Time Characterization of High Density Gas Jet from a Pulsed Supersonic Nozzle via Laser Produced Plasma

A high-density gas jet supersonic nozzle is reported in this paper. The jitter and actuation time of the nozzle is determined by the pin discharge and laser spark radiation respectively. The jitter time of the nozzle is within 10μs with the backing pressure as high as 25 bar. With a nanosecond laser pulse focused on the gas jet about 1 mm below the nozzle, the actuation time is calculated to be about 15 ms by detecting the laser produced spark radiation, which reveals the existence of the gas jet and the relative gas density evolving with time. Consequently the gas density is estimated to be well above 10^19 cm^-3, compared with theoretical simulations from the nozzle parameters.

Time-Resolved Optical Emission Spectroscopy Diagnosis of CO_2 Laser-Produced SnO_2 Plasma

The spectral emission and plasma parameters of SnO2 plasmas have been investigated. A planar ceramic SnO2 target was irradiated by a CO2 laser with a full width at half maximmn of 80 ns. The temporal behavior of the specific emission lines from the SnO2 plasma was characterized. The intensities of Sn I and Sn Ⅱ lines first increased, and then decreased with the delay time. The results also showed a faster decay of Sn I atoms than that of Sn II ionic species. The temporal evolutions of the SnO2 plasma parameters （electron temperature and density） were deduced. The measured temperature and density of SnO2 plasma are 4.38 eV to 0.5 eV and 11.38×1017 cm 3 to 1.1×1017^ cm-3, for delay times between 0.1 μs and 2.2 #s. We also investigated the effect of the laser pulse energy on Sn02 plasma.

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.

Electric-field induced fluctuations in laser generated plasma plume

The effect of an external electric field on laser-generated plasma has been studied.It is observed that the laser-generated plasma can be used for the ignition of a spark in the presence of a low voltage external electric field.An eight-fold emission intensity enhancement in Cu I spectral lines are measured as compared to the signal intensity in the absence of an external electric field.The plasma parameters remain the same initially,up to a few microseconds after the generation of plasma,and this feature makes it more interesting for the quantitative analysis of any sample using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS).In the presence of an external electric field,fluctuations(contraction and expansion)in the laser-generated plasma are observed which increase the plasma decay time and consequently result in enhanced signal intensity.

A study on soft x-ray spectra from pulsed 1 μm Nd:YAG laser-induced ytterbium plasmas

The Nd:YAG laser with a wavelength of 1.064 μm was used to generate plasmas on a high-purity solid ytterbium(70 Yb) target in a vacuum chamber. The soft x-ray time-and space-integration spectra from the Yb plasmas were measured in the wavelength range of 1.0–8.5 nm under different power densities. The atomic spectral data of the unresolved transition arrays from highly charged Yb ions were calculated based on Cowan's suite of codes, including configuration interaction. The calculated Gaussian envelope of the emission determined by the weighted spontaneous transition rates was compared with the experimental spectra, and a good agreement between them was obtained. The spatial-temporal evolutions of the plasmas under the experimental conditions are simulated based on the collisional-radiative model, enabling the understanding of the mechanism of the plasma conditions for optimal water window waveband emission output.

A New Synthetical Model of High-Power Pulsed Laser Ablation

We develop a new synthetical model of high-power pulsed laser ablation,which considers the dynamicabsorptance,vaporization,and plasma shielding.And the corresponding heat conduction equations with the initial andboundary conditions are given.The numerical solutions are obtained under the reasonable technical parameter condi-tions by taking YBa_2Cu_3O_7 target for example.The space-dependence and time-dependence of temperature in targetat a certain laser fluence are presented,then,the transmitted intensity through plasma plume,space-dependence oftemperature and ablation rate for different laser fluences are significantly analyzed.As a result,the satisfactorily goodagreement between our numerical results and experimental results indicates that the influences of the dynamic absorp-tance,vaporization,and plasma shielding cannot be neglected.Taking all the three mechanisms above simultaneouslyinto account for the first time,we cause the present model to be more practical.

High resolution X-ray spherically bent crystal spectrometer for laser-produced plasma diagnostics

A new high spectral resolution crystal spectrometer is designed to measure very low emissive X-ray spectra of laser-produced plasma in 0.5-0.9 nm range. A large open aperture （30 ×20 （mm）） mica （002） spherically bent crystal with curvature radius R = 380 mm is used as dispersive and focusing element. The imaging plate is employed to obtain high spectral resolution with effective area of 30 × 80 （mm）. The long designed path of the X-ray spectrometer beam is 980 mm from the source to the detector via the crystal. Experiment is carried out at a 20-J laser facility. X-ray spectra in an absolute intensity scale is obtained from Al laserproduced plasmas created by laser energy of 6.78 J. Samples of spectra obtained with spectral resolution of up to E/△E - 1500 are presented. The results clearly show that the device is good to diagnose laser high-density plasmas.

High-resolution X-ray focusing concave (elliptical) curved crystal spectrograph for laser-produced plasma

The X-ray spectrum emitted, from laser-produced plasma contains plentiful information. X-ray spectrometer is a powerful tool for plasma diagnosis and studying the information and evolution of the plasma. X-ray concave (elliptical) curved crystals analyzer was designed and manufactured to investigate the properties of laser-produced plasma. The experiment was carried out on Mianyang Xingguang-Ⅱ Facility and aimed at investigating the characteristics of a high density iron plasma. Experimental results using KAP, LIF, PET, and MICA curved crystal analyzers are described, and the spectra of Au, Ti laser-produced plasma are shown. The focusing crystal analyzer clearly gave an increase in sensitivity over a flat crystal.

Laser-produced plasma He-alpha source for pulse radiography

Through the use of time and space integrated kiloelectronvolt （keV） spectroscopy, we investigate the thermal emission of plasma, which produces strong line emission from the titanium K shell （He-a at 4.7 keV and H-α at 4.9 keV）, created by laser. In order to optimize the conversion efficiency enhancement on titanium foils, the experiment is conducted under a variety of laser-driven intensity conditions. The X-ray emission intensity at 4.7 keV is measured and compared with prediction. The experimental result demonstrates that the solid Ti target laser-produced plasma （LPP） source has X-ray emission at 4.7 keV, which are all generated from electronic transitions in Ti ions at pulse width of 2.1 ns or 30 ps, the crudely evaluated He-α X-ray intensity appears to slightly increase with laser intensity enhancement, and the pre- pulse effect increases the conversion efficiency of the He-α X-ray. In addition, a 90-μm-thick Ti foil as a filter is used to transmit He-α X-ray at near 4.7 keV, creating a quasi-monochromatic transmission and greatly reducing the lower- and higher-energy background.

Elliptically-bent crystal spectrograph for X-ray diagnosis of laser-produced plasmas

In order to measure spatially and temporarily resolved laser-produced plasma X-ray spectra in 0.2 - 2 nm region, a novel two-channel elliptically-bent crystal spectrograph has been developed. Dispersive elements are LiF, PET, Mica, and KAP crystals, which cover Bragg angles in the range of 30 - 67.5 degrees. Eccentricity and focal distance of twin ellipses are 0.9586 and 1350 mm, respectively. Spatially resolved spectrum is photographically recorded with an X-ray film or X-CCD camera in one channel, and temporarily resolved one is photographically recorded with an X-ray streak camera in another channel, thus spatially and temporarily resolved spectra can be simultaneously obtained. Spectral images were acquired with X-CCD and PET in SHENGUANG-II laser facility, and experimental results show that the spectral resolution of the spectrograph is about 0.002 nm.

A Model for Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation Conversion Efficiency From Laser Produced Mass-Limited Tin-Based Droplet Target Plasmas

Simple arguments are used to construct a model to explain the extreme ultraviolet radiation conversion efficiency(EUV-CE) of a tin-based droplet target laser produced plasmas by calculating the laser absorption efficiency,radiation efficiency,and spectral efficiency.The dependence of drive laser pulse duration and laser intensity on EUV-CE is investigated.The results show that at some appropriate laser intensity,where the sum energy of the thermal conduction,out-off band radiation and plasma plume kinetic losses is at a minimum,the EUV-CE should reach a maximum.The EUV-CE predicted by the present simple model is also compared with the available experimental and simulation data and a fair agreement between them is found.

Study of laser-induced plasma shock waves by the probe beam deflection technique

Laser probe beam deflection technique is used for the analysis of laser-induced plasma shock waves in air and distilled water. The temporal and spatial variations of the parameters on shock fronts are studied as functions of focal lens position and laser energy. The influences of the characteristics of media are investigated on the well-designed experimental setup. It is found that the shock wave in distilled water attenuates to an acoustic wave faster than in air under the same laser energy. Good agreement is obtained between our experimental results and those attained with other techniques. This technique is versatile, economic, and simple to implement, being a promising diagnostic tool for pulsed laser processing.

A four-channel multilayer KB microscope for high-resolution 8-keV X-ray imaging in laser-plasma diagnostics

A four-channel multilayer Kirkpatrick-Baez （KB） microscope is developed for the 8-keV X-ray imaging of experiments on laser inertial confinement fusion （ICF）. A periodic multilayer that works at 8 keV and with a grazing incidence angle of 1.0~ is coated on reflective surfaces to achieve a spatial resolution higher than 5μm and an effective solid angle higher than 10-7 sr. A precise assembly is realized by a conical reference cone to couple with an X-ray framing camera. This study provides detailed information on an optical and multilayer design, assembly method, and experimental results with a Cu X-ray tube. The instrument provides a high-resolution and high-throughput X-ray image for backlit or self-emission imaging of laser plasma at Cu Kα line radiation in Shenguang series laser facilities.

Time-resolved multispectral X-ray imaging with multi-channel Kirkpatrick-Baez microscope for plasma diagnostics at Shenguang-II laser facility

A time-resolved multispectral X-ray imaging approach with new version of multi-channel Kirkpatrick- Baez （KB） microscope is developed for laser plasma diagnostics at the kilo joule-class Shenguang-II laser facility （SG-II）. The microscope uses a total external reflection mirror in the sagittal direction and an array of multilayer mirrors in the tangential direction to obtain multiple individual high-resolution, high- throughput, and quasi-monochromatic X-ray images. The time evolution of the imploded target in multiple X-ray energy bands can be acquired when coupled with an X-ray streak camera. The experimental result of the time-resolved 2.5 and 3.0 keV dual-spectral self-emission imaging of the undoped CH shell target on SG-II is given.

Frequency spectrum characterization of terahertz emission from laser-induced air plasma

Terahertz （THz） emission from laser-induced air-plasma is presented. The frequency spectra of THz wave are investigated using an air-biased-coherent-detection method. The frequency spectra are measured under different pump-pulse and probe-pulse energies. The frequency pump power and we speculate it caused by collision behavior spectra become narrow with the increasing Meanwhile, the bandwidth of the frequency spectra is broadened by the increasing probe power, which can be explained by pulse compression. Based on this finding, the optimal frequency spectrum of THz can be achieved by regulating the probe and pump beam.

Stability analysis of linearly chirped Gaussian pulse stacking in laser plasma reaction

We analyze the stability of linearly chirped Gaussian pulse stacking （LCGPS） in the laser plasma reaction （LPR） in the inertial confinement fusion （ICF） system. The LPR can be treated as the process that the stacked pulse is first intensity filtered and then induces the plasma due to the thermalization time of the plasma. We also examine the stability of LCGPS over the change of the thermalization time of the plasma, the timing delay, and the intensity attenuation of the stacked pulse in the LPR, and compare the results with those of none chirped Gaussian pulse stacking （NCGPS）. Our results show that LCGPS is more stable than NCGPS.

Studies on the mechanisms of powerful terahertz radiations from laser plasmas

A survey on the mechanisms of powerful terahertz （THz） radiation from laser plasmas is presented.Firstly,an analytical model is described,showing that a transverse net current formed in a plasma can be converted into THz radiations at the plasma oscillation frequency.This theory is applied to explain THz generation in a gas driven by two-color laser pulses.It is also applied to THz generation in a tenuous plasma driven by a chirped laser pulse,a few-cycle laser pulse,a DC/AC bias electric field.These are well verified by particle-in-cell simulations,demonstrating that THz radiations produced in these approaches are nearly single-cycles and linear polarized.In the chirped laser scheme and the few-cycle laser scheme,THz radiations with the peak field strength of tens of MV/cm and the peak power of gigawatt can be achieved with the incident laser intensity less than 10 17 W/cm 2.

Using fence pulses to suppress stimulated Raman scattering effect in laser–plasma interaction

In inertial confinement fusion, the laser plasma interaction （LPI） happens when the high-energy laser irradi- ates on the target where the scattered light share generated from the stimulated Raman scattering （SRS） effect is difficult to suppress. We propose a method using fence pulses （FPs） to suppress the backward SRS by inhibiting the growth of the intensity of electron plasma waves. Based on our simulation, the FPs can weaken SRS effect in the LPI effectively.

Spectral characteristics of arc plasma during laser-arc double-sided welding for aluminum alloy

In laser-arc double-sided welding, the spectral characteristics of the arc plasma are calculated and analyzed by spectroscopic diagnosis. The results show that, compared with conventional tungsten inert gas （TIG） welding, the introduction of a laser cilanges the physical characteristics of the arc plasma regardless of whether laser plasma penetration takes place, and that the influence of the laser mainly affects the near-anode region of the arc. When tile laser power is relatively low, the arc column tends to compress, and the arc spectral cilaracter- istics show no significant difference. When the arc root constricts, compared with pure TIG arc, the electron density increases by ~2.7 times and the electron temperature decreases by ~3000 K. When the arc column expands, the intensities of spectral lines of both the metal and Ar atoms are the strongest. But it is also observed that the electron density reduces, whereas there is no obvious decrease of electron temperature.

Simultaneous 3D temperature and velocity field measurements of micro-flow with laser-induced fluorescence and micro-digital holographic particle tracking velocimetry: Numerical study

We propose a method for simultaneous 3D temperature and velocity measurement of a micro-flow field. The 3D temperature field is characterized with two-color laser-induced fluorescence particles which are tracked with micro-digital holographic particle tracking velocimetry. A diffraction-based model is applied to analyze defo- cused particles to determine the intensity ratio of two fluorescent dyes on the particle. The model is validated with experimental images. As the result shows that the intensity ratio nearly remains unchanged with respect to depth positions, defocused particles can be used as 3D temperature sensors. Numerical work is carried out to check the method, and 3D temperature and velocity field in a 120 μm × 120 μm× 80 μm test volume are retrieved.