Electromagnetic pulses produced by a picosecond laser interacting with solid targets

A high-power laser ablating solid targets induces giant electromagnetic pulses(EMPs),which are intimately pertinent to laser parameters,such as energy and pulse width.In this study,we reveal the features of EMPs generated from a picosecond(ps)laser irradiating solid targets at the SG-Ⅱpicosecond petawatt(PSPW)laser facility.The laser energy and pulse,as well as target material and thickness,show determinative effects on the EMPs’amplitude.More intense EMPs are detected behind targets compared to those at the other three positions,and the EMP amplitude decreases from 90.09 kV/m to 17.8 kV/m with the gold target thickness increasing from 10μm to 20μm,which is suppressed when the laser pulse width is enlarged.The results are expected to provide more insight into EMPs produced by ps lasers coupling with targets and lay the foundation for an effective EMP shielding design in high-power laser infrastructures.

A High-Resolution Measurement Method for Inner and Outer 3D Surface Profiles of Laser Fusion Targets Using a Laser Differential Confocal–Atomic Force Probe Technique

The high-resolution and nondestructive co-reference measurement of the inner and outer threedimensional(3D)surface profiles of laser fusion targets is difficult to achieve.In this study,we propose a laser differential confocal(LDC)–atomic force probe(AFP)method to measure the inner and outer 3D surface profiles of laser fusion targets at a high resolution.This method utilizes the LDC method to detect the deflection of the AFP and exploits the high spatial resolution of the AFP to enhance the spatial resolution of the outer profile measurement.Nondestructive and co-reference measurements of the inner profile of a target were achieved using the tomographic characteristics of the LDC method.Furthermore,by combining multiple repositionings of the target using a horizontal slewing shaft,the inner and outer 3D surface profiles of the target were obtained,along with a power spectrum assessment of the entire surface.The experimental results revealed that the respective axial and lateral resolutions of the outer profile measurement were 0.5 and 1.3 nm,while the respective axial and lateral resolutions of the inner profile measurement were 2.0 nm and approximately 400.0 nm.The repeatabilities of the rootmean-square deviation measurements for the outer and inner profiles of the target were 2.6 and 2.4 nm,respectively.We believe our study provides a promising method for the high-resolution and nondestructive co-reference measurement of the inner and outer 3D profiles of laser fusion targets.

Ground target localization algorithm for semi-active laser terminalcorrection projectile

A target localization algorithm,which uses the measurement information from onboard GPS and onboard laser detector to acquire the target position,is proposed to obtain the accurate position of ground target in real time in the trajectory correction process of semi-active laser terminal correction projectile.A target localization model is established according to projectile position,attitude and line-of-sight angle.The effects of measurement errors of projectile position,attitude and line-of-sight angle on localization accuracy at different quadrant elevation angles are analyzed through Monte-Carlo simulation.The simulation results show that the measurement error of line-of-sight angle has the largest influence on the localization accuracy.The localization accuracy decreases with the increase in quadrant elevation angle.However,the maximum localization accuracy is less than 7 m.The proposed algorithm meets the accuracy and real-time requirements of target localization.

MicroRNAs in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization in mice and rats:their expression and potential therapeutic targets

Choroidal neovascularization characterizes wet age-related macular degeneration.Choroidal neovascularization formation involves a primarily angiogenic process that is combined with both inflammation and proteolysis.A primary cause of choroidal neovascularization pathogenesis is alterations in pro-and anti-angiogenic factors derived from the retinal pigment epithelium,with vascular endothelium growth factor being mainly responsible for both clinical and experimental choroidal neovascularization.MicroRNAs(miRNAs)which are short,non-coding,endogenous RNA molecules have a major role in regulating various pathological processes,including inflammation and angiogenesis.A review of recent studies with the mouse laser-induced choroidal neovascularization model has shown alterations in miRNA expression in choroidal neovascularization tissues and could be potential therapeutic targets for wet age-related macular degeneration.Upregulation of miR-505(days 1 and 3 post-laser),miR-155(day 14)occurred in retina;miR-342-5p(days 3 and 7),miR-126-3p(day 14)in choroid;miR-23a,miR-24,miR-27a(day 7)in retina/choroid;miR-505(days 1 and 3)in retinal pigment epithelium/choroid;downregulation of miR-155(days 1 and 3),miR-29a,miR-29b,miR-29c(day 5),miR-93(day 14),miR-126(day 14)occurred in retinal pigment epithelium/choroid.Therapies using miRNA mimics or inhibitors were found to decrease choroidal neovascularization lesions.Choroidal neovascularization development was reduced by overexpression of miR-155,miR-188-5p,miR-(5,B,7),miR-126-3p,miR-342-5p,miR-93,miR-126,miR-195a-3p,miR-24,miR-21,miR-31,miR-150,and miR-184,or suppression of miR-505,miR-126-3p,miR-155,and miR-23/27.Further studies are warranted to determine miRNA expression in mouse laser-induced choroidal neovascularization models in order to validate and extend the reported findings.Important experimental variables need to be standardized;these include the strain and age of animals,gender,number and position of laser burns to the eye,laser parameters to induce choroidal neovascularization lesions including wavelength,power,spot size,and duration.

Transmission Degradation of Femtosecond Laser Pulses in Opened Cone Targets

Irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses with different energies, opened cone targets behave very differently in the transmission of incident laser pulses. The targets, each with an opening angle of 71° and an opening of 5 μm, are fabricated using standard semiconductor technology. When the incident laser energy is low and no pre-plasma is generated on the side walls of the cones, the cone target acts like an optical device to reflect the laser pulse, and 15% of the laser energy can be transmitted through the cones. In contrast, when the incident laser energy is high enough to generate pre-plasmas by the pre-pulse of the main pulse that fills the inner cone, the cone with the plasmas will block the transmission of the laser, which leads to a decrease in laser transmission compared with the low-energy case with no plasma. Simulation results using optical software in the low-energy case, and using the particle-in-cell code in the high-energy case, are primarily in agreement with the experimental results.

Analysis of electromagnetic pulses generated from ultrashort laser irradiation of solid targets at CLAPA

Electromagnetic pulses(EMPs)produced by the interaction of a TW femtosecond laser with solid targets at the Compact Laser Plasma Accelerator(CLAPA)are measured and interpreted.The statistical results confirm that the intensities of the EMPs are closely related to both target material and thickness.The signal of the titanium target is more abundant than that of the copper target with the same thickness,and the intensity of EMP is positively correlated with the target thickness for aluminium foil.With the boosted EMP radiations,the energy of accelerated protons is also simultaneously enhanced.In addition,EMPs emitted from the front of the target exceed those from the rear,which are also pertinent to the specific target position.The resonant waveforms in the target chamber are analyzed using the fast Fourier transform,and the local resonance and the attenuation lead to changes of the frequency spectra of EMPs with variation of detecting positions,which is well supported by the modeling results.The findings are beneficial to gaining insight into the mechanism of EMP propagation in a typical target chamber and providing more information for EMP shielding design.

Influence of target temperature on femtosecond laser-ablated brass plasma spectroscopy

Spectral intensity,electron temperature and density of laser-induced plasma(LIP) are important parameters for affecting sensitivity of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS).Increasing target temperature is an easy and feasible method to improve the sensitivity.In this paper,a brass target in a temperature range from 25℃ to 200℃ was ablated to generate the LIP using femtosecond pulse.Time-resolved spectral emission of the femtosecond LIBS was measured under different target temperatures.The results showed that,compared with the experimental condition of 25℃,the spectral intensity of the femtosecond LIP was enhanced with more temperature target.In addition,the electron temperature and density were calculated by Boltzmann equation and Stark broadening,indicating that the changes in the electron temperature and density of femtosecond LIP with the increase of the target temperature were different from each other.By increasing the target temperature,the electron temperature increased while the electron density decreased.Therefore,in femtosecond LIBS,a hightemperature and low-density plasma with high emission can be generated by increasing the target temperature.The increase in the target temperature can improve the resolution and sensitivity of femtosecond LIBS.

Experimental investigation of laser-produced-plasma EUV source based on liquid target

A laser-produced plasma(LPP) source was built using liquid as target and a Nd:YAG laser as the irradiation laser, and the LPP source's radiation with ethanol and acetone target respectively was measured by an AXUV100 silicon photodiode combined with a McPHERSON model 247 grazing incidence monochromator of the resolution Δλ≤0.075 nm and the wavelength scanning interval 0.5 nm. Both ethanol and acetone target LPP source had EUV emission at 11～20 nm wavelength. The comparison between the spectra of the two kinds of target materials shows that all the two kinds of target source's spectra are the result of oxygen ions' transitions under current source's parameters, but the spectrum intensity from different target sources is different. The spectra intensity from the ethanol target is higher than that from the acetone target. In addition, the target liquid is forced into the vacuum chamber by the background pressure supported by the connected external high pressure gas, and the influence of the background pressure on the source's intensity is investigated.

A quantitative method for calculating irradiation area of laser target designator

In laser-guided bomb attacking process,the target indication from the laser target designator is the premise for the bomb to hit the target accurately.Considering the lack of quantitative study of the irradiation area of the laser target designator,this paper,based on the existing aircraft motion model and the laser transmission model,uses two aircraft as respectively the carrier of the laser-guided bomb and the carrier of the laser designator and proposes a method to calculate the global irradiation area of the airborne laser designator.By using the proposed algorithm,the global irradiation area when attacking a large flat target or a large spherical target is simulated respectively.Finally,according to the simulation results,the influences of different factors on the shapes of the irradiation area are discussed in detail.

Effects of Laser Ablation on Ceramic Superconducting Targets

A scanning electron microscopy study of the morphology of laser ablated superconducting targets. bothYBaCuO and BipbSrCaCuO, was reported. The effects of laser ablation on target structures are illustratedto provide a basis for further quality control of laser ablation of superconducting thin films.

Effect of Foil Target Thickness in Proton Acceleration Driven by an Ultra-Short Laser

Proton acceleration experiments were carried out by a 1.2× 1018 W/cm2 ultra-short laser interaction with solid foil targets. The peak proton energy observed from an optimum target thickness of 7 μm in our experiments was 2.1 MeV. Peak proton energy and proton yield were investigated for different foil target thicknesses. It was shown that proton energy and conversion efficiency increased as the target became thinner, on one condition that the preplasma generated by the laser prepulse did not have enough shock energy and time to influence or destroy the target rear-surface. The existence of optimum foil thickness is due to the effect of the prepulse and hot electron transportation behavior on the foil target.

Impacts of laser pulse width and target thickness on laser micro-propulsion performance

In order to optimize the laser ablation performance of a micro-thruster with 1U dimensions,which employs a micro semiconductor laser,the impacts of pulse width and glycidyl azide polymer(GAP)thickness on thrust performance were researched.The results showed that with a GAP thickness of 200μm,the single-pulse impulse(I)increased gradually with the increase in the laser pulse width from 50 to 800μs,while the specific impulse(I_(sp)),impulse coupling coefficient(Cm)and ablation efficiency(η)all reached optimal values with a 200μs pulse width.It is worth noting that the optimal pulse width is identical to the ignition delay time.Both Cmandηpeaked with a pulse width of 200μs,reaching 242.22μN W^(-1)and 35.4%,respectively.With the increase in GAP thickness,I and Cmincreased gradually.GAP of different thicknesses corresponded to different optimal laser pulse widths.Under a certain laser pulse width,the optimal GAP thickness should be the most vertical thickness of the ablation pit,and the various propulsion performance parameters at this time were also optimal.With the current laser parameters,the optimal GAP thickness was approximately 150μm,I_(sp)was approximately 322.22 s,andηwas approximately 34.94%.

Stimulated Emission of Gamma Photon from Ultrashort Pulse Intense Laser—Solid—Target Interaction

The efficient production of energetic γ photons is a significant physical process in the relativistic ultrashortpulse laser-plasma inducing photonuclear action. Based on the interaction of laser-solid-target, an analytical theory onstimulated γ photon emission from a hot electron firing the target-nucleus is developed by a relativistic full quantummethod. The emitting power or probability of γ photon in arbitrary space direction can be calculated for laser irradiatingsolid-target normally. It is valid only if the scatter-centre is immovable or its motion can be neglected compared withthat of the scattered electrons.

Effect of multiple parameters on the supersonic gas-jet target characteristics for laser wakefield acceleration

The supersonic gas-jet target is an important experimental target for laser wakefield acceleration(LWFA),which has great potential for driving novel radiation sources such as betatron radiation and Compton scattering gamma rays.According to different electron acceleration requirements,it is necessary to provide specific supersonic gas jets with different density profiles to generate electron beams with high quality and high repetition rates.In this study,the interference images and density profiles of different gas-jet targets were obtained through a modified Nomarski interference diagnosis system.The relationships between the gas density and back pressure,nozzle structure,and other key parameters were studied.Targets with different characteristics are conducive to meeting the various requirements of LWFA.

Numerical Simulation on Laser Propulsion Capability of Polymer Target

A computational model of laser ablated polymer was established. Set the ablation criterion based on threshold energy. Put forward the polymer ablation criterion in the numerical model. It established the energy distribution equation to describe the laser ablation process. When the ablation products ejected, the target gained recoil impulse from ejection process. Get the ejection energy and the recoil momentum of target based on momentum conservation law. The numerical analysis model can reflect the propulsion capability of different polymer propellant, revealed the law of propulsion parameters in laser ablation process.

High-Yield High-Efficiency Positron Generation in High-Z Metal Targets Irradiated by Laser Produced Electrons from Near-Critical Density Plasmas

An improved indirect scheme for laser positron generation is proposed. The positron yields in high-ZZ metal targets irradiated by laser produced electrons from near-critical density plasmas and underdense plasma are investigated numerically. It is found that the positron yield is mainly affected by the number of electrons of energies up to several hundreds of MeV. Using near-critical density targets for electron acceleration, the number of high energy electrons can be increased dramatically. Through start-to-end simulations, it is shown that up to 6.78×10106.78×1010 positrons can be generated with state-of-the-art Joule-class femtosecond laser systems.

Algorithm for Multi-laser-target Tracking Based on Clustering Fusion

Multi-laser-target tracking is an important subject in the field of signal processing of laser warners. A clustering method is applied to the measurement of laser warner, and the space-time fusion for measurements in the same cluster is accomplished. Real-time tracking of multi-laser-target and real-time picking of multi-laser-signal are introduced using data fusion of the measurements. A prototype device of the algorithm is built up. The results of experiments show that the algorithm is very effective.

拍瓦激光驱动纳米刷靶高品质质子束的产生

超强激光加速产生的高能质子束源在基础物理研究、材料科学、生物医疗等领域具有广泛应用前景。基于激光聚变研究中心的SILEX-II装置,开展了高对比度飞秒激光驱动纳米刷靶质子加速实验研究。采用等离子体镜技术进一步提升激光对比度,有效降低了预脉冲对纳米刷靶结构的影响。相比于平面靶,采用纳米刷靶质子截止能量提高到1.5倍,质子束产额增加近一个量级,成功验证了超高功率密度下纳米刷靶对激光离子加速的增强效果,并且有效提升了质子束空间分布的均匀性。研究结果为高品质质子束源的产生和应用提供了技术途径。

复杂水文微弱多目标激光探测仿真与实验

为了探究在近岸复杂水体中激光探测对微弱目标的探测能力,研究水质、目标特征、目标距离对水下激光探测的影响具有重要理论和应用价值。论文建立了水下微弱目标激光探测模型,采用蒙特卡洛仿真验证了不同浊度微弱多目标激光探测性能,模拟了不同距离下微弱目标的激光后向散射回波信号,对多个不同反射系数的目标后向散射回波特性进行了分析。同时设计并研制了灵巧便携式水下微弱目标激光探测系统,进行了实验室及外场湖泊环境下的多目标探测、测距测试验证。在浊度为12.87 NTU的近岸湖泊水域,该系统可在10 m范围内对3~4个直径为80~400μm的不同低反射系数的混合小目标进行有效探测,平均测量误差为±0.11 m,与理论仿真结果一致。本文研究结果可为蓝绿激光水下多微弱目标探测链路计算、系统设计及参数优化提供参考,可以支撑近海浑浊水体下水下障碍物激光探测工程实践。