Generation of tail-free short pulses using high-pressure CO_(2) laser

The spectral linewidth of a transversely excited pulsed CO_(2) laser is broadened at high working pressures.This phenomenon causes a decrease in the upper-level lifetime such that the pulse width is significantly compressed.Although the tail part of CO_(2) laser pulses owns a non-negligible proportion of total energy,it has minor effects during the interaction process between photons and materials due to its low amplitude.Thus,it is of great significance to yield the tail part and generate a narrow pulse in most applications.In this study,a continuously tunable pulsed CO_(2) laser with a low nitrogen proportion in the mixture is developed to generate tail-free short pulses;a minimum pulse width of 30.60 ns with a maximum pulse energy of 481 mJ is synchronously achieved at a pressure of 7 atm,and the estimated peak power is above 15 MW.A numerical simulation is also conducted for comparison with the experimental results.The contribution of the spectral gain toward the compression of the pulse width is discussed in the last section of this paper.

Inhomogeneous Dielectric Target Properties for Increased Non-thermal Pressure in Laser Boron Fusion by CPA-Pulses

Based on the documentation of the invited paper and the subsequent discussion at a virtual conference,discoveries are indicated,which are summarized in the following paper for further evaluation on the topic of non-thermal forces using terms of extremely powerful components of Maxwell’s stress tensor at the interaction of CPA(chirped pulse amplification)laser pulses in the fusion plasmas of hydrogen with the isotope 11 of boron.This is caused by a recoil mechanism given by the Fresnel formulas of the suppression of the reflectivity of inhomogeneous plasma given by optical constants of the plasma properties.

Grain refining in weld metal using short-pulsed laser ablation during CW laser welding of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

The 2024 aluminum alloy is used extensively in the aircraft and aerospace industries because of its excellent mechanical properties.However,the weldability of 2024 aluminum alloy is generally low because it contains a high number of solutes,such as copper(Cu),magnesium(Mg),and manganese(Mn),causing solidification cracking.If high speed welding of 2024 aluminum alloy without the use of filler is achieved,the applicability of 2024 aluminum alloys will expand.Grain refining is one of the methods used to prevent solidification cracking in weld metal,although it has never been achieved for high-speed laser welding of 2024 aluminum alloy without filler.Here,we propose a short-pulsed,laser-induced,grain-refining method during continuous wave laser welding without filler.Bead-on-plate welding was performed on a 2024-T3 aluminum alloy at a welding speed of 1 m min−1 with a single mode fiber laser at a wavelength of 1070 nm and power of 1 kW.Areas in and around the molten pool were irradiated with nanosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 1064 nm,pulse width of 10 ns,and pulse energy of 430 mJ.The grain-refinement effect was confirmed when laser pulses were irradiated on the molten pool.The grain-refinement region was formed in a semicircular shape along the solid–liquid interface.Results of the vertical section indicate that the grain-refinement region reached a depth of 1 mm along the solid–liquid interface.The Vickers hardness test results demonstrated that the hardness increased as a result of grain refinement and that the progress of solidification cracking was suppressed in the grain refinement region.

Skin Effect of Reversely Switched Dynistor in Short Pulse Discharge Application

The skin effect in the reversely switched dynistor （RSD） devices is investigated in this paper. Based on the plasma bipolar drift model of the RSD, the current density distributions on the chip are simulated with considering the skin effect. The results indicate that the current density on the border can be several hundred to a thousand A/cm2 higher than that in the center of the chip. The skin effect becomes more prominent as the voltage increases and the inductance decreases in the main circuit. The phenomenon that most of a certain group of chips break over on the border has proved the existence of the skin effect.

Comparative study of travelling-wave and numerical solutions for the coupled short pulse (CSP) equation

The Lie symmetry analysis is performed for the coupled short plus （CSP） equation. We derive the infinitesimals that admit the classical symmetry group. Five types arise depending on the nature of the Lie symmetry generator. In all types, we find reductions in terms of system of ordinary differential equations, and exact solutions of the CSP equation are derived, which are compared with numerical solutions using the classical fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme.

Reciprocal transformations of the space-time shifted nonlocal short pulse equations

Reciprocal transformations of the space-time shifted nonlocal short pulse equations are elaborated.Covariance of dependent and independent variables involved in the reciprocal transformations is investigated.Exact solutions of the space-time shifted nonlocal short pulse equations are given in terms of double Wronskians.Realness of independent variables involved in the reciprocal transformations is verified.Dynamics of some obtained solutions are illustrated.

High-order harmonics generation by few-cycle and multi-cycle femtosecond laser pulses

This paper investigates experimentally high-order harmonic generation （HHG） of neon gas with 5-fs and 25-fs driving laser pulses. It has been demonstrated that the cutoff energy of the harmonic extreme ultraviolet photons is extended to 131 eV and the HHC spectrum near the cutoff region becomes continuum as the driving laser pulse duration is 5 fs; whereas much lower cutoff photon energy and discrete harmonic spectrum near the cutoff region are presented as the laser pulse duration is 25 fs. The results can be explained by the fact that neutral atoms can be exposed to more intense laser field before they are depleted by ionization because of the extremely short rising time of the few-cycle pulse. The 5-fs driving laser pulse paves the way of generation of coherent x-ray in the water window and single attosecond pulse.

Optimization of InAs/GaAs quantum-dot structures and application to 1.3-μm mode-locked laser diodes

The self-assembled growth of InAs/GaAs quantum dots by molecular beam epitaxy is conducted by optimizing several growth parameters, using a one-step interruption method after island formation. The dependence of photoluminescence on areal quantum-dot density is systematically investigated as a function of InAs deposition, growth temperature and arsenic pressure. The results of this investigation along with time-resolved photoluminescence measurements show that the com- bination of a growth temperature of 490℃, with a deposition rate of 0.02 ML/s, under an arsenic pressure of 1×10^-6 Torr （1 Torr = 1.33322×10^2 Pa）, provides the best compromise between high density and the photoluminescence of quantum dot structure, with a radiative lifetime of 780 ps. The applicability of this 5-layer quantum dot structure to high-repetition-rate pulsed lasers is demonstrated with the fabrication and characterization of a monolithic InAs/GaAs quantum-dot passively mode-locked laser operating at nearly 1300 nm. Picosecond pulse generation is achieved from a two-section laser, with a 19.7-GHz repetition rate.

Method of Testing the Flyer Sensitivity of Explosives

By means of Mylar flyer shock explosives driven by electric gun, the method of testing the flyer initiation sensitivity of explosives is studied, and some experiments are done. The experimental results show that the test method established is correct, which is very important and instructive to study and evaluate the safety and reliability of explosives. For the moment, the test should be researched and discussed further..

Self-modulation and anomalous collective scattering of laser produced intense ion beam in plasmas

The collective interaction between intense ion beams and plasmas is studied by simulations and experiments,where an intense proton beam produced by a short pulse laser is injected into a pre-ionized gas.It is found that,depending on its current density,collective effects can significantly alter the propagated ion beam and the stopping power.The quantitative agreement that is found between theories and experiments constitutes the first validation of the collective interaction theory.The effects in the interaction between intense ion beams and background gas plasmas are of importance for the design of laser fusion reactors as well as for beam physics.

Fast repetition rate fs pulsed lasers for advanced PLIM microscopy

Simultaneous metabolic and oxygen imaging is promising to follow up therapy response,dis-ease development and to determine prognostic factors.FLIM of metabolic coenzymes is now widely accepted to be the most reliable method to determine cellular bioenergetics.Also,oxygen consumption has to be taken into account to understand treatment responses.The phosphorescence lifetimne of oxygen sensors is able to indicate local oxygen changes.For phosphorescence lifetime imaging(PLIM)dyes based on ruthenium(I)coordination com-plexes are useful,in detaill TLD1433 which possesses a variety of different triplet states,enables complex photochemistry and redox reactions.PLIM is usally reached by two photon exci-tation of the drug with a femtosecond(fs)pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser working at 80 MHz repe-tition rate and(time-correlated single photon counting)(TCSPC)detection electronics.The interesting question was whether it is possible to follow up PLIM 1using faster repetition rates.Faster repetition rates could be advantageous for the induction of specific photochemical reactions because of similar light doses used normally in standard CW light treatments.For this,a default 2p-FLIM-PLIM system was expanded by adding a second fs pulsed laser("helixx")which provides 50 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 250 MHz,more than 2.3 w average power and tunable from 720 nm to 920 nm.The laser beam was coupled into the AOM instead of the default 80 MHz laser.We demonstrated siuccessful applications of the 250 MHz laser for PLIM which correlates well with measurements done by excitation with the conventional 80MHx laser source.

Pulsed LD side-pumped MgO：LN electro-optic cavity-dumped 1123 nm Nd： YAG laser with short pulse width and high peak power

We report a cavity-dumped 1123 nm laser with narrow pulse width and high peak power by an Mg O: LN crystal electrooptic(EO) modulator. Based on the structural optimization design of a folded biconcave cavity using the 808 nm pulsed laser diode(LD) side-pumped ceramic Nd: YAG rod, output pulses with maximum pulse energy and peak power up to39.6 m J and 9.73 MW were obtained, corresponding to 100 Hz repetition rate and 4.07 ns pulse width. The instabilities of pulse width and pulse energy were ±1.55% and ±2.06%, respectively. At the highest repetition rate of 1 kHz, the pulse energy, pulse width, and peak power were 11.3 mJ, 5.05 ns, and 2.24 MW, respectively. The instabilities of pulse width and pulse energy were ±2.65% and ±3.47%, respectively.

Short pulse propagation in dense dispersion compensated systems

The short Hermite-Gaussian optical pulse transmission over 1440 km in a dense dispersion compensated system is investigated based on numerical simulation. In the simulation, compensation is made not only for the group-velocity dispersion but also for the third order dispersion. It is demonstrated that the pulse with reasonably lower power can propagate steadily in net zero, positive and negative dispersion system.

Conservation laws of the complex short pulse equation and coupled complex short pulse equations

In this paper, the complex short pulse equation and the coupled complex short pulse equations that can describe the ultra-short pulse propagation in optical fibers are investigated. The two complex nonlinear models are turned into multi-component real models by proper transformations. Lie symmetries are obtained via the classical Lie group method, and the results for the coupled complex short pulse equations contain the existing results as particular cases.Based on the linearizing operator and adjoint linearizing operator for the two real systems,adjoint symmetries can be obtained. Explicit conservation laws are constructed using the symmetry/adjoint symmetry pair(SA) method. Relationships between the nonlinear selfadjointness method and the SA method are investigated.

A Mutual Pulse Injection-Seeding Scheme for Optical Short Pulse Generation

A mutual pulse injection-seeding scheme is developed to produce wavelength tunable optical short pulse generation. The sidemode suppression ratio obtained is more than 31 dB over the wavelength-tuning rang of 18 nm.

The implementation and data analysis of an interferometer for intense short pulse laser experiments

We present an interferometry setup and the detailed fringe analysis method for intense short pulse(SP) laser experiments.The interferometry scheme was refined through multiple campaigns to investigate the effects of pre-plasmas on energetic electrons at the Jupiter Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The interferometer used a frequency doubled(λ=0.527 μm) 0.5 ps long optical probe beam to measure the pre-plasma density, an invaluable parameter to better understand how varying pre-plasma conditions affect the characteristics of the energetic electrons. The hardware of the diagnostic, data analysis and example data are presented. The diagnostic setup and the analysis procedure can be employed for any other SP laser experiments and interferograms, respectively.

Effect of pulse slippage on density transition-based resonant third-harmonic generation of short-pulse laser in plasma

The resonant third-harmonic generation of a tion was investigated. Because of self-focusing self-focusing laser in plasma with a density transi- of the fundamental laser pulse, a transverse intensity gradient was created, which generated a plasma wave at the fundamental wave frequency. Phase matching was satisfied by using a Wiggler magnetic field, which provided additional angular too- mentum to the third-harmonic photon to make the process resonant. An enhancement was observed in the resonant third-harmonic generation of an intense short-pulse laser in plasma embedded with a magnetic Wiggler with a density transition. A plasma density ramp played an important role in the self-focusing, enhancing the third-harmonic generation in plasma. We also examined the ef- fect of the Wiggler magnetic field on the pulse slippage of the third-harmonic pulse in plasma. The pulse slippage was due to the group-velocity mismatch between the fundamental and third-harmonic pulses.

A new method on diagnostics of muons produced by a short pulse laser

Muons produced by a short pulse laser can serve as a new type of muon source having potential advantages of high intensity, small source emittance, short pulse duration and low cost. To validate it in experiments, a suitable muon diagnostics system is needed since high muon flux generated by a short pulse laser shot is always accompanied by high radiation background, which is quite different from cases in general muon researches. A detection system is proposed to distinguish muon signals from radiation background by measuring the muon lifetime. It is based on the scintillator detector with water and lead shields, in which water is used to adjust energies of muons stopped in the scintillator and lead to against radiation background. A Geant 4 simulation on the performance of the detection system shows that efficiency up to 52% could be arrived for low-energy muons around 200 MeV and this efficiency decreases to 14% for high-energy muons above 1000 MeV. The simulation also shows that the muon lifetime can be derived properly by measuring attenuation of the scintilla light of electrons from muon decays inside the scintillator detector.

Photon energy transfer on titanium targets for laser thrusters

Using two infrared pulsed lasers systems,a picosecond solid-state Nd:YAG laser with tuneable repetition rate(400 kHz-1 MHz)working in the burst mode of a multi-pulse train and a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser amplifier with tuneable pulse duration in the range of tens of femtoseconds up to tens of picoseconds,working in single-shot mode(TEWALASS facility from CETAL-NILPRP),we have investigated the optimal laser parameters for kinetic energy transfer to a titanium target for laser-thrust applications.In the single-pulse regime,we controlled the power density by changing both the duration and pulse energy.In the multi-pulse regime,the train’s number of pulses(burst length)and the pulse energy variation were investigated.Heat propagation and photon reflection-based models were used to simulate the obtained experimental results.In the single-pulse regime,optimal kinetic energy transfer was obtained for power densities of about 500 times the ablation threshold corresponding to the specific laser pulse duration.In multi-pulse regimes,the optimal number of pulses per train increases with the train frequency and decreases with the pulse power density.An ideal energy transfer efficiency resulting from our experiments and simulations is close to about 0.0015%.

Research and implementation of 100 A pulsed current source pulse edge compression

In order to increase the usefulness of pulsed current source in engineering practice, research and study was carried out on how to increase the pulse current amplitude, reduce the rise /fall time of output pulse and MOSFET switching losses, etc. Through the analysis of the pulsed current source works theory and the mathematical derivation of the circuit model, the deduction and calculation of the pulse edge compression control methods, and improve the overall circuit structure and optimize the manufacturing process according to the theory. The following indicators was realized： the output pulse current amplitude can be up to 100 A, the shortest pulse rise / fall time was 18.8 ns and 16.1 ns respectively when the maximum amplitude output, the pulse width could be narrowest to 40 ns, repetition frequency could achieve 10 Hz to 10 k Hz, MOSFET switching losses decreased by 30.9 %. This pulsed current source can be used, not only as the power supply for the ordinary high speed narrow pulse width laser diode, but also as an ideal drive power for the high energy, narrow width pulse laser diode.