying CCD （EMCCD） and a data acquisition and analysis system. In this paper, the measurement capability of the system is analyzed. In addition to the performance of the system, the capability of measuring plasma electron temperature has been proved. The profile of electron temperature is presented with a spatial resolution of about 0.96 cm （seven points） near the center of the plasma.

Thomson scattering off a pair （electron-positron） plasma

Thomson scattering off a pair （electron-positron） plasma is theoretically investigated in the collisionless and collisional limits respectively. Our calculations show that the power spectrum of the Thomson scattering off a collisionless pair plasma is just proportional to the velocity distribution function of the particles in the plasma. Collective modes in the plasma do not have any effects on the Thomson scattering spectrum because of the correlation between the negatively- and positively-charged particles. In the collisional limit, the power spectrum of the Thomson scattering presents three spikes： two peaks correspond to two contra-propagating sound waves and one peak corresponds to an entropy wave.

Numerical Simulation of the Thomson Scattering Experiment Performed with 0.351μm Laser-Produced Aluminum Plasmas

The evolutions of the electron temperatures of Muminum plasmas produced with 0.351 μm laser are simulated by means of one-dimensional hydrodynamic code. The simulations show that the plasma geometry has strong influence on the electron temperature＇s evolution while the effect of the flux limiter is not so significant. The simulations are in good agreement with the experiments only at some spatial points. A full comparison between the simulations and experiments indicates that the one-dimensional code is not accurate enough to characterize the laser-produced plasmas. A post-processor code based on the hydro code is developed to generate the streak image of the Thomson scattering spectra, which can be directly compared with the experimental data.

Design of Amplifier Circuit for the HT-7 Tokamak Thomson Scattering System

Thomson scattering diagnostic is important for measuring electron temperature and density profiles. To improve the signal-to-noise ratio, a silicon avalanche photodiode （APD） with high quantum efficiency, high sensitivity, and high gain up to 100 was adopted to measure the Thomson scattering spectrum. A preamplifier, which has low noise, high bandwidth, and high sensitivity, was designed with suitable transimpedance. Using AD8367 as the post-amplifier, good performance of the APD readout electronics have been obtained. A discussion is presented on the performance of the amplifier using a laser diode to simulate the Thomson scattering light. The test results indicate that the designed circuit has a high amplifying factor and fast rising edge. So reduction of the integral gate of the CAMAC ADC converter can improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

Spatial Characteristics of Thomson Scattering in a Linearly Polarized Laser Field

The spatial characteristics of Thomson scattering in a linearly polarized laser field are investigated. The results show that the electron＇s motion and spatial distributions of Thomson scattering depend sensitively on the phase η0 at which the electron is injected to the laser field. When η0 equals to 0 or π, the electron motion is a zigzag motion and the spatial distributions of the emission show fourfold or twofold symmetry. In other cases of phases, there is a steady drift motion of electron in the transverse direction, which results in the absence of the zigzag motion and a breakdown of the symmetry of the spatial distributions as well.

A High-Efficiency X-Ray Crystal Spectrometer for X-Ray Thomson Scattering

Highly oriented pyrolitic graphite （HOPG） has high X-ray diffraction efficiency due to its unique mosaic crystal structure, and thus is very suitable for its application to X-ray Thomson scattering measurement of solid-density plasmas. In this article, by using the K-shell X-ray source from laser-produced Ti plasma, the properties of the HOPG spectrometer are characterized and compared with those of the flat Pentaerythritol （PET） spectrometer. The results show that the diffraction efficiency of the HOPG spectrometer under focusing condition is an order higher than that of the PET spectrometer, while the spectral resolution of the HOPG is about 320, high enough to be used in the measurement of X-ray Thomson scattering spectra.

Data Processing and Acquisition System for the HT-7 Multipulse Thomson Scattering Diagnostic

This article describes the data processing and acquisition system for the HT-7 mul-tipulse Thomson scattering diagnostic. An eight-pulse laser is used in the Thomson scattering system to obtain electron temperature profiles at eight different times throughout an entire plasma discharge. The major components of the diagnostic system consist of a multipulse Nd-glass laser, a photodetector's subsystem, a calibration set and a CAMAC data processing and acquisition system. The data processing software along with LeCroy 2250L will perform the data acquisition. In order to simplify the operation and extend the capability of its compatibility with other math softwares, the processing software has been improved by the authors. The new software based on the VC++ easily utilizes some math softwares to calculate the electron temperature. The new software is simpler and more operational than the old one.

Demonstration of X-ray Thomson Scattering on Shenguang-Ⅱ Laser Facility

X-ray Thomson scattering technique for diagnosing dense plasma was demonstrated on Shenguang-Ⅱ laser facility. Laser plasma x-ray source of titanium He-a lines （-4.75 keV）, generated by laser beam （1.5 kJ/527 nm/2 ns） heated titanium thin foil, was used as x-ray probe beam. The x-ray probe was then scattered by cold CH foam column of 1 g/cm^3 density. The scattered radiation at 90° was diffracted by polyethylene terephthalate （PET） crystal and recorded on x-ray charge-coupled device. Well-defined scattering spectra were obtained with good signal to noise ratio.

Asphericalizing the Light Collection Mirror for the 200-Point Thomson Scattering Diagnostic Installed on the Large Helical Device

Shown is a possibility to make the image of a laser beam over a distance of 2.5 m, formed by the spherical multi-segment mirror installed in LHD, twice sharper by suitably adjusting the inclination of each segment mirror, which is equivalent to making the mirror surface aspherical. This will further enhance the attractiveness of a mirror-based Thomson scattering system.

Multipulse Nd:YAG Laser Thomson Scattering Diagnostics on HT-7 Tokamak

A multipulse Nd：YAG （Neodym-yttrium aluminium garnet） laser Thomson scattering diagnostic system developed was recently applied on HT-7 tokamak to obtain more accurate electron temperatures. A CAMAC-based real-time computer system for laser control, data acquisition, analysis and calibration was investigated in detail. Furthermore, the reliability and accuracy of this diagnostic system were demonstrated by comparing the results with those of a soft-X ray diagnostic system.