Backward scattering of laser plasma interactions from hundreds-of-joules broadband laser on thick target

The use of broadband laser technology is a novel approach for inhibiting processes related to laser plasma interactions(LPIs).In this study,several preliminary experiments into broadband-laser-driven LPIs are carried out using a newly established hundreds-of-joules broadband second-harmonic-generation laser facility.Through direct comparison with LPI results for a traditional narrowband laser,the actual LPI-suppression effect of the broadband laser is shown.The broadband laser had a clear suppressive effect on both back-stimulated Raman scattering and back-stimulated Brillouin scattering at laser intensities below 1×10^(15) W cm^(−2).An abnormal hot-electron phenomenon is also investigated,using targets of different thicknesses.

Spectral characteristics of laser-plasma instabilities with a broadband laser

Recent experimental progresses regarding broadband laser-plasma instabilities(LPIs)show that a 0.6%laser bandwidth can reduce backscatters of the stimulated Brillouin scattering(SBS)and the stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)at normal incidence[Phys.Rev.Lett.132035102(2024)].In this paper,we present a further discussion of the spectral distributions of the scatters developed by broadband LPIs,in addition to a brief validation of the effectiveness of bandwidth on LPIs mitigation at oblique incidence.SBS backscatter has a small redshift in the broadband case contrary to the blueshift with narrowband laser,which may be explained by the self-cross beam energy transfer between the various frequency components within the bandwidth.SRS backscatter spectrum presents a peak at a longer wavelength in the broadband case compared to the short one in the narrowband case,which is possibly attributed to the mitigation effect of bandwidth on filaments at underdense plasmas.The three-halves harmonic emission(3ω/2)has a one-peak spectral distribution under the broadband condition,which is different from the two-peak distribution under the narrowband condition,and may be related to the spectral mixing of different frequency components within the bandwidth if the main sources of the two are both two-plasmon decays.

Driver at 10 MJ and 1 shot/30 min for inertial confinement fusion at high gain:Efficient,compact,low-cost,low laser-plasma instabilities,beam color selectable from 2ω/3ω/4ω,applicable to multiple laser fusion schemes

The achievement of ignition at the National Ignition Facility(NIF)has prompted a global wave of further research on inertial fusion energy(IFE).However,IFE requires a target gain G of 30-100,and it is hard to achieve fusion at such high gain with the energy,configuration,and technical approach of the NIF.Here,we present a conceptual design for a next-generation laser driver that is applicable to multiple laser fusion schemes and provides 10 MJ,2-3 PW at 3ω(or 2ω,in which case the energy and power can be higher),and one shot per 30 min,with the aim of achieving G>30.It is also efficient,compact,and low in cost,and it has low susceptibility to laser-plasma instabilities.

High-resolution x-ray monochromatic imaging for laser plasma diagnostics based on toroidal crystal

Monochromatic x-ray imaging is an essential method for plasma diagnostics related to density information.Large-field high-resolution monochromatic imaging of a He-like iron(Fe XXV)Kαcharacteristic line(6.701 keV)for laser plasma diagnostics was achieved using a developed toroidal crystal x-ray imager.A high-index crystal orientation Ge(531)wafer with a Bragg angle of 75.37°and the toroidal substrate were selected to obtain sufficient diffraction efficiency and compensate for astigmatism under oblique incidence.A precise offline assembly method of the toroidal crystal imager based on energy substitution was proposed,and a spatial resolution of 3-7μm was obtained by toroidal crystal imaging of a 600 line-pairs/inch Au grid within an object field of view larger than 1.0 mm.The toroidal crystal x-ray imager has been successfully tested via side-on backlight imaging experiments of the sinusoidal modulation target and a 1000 line-pairs/inch Au grid with a linewidth of 5μm using an online alignment method based on dual positioning balls to indicate the target and backlighter.This paper describes the optical design,adjustment method,and experimental results of a toroidal crystal system in a laboratory and laser facility.

Experimentai Research on Saturated-Gain for Soft X-Ray Laser from Neon-Like Germanium Plasma

AmpliHcation of spontaneous emissions at 19.6,23.2 and 23.6 nm have been observed by a “ultiple-Target Series Coupling”design in Ge plasma,.The combined length for four targets is up to 56mm.The gain length product(GL)of small signal is up to 18 for both lines at 23.2 and 23.6 nmt and the effective GL is 16.4 and 15.7 for these two lines respectively.This two lines are obviously tending to saturation.The divergence of x-ray laser beam is about 4 mrad.

Convective amplification of stimulated Raman rescattering in a picosecond laser plasma interaction regime

We present particle-in-cell(PIC)simulations of laser plasma instabilities(LPIs)with a laser pulse duration of a few picoseconds.The simulation parameters are appropriate to the planar-target LPI experimental conditions on SG-II.In this regime,the plasmas are characterized by a long electron density scale length and a large electron density range.It is found that when the incident laser intensity is well above its backward stimulated Raman scattering(backward SRS,BSRS)threshold,the backscattered light via the primary BSRS is intense enough to excite secondary SRS(Re-SRS)in the region below one-ninth of the critical density of the incident laser.The daughter light wave via the secondary BSRS(Re-BSRS)is amplified as it propagates toward the higher-density region in the bath of broadband light generated through the primary BSRS process.A higher intensity of the incident laser not only increases the amplitude of the BSRS light but also increases the convective amplification lengths of the Re-BSRS modes by broadening the spectrum of the BSRS light.Convective amplification of Re-BSRS causes pump depletion of the primary BSRS light and may lead to an underestimate of the primary BSRS level in SP-LPI experiments.Asignificant fraction of the generation of energetic electrons is strongly correlated with the Re-BSRS modes and should be considered as a significant energy loss.

Direct observation of shock-induced phase transformation in polycrystalline iron via in situ x-ray diffraction

Phase transition of polycrystalline iron compressed along the Hugoniot is studied by combining laser-driven shock with in situ x-ray diffraction technique.It is suggested that polycrystalline iron changes from an initial body-centered cubic structure to a hexagonal close-packed structure with increasing pressure(i.e.,a phase transition fromαtoε).The relationship between density and pressure for polycrystalline iron obtained from the present experiments is found to be in good agreement with the gas-gun Hugoniot data.Our results show that experiments with samples at lower temperatures under static loading,such as in a diamond anvil cell,lead to higher densities measured than those found under dynamic loading.This means that extrapolating results of static experiments may not predict the dynamic responses of materials accurately.In addition,neither the face-centered cubic structure seen in previous molecular-dynamics simulations or twophase coexistence are found within our experimental pressure range.

Electron kinetic effects in back-stimulated Raman scattering bursts driven by broadband laser pulses

We examine electron kinetic effects in broadband-laser-driven back-stimulated Raman scattering(BSRS)bursts using particle-in-cell simulations.These bursts occur during the nonlinear stage,causing reflectivity spikes and generating large numbers of hot electrons.Long-duration simulations are performed to observe burst events,and a simplified model is developed to eliminate the interference of the broadband laser’s random intensity fluctuations.Using the simplified model,we isolate and characterize the spectrum of electron plasma waves.The spectrum changes from a sideband structure to a turbulence-like structure during the burst.A significant asymmetry in the spectrum is observed.This asymmetry is amplified and transferred to electron phase space by high-intensity broadband laser pulses,leading to violent vortex-merging and generation of hot electrons.The proportion of hot electrons increases from 6.76%to 14.7%during a single violent burst event.We demonstrate that kinetic effects profoundly influence the BSRS evolution driven by broadband lasers.

Development of low-coherence high-power laser drivers for inertial confinement fusion

The use of low-coherence light is expected to be one of the effective ways to suppress or even eliminate the laser–plasma instabilities that arise in attempts to achieve inertial confinement fusion.In this paper,a review of low-coherence high-power laser drivers and related key techniques is first presented.Work at typical low-coherence laser facilities,including Gekko XII,PHEBUS,Pharos III,and Kanal-2 is described.The many key techniques that are used in the research and development of low-coherence laser drivers are described and analyzed,including low-coherence source generation,amplification,harmonic conversion,and beam smoothing of low-coherence light.Then,recent progress achieved by our group in research on a broadband low-coherence laser driver is presented.During the development of our low-coherence high-power laser facility,we have proposed and implemented many key techniques for working with low-coherence light,including source generation,efficient amplification and propagation,harmonic conversion,beam smoothing,and precise beam control.Based on a series of technological breakthroughs,a kilojoule low-coherence laser driver named Kunwu with a coherence time of only 300 fs has been built,and the first round of physical experiments has been completed.This high-power laser facility provides not only a demonstration and verification platform for key techniques and system integration of a low-coherence laser driver,but also a new type of experimental platform for research into,for example,high-energy-density physics and,in particular,laser–plasma interactions.

Broadband time-resolved elliptical crystal spectrometer for X-ray spectroscopic measurements in laser-produced plasmas

The X-ray spectrometer used in high-energy-density plasma experiments generally requires both broad X-ray energy coverage and high temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions for overcoming the difficulties imposed by the X-ray back- ground, debris, and mechanical shocks. By using an elliptical crystal together with a streak camera, we resolve this issue at the SG-II laser facility. The carefully designed elliptical crystal has a broad spectral coverage with high resolution, strong rejection of the diffuse and/or fluorescent background radiation, and negligible source broadening for extended sources. The spectra that are Bragg reflected （23° 〈 θ 〈 38°） from the crystal are focused onto a streak camera slit 18 mm long and about 80 μm wide, to obtain a time-resolved spectrum. With experimental measurements, we demonstrate that the quartz（1011） elliptical analyzer at the SG-II laser facility has a single-shot spectral range of （4.64-6.45） keV, a typical spectral resolution of E/△E = 560, and an enhanced focusing power in the spectral dimension. For titanium （Ti） data, the lines of interest show a distribution as a function of time and the temporal variations of the He-α and Li-like Ti satellite lines and their spatial profiles show intensity peak red shifts. The spectrometer sensitivity is illustrated with a temporal resolution of better than 25 ps, which satisfies the near-term requirements of high-energy-density physics experiments.

Optimization of 4.7-keV X-ray titanium sources driven by 100-ps laser pulses

An experiment with thin titanium foils irradiated by two pulses delayed in time is conducted on the bnenguang-Il laser facility. A prepulse induces an underdense plasma, 2-ns later a main pulse （λL ≈ 0.35 μm, EL ≈120 J, τL ≈100 ps） is injected into the underdense plasma and produces strong line emission from the titanium K shell （i.e., Hea at 4.7 keV）. Data show that the intensity of 4.7-keV X-ray emission with the prepulse is approximately twice more than without the prepulse, and can be used as a backlighting source satisfying the diagnostic requirements for dense plasma probing. High- quality plasma images are obtained with the backlighfing 4.7-keV X-rays in a Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instability experiment.

Laser-produced plasma helium-like titanium Kα x-ray source and its application to Rayleigh-Taylor instability study

Several experiments are performed on the ShenGuang-Ⅱ laser facility to investigate an x-ray source and test radiography concepts. X-ray lines emitted from laser-produced plasmas are the most practical means of generating these high intensity sources. By using a time-integrated space-resolved keV spectroscope and pinhole camera, potential helium-like titanium Kα x-ray backlighting （radiography） line source is studied as a function of laser wavelength, ratio of pre-pulse intensity to main pulse intensity, and laser intensity （from 7.25 to ～ 11.3 × 10^15 W/cm2）. One-dimensional radiography using a grid consisting of 5 #m Au wires on 16 μm period and the pinhole-assisted point projection is tested. The measurements show that the size of the helium-like titanium Ka source from a simple foil target is larger than 100 ~m, and relative x-ray line emission conversion efficiency ~x from the incident laser light energy to helium- like titanium K-shell spectrum increases significantly with pre-pulse intensity increasing, increases rapidly with laser wavelength decreasing, and increases moderately with main laser intensity increasing. It is also found that a gold gird foils can reach an imaging resolution better than 5-μm featured with high contrast. It is further demonstrated that the pinhole-assisted point projection at such a level will be a novel two-dimensional imaging diagnostic technique for inertial confinement fusion experiments.

Simultaneous high-resolution x-ray backlighting and self-emission imaging for laser-produced plasma diagnostics using a two-energy multilayer Kirkpatrick–Baez microscope

A simultaneous high-resolution x-ray backlighting and self-emission imaging method for laser-produced plasma diagnostics is developed in which two Kirkpatrick–Baez imaging channels for high-energy and low-energy diagnostics are constructed using a combination of multilayer mirrors in near-coaxial form.By using a streak or framing camera placed on the image plane,both backlit and self-emission images of a laserproduced plasma with high spatial and temporal resolution can be obtained simultaneously in a single shot.This paper describes the details of the method with regard to its optical and multilayer design,assembly,and alignment method.In addition,x-ray imaging results with a spatial resolution better than 5μm in the laboratory and experimental results with imploding capsules in the SG-III prototype laser facility are presented.

Observation of Zeeman splitting effect in a laser-driven coil

The Zeeman splitting effect is observed in a strong magnetic field generated by a laser-driven coil.The expanding plasma from the coil wire surface is concentrated at the coil center and interacts with the simultaneously generated magnetic field.The Cu I spectral lines at wavelengths of 510.5541,515.3235,and 521.8202 nm are detected and analyzed.The splittings of spectral lines are used to estimate the magnetic field strength at the coil center as∼31.4±15.7 T at a laser intensity of∼5.6310^(15) W/cm^(2),which agrees well with measurements using a B-dot probe.Some other plasma parameters of the central plasma disk are also studied.The temperature is evaluated from the Cu I spectral line intensity ratio,while the electron density is estimated from the Stark broadening effect.

Bow shocks formed by a high-speed laser-driven plasma cloud interacting with a cylinder obstacle

A bow shock is formed in the interaction of a high-speed laser-driven plasma cloud with a cylinder obstacle. Its temporal and spatial structures are observed by shadowgraphy and interferometry. The width of the shock transition region is - 50 μm, comparable to the ion–ion collision mean free path, which indicates that collision is dominated in the shock probably. The Mach-number of the ablating plasma cloud is ～ 15 at first, and decreases with time resulting in a changing shock structure. A two-dimension hydrodynamics code, USim, is used to simulate the interaction process. The simulated shocks can well reproduce the observed.

Crystal and electronic structure of a quasi-two-dimensional semiconductor Mg_(3)Si_(2)Te_(6)

We report the synthesis and characterization of a Si-based ternary semiconductor Mg_(3)Si_(2)Te_(6),which exhibits a quasitwo-dimensional structure,where the trigonal Mg_(3)Si_(2)Te_(6)layers are separated by Mg ions.Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations were performed to investigate the electronic structure.The experimentally determined direct band gap is 1.39 eV,consistent with the value of the density function theory calculations.Our results reveal that Mg_(3)Si_(2)Te_(6)is a direct gap semiconductor,which is a potential candidate for near-infrared optoelectronic devices.

Directly driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability of modulated CH targets

Directly driven ablative Rayleigh Taylor （R-T） instability of modulated CH targets was studied using the face- on X-ray radiography on the Shen-Guang II device. We obtained temporal evolution images of the R-T instability perturbation. The RT instability growth factor has been obtained by using the methods of fast Fourier transform and seeking the difference of light intensity between the peak and the valley of the targets. Through comparison with the the theoretical simulation, we found that the experimental data had a good agreement with the theoretical simulation results before 1.8 ns. and was lower than the theoretical simulation results after that.

Structural transitions of 4:1 methanol–ethanol mixture and silicone oil under high pressure

A 4:1(volume ratio)methanol–ethanol(ME)mixture and silicone oil are two of the most widely used liquid pressure-transmitting media(PTM)in high-pressure studies.Their hydrostatic limits have been extensively studied using various methods;however,the evolution of the atomic structures associated with their emerging nonhydrostaticity remains unclear.Here,we monitor their structures as functions of pressure up to∼30 GPa at room temperature using in situ high-pressure synchrotron x-ray diffraction(XRD),optical micro-Raman spectroscopy,and ruby fluorescence spectroscopy in a diamond anvil cell.No crystallization is observed for either PTM.The pressure dependence of the principal diffraction peak position and width indicates the existence of a glass transition in the 4:1MEmixture at∼12 GPa and in the silicone oil at∼3 GPa,beyond which a pressure gradient emerges and grows quickly with pressure.There may be another liquid-to-liquid transition in the 4:1 ME mixture at∼5 GPa and two more glass-to-glass transitions in the silicone oil at∼10 GPa and∼16 GPa.By contrast,Raman signals only show peak weakening and broadening for typical structural disordering,and Raman spectroscopy seems to be less sensitive than XRD in catching these structural transitions related to hydrostaticity variations in both PTM.These results uncover rich pressure-induced transitions in the two PTM and clarify their effects on hydrostaticity with direct structural evidence.The high-pressure XRD and Raman data on the two PTM obtained in this work could also be helpful in distinguishing between signals from samples and those from PTM in future high-pressure experiments.

Shock temperature and reflectivity of precompressed H2O up to 350 GPa:Approaching the interior of planets

Using a combination of static precompression and laser-driven shock compression, shock temperature and reflectivity of H2O have been measured up to 350 GPa and 2.1×10~4 K. Here, two calibration standards were applied to enhance temperature measurement reliability. Additionally, in temperature calculations, the discrepancy in reflectivity between active probe beam wavelength and self-emission wavelength has been taken into account to improve the data’s precision.Precompressed water’s temperature–pressure data are in very good agreement with our quantum molecular dynamics model,suggesting a superionic conductor of H2O in the icy planets’ deep interior. A sluggish slope gradually approaching Dulong–Petit limit at high temperature was found at a specific heat capacity. Also, high reflectivity and conductivity were observed at the same state. By analyzing the temperature–pressure diagram, reflectivity, conductivity and specific heat comprehensively at conditions simulating the interior of planets in this work, we found that as the pressure rises, a change in ionization appears; it is supposedly attributed to energetics of bond-breaking in the H2O as it transforms from a bonded molecular fluid to an ionic state. Such molecular dissociation in H2O is associated with the conducting transition because the dissociated hydrogen atoms contribute to electrical properties.

Bandwidth expansion and pulse shape optimized for 10 PW laser design via spectral shaping

We demonstrated a scheme of bandwidth expansion and pulse shape optimized to afford 10 PW laser design via spec-tral shaping,which uses the existing Nd:glass amplifier chain of the SG PW laser.Compared to the amplified pulse with a gain-narrowing effect,the required parameters of injected pulse energy,spectral bandwidth,and shape are analyzed,to-gether with their influence on the system B-integral,energy output capability,and temporal intensity contrast.A bandwidth expansion to 7 nm by using LiNbO_(3) birefringent spectral shaping resulted in an output energy of 2 kJ in a proof-of-principle experiment.The results are consistent with the theoretical prediction which suggests that the amplifier chain of SG PW laser is capable of achieving 6 kJ at the bandwidth of 7 nm and the B-integral<π.This will support a 10 PW laser with a compressed pulse energy of 4.8 kJ(efficiency=80%)at 480 fs.