Theoretical research on enhancement of gain for Ni-like Ag 13.9 nm x-ray laser using a new two-layer target

For experiments such as on Ni-like Ag x-ray laser, driven by 1ω laser, the gain region is only several nm depth near the target surface, this paper proposes a new two-layer target, in which a thin layer （several nm depth） of silver is plated on the surface of some other materials. Furthermore, the Ni-like Ag 13.9 nm x-ray laser produced by three new kinds of two-layer target with CH, Al and Ge as foundation, was theoretically studied.

Modeling the gain of inner-shell X-ray laser transitions in neon, argon, and copper driven by X-ray free electron laser radiation using photo-ionization and photo-excitation processes

Using an X-ray free electron laser(XFEL)at 960 eV to photo-ionize the 1s electron in neutral neon followed by lasing on the 2p-1s transition in singly-ionized neon,an inner-shell X-ray laser was demonstrated at 849 eV in singly-ionized neon gas several years ago.It took decades to demonstrate this scheme,because it required a very strong X-ray source that could photo-ionize the 1s(K shell)electron in neon on a timescale comparable to the intrinsic Auger lifetime in neon of 2 fs.In this paper,we model the neon inner shell X-ray laser under similar conditions to those used in the XFEL experiments at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source(LCLS),and show how we can improve the efficiency of the neon laser and reduce the drive requirements by tuning the XFEL to the 1s-3p transition in neutral neon in order to create gain on the 2p-1s line in neutral neon.We also show how the XFEL could be used to photo-ionize L-shell electrons to drive gain on n=3-2 transitions in singlyionized Ar and Cu plasmas.These bright,coherent,and monochromatic X-ray lasers may prove very useful for doing high-resolution spectroscopy and for studying non-linear process in the X-ray regime.

Soft X-Ray Laser Gain from Neon like Gallium and Germanium

Gain coefficients are calculated for neon-like gallium and germanium ions. Shorter wavelengths are calculated and predicted to be emitted. The gain coefficients are calculated among 457 energy levels of the neon-like ions. Collisional excitations were calculated through the distorted wave approximations through five electron temperatures Te = 300, 500, 700, 1000 and 1500 eV.

2D hydrodynamic simulation of a line-focused plasma in Ni-like Ag x-ray laser research

In most collisional schemes of x-ray laser （XRL） experiments, a bow-like intensity distribution of XRL is often observed, and it is generally ascribed to the two-dimensional hydrodynamic behaviour of expanding plasma. In order to better understand its essence in physics, a newly developed two-dimensional non-equilibrium radiation hydrodynamic code XRL2D is used to simulate a quasi-steady state Ni-like Ag XRL experiment on ShenGuang-Ⅱfacility. The simulation results show that the bow-like distribution of Ni-like ions caused by over-ionization in the central area of plasma is responsible for the bow-like shape of the XRL intensity distribution observed.

Numerical study of the Ne-like Cr x-ray laser at 28.6nm

We investigate the Ne-like Cr x-ray laser at 28.6 nm by using a modified ID lagrangian hydrodynamic code MEDI03 coupled with an atomic physics data package and a 2D ray tracing code as a post-processor. The laser pumping configuration includes two prepulses and one main pulse. The first prepulse normally irradiates the target, while the second prepulse and the main pulse irradiate the target at grazing-incident angles. We predict that saturation can be achieved for the Ne-like Cr x-ray lasers with a total pumping energy of 125mJ, Good beam qualities with no deflecting angle and a small divergence angle of 5 mrad are observed.

Investigation on the hydrodynamics of slab x-ray laser plasma by nonuiform line focused laser irradiation

Based on the two-dimensional model, this paper compares the hydrodynamics of slab x-ray laser plasma produced by different nonuniform line focused irradiations. It finds that the average intensity and the duration of laser pulse and the overall shape of the intensity distribution in the focal line have different influences on the plasma. Calculations show that the evolution of temperature variation is more sensitive to the pulse duration and the electron density variation is more sensitive to the pulse intensity. Pulses with duration of 200 ps to 500 ps and with intensity of 0.2 TW/cm2 to 1.0 TW/cm2 are proved acceptable in slab x-ray lasers.

2D parameter optimization of Ne-like Cr x-ray laser on slab

A method of studying a non-equilibrium x-ray laser plasma is developed by extending the existing one-dimensional similarity equations to the case of two-dimensional plasma study in the directions perpendicular to the slab and along a focal line. With this method the characteristics of pre-plasma are optimized for transient neon-like Cr x-ray laser. It is found that when the duration and the intensity of 1.053μm pre-pulse are 1.2 ns and 6.5 TW/cm^2 respectively with a delay time of 1.5 ns, the temperature and the temperature discrepancy each approach a proper state, which will provide a uniform distribution of properly ionized neon-like Cr ions before the arrival of pumping pulse.

Hydrodynamics of Exploding Foil X-Ray Lasers with Time-Dependent Ionization Effect

A simple modified model is presented based on R. A. London＇s self-similarity model on time-independent ionization hydrodynamics of exploding foil X-ray lasers. In our model, the time-dependent ionization effect is under consideration and the average ion charge depends on the temperature. Then we obtain the new scaling laws for temperature, scale length and electron density, which have better agreement with experimental results.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON SOFT X-RAY LASER GAIN

Soft X-ray laser gain experiments were successfully carried out to test recombination pumping scheme at the 6-beam laser facility and the LF12 laser facility of Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Academia Sinica. Amplifications of soft X-ray spontaneous emission (ASE) have been observed in Li-likealuminium and silicon ions in plasmas produced by irradiation of slab targets with line-focused lasers. Time-integrated intensities of the Li-like aluminum and silicon ion spectral lines emitted along the axis of the plasma show that the intensities of the spectral lines for Al^(10+) 5f—3d (105.7) and Si^(11+)+5f—3d (88.9) and 5d—3p (87.3) transitions increase nonlinearly with plasma lengths, and the corresponding gain coefficients are 3.1±0.9, 1.5±0.5, and 1.4±0.5cm^(-1), respectively, the maximum gain-length product being about 2.5. These results were obtained at much lower intensity of driving laser, 1.5—2.0×10^(12)W/cm^2.

EXPERIMENTS ON HIGH-GAIN SOFT X-RAY LASER IN Ne-LIKE Ge PLASMA

By means of a novel experimental design named the 'double target coupling', the ampli-fications of five lasing lines with wavelengths at 19.6, 23.2, 23.6, 24.7 and 28.6 nm fromthe 3p-3s transitions in Ne-like Ge plasmas were observed. The germanium slab targets wereirradiated by two opposite line-focused laser beams with the irradiance of 1.2×10^(13) W/cm^2.The values of GL (a gain-length product) for the lines at 23.2 and 23.6 nm exceed 13. Themeasurements of temporal resolution for the lasing lines were made with a soft X-ray streakcamera, and the measured results are presented. The divergence and refraction of X-ray laserbeam were also observed.

Strongly Gain Coupled DFB Laser Monolithically Integrated with a Self Alignment Spot Size Converter

A new type strongly gain coupled (GC) DFB laser and a new type self alignment spot size converter (SA SSC) are proposed and successfully fabricated.The strongly GC DFB laser is monolithically integrated with the SA SSC with three step epitaxies.A high single mode yield and large side mode suppression ratio is obtained from the strongly GC DFB laser.A near circle far field pattern is obtained by using the SA SSC.

Theoretical study of Ni-like Ag 13.9 nm TCE x-ray laser driven by two picosecond pulses

The Ni-like Ag 13.9 nm x-ray laser has been previously demonstrated that the higher gain near critical surface contributes little to the amplification of the x-ray laser because of severe refraction. In this paper, the transient collision excitation （TCE） Ni-like Ag 13.9 nm x-ray laser is simulated, driven by two 3 ps short pulse preceded by a 330 ps long prepulse, optimization of the peak to peak delay time of the two short pulses is made to get the best results. Simulation indicates that by producing lowly ionized preplasma with smoothly varying electron density, it is possible to decrease electron density gradient in higher density region, and thus higher gains near this region could be utilized, and if the main short pulse is delayed by 900ps, local gains where electron density larger than - 4 × 10^20 cm^-3 could be utilized.

Fully diagnosing the spatial properties of X-ray lasers

Based on the moiré effect and the Fresnel diffraction theory, a novel technique for diagnosing the beam properties is presented and analyzed, which is especially suitable for X-ray lasers. The method makes it possible, in a one-shot experimental measurement, to determine the beam quality factor M2, the effective radius of curvature, the beam width, the far-field divergence, and the waist location and radius as well as the spatial coherence and its evolution. Numerical simulation proves the validity of the method. Note that the novel moiré technique opens an efficient road, for the first time, to fully diagnose the spatial properties of X-ray lasers.

Soft X-ray laser observation of femtosecond-laser-driven ablation of tungsten

Ablation dynamics of tungsten irradiated with a 70 fs laser pulse is investigated with X-ray interferometry and X-ray imaging using a 13.9 nm soft X-ray laser of 7 ps pulse duration. The evolution of high-density ablation front of tungsten （i.e., W） is presented. The ablation front expands to ~120 nm above the original target surface at 160 ps after femtosecond-laser irradiation with an expansion speed of approximately 750 m/s. These results will provide important data for understanding ablation properties of W, which is a candidate material of the first wall of magnetic confinement fusion reactors.

Theoretical Analysis of Gain and Threshold Current Density for Long Wavelength GaAs-Based Quantum-Dot Lasers'

Quantum dot gain spectra based on harmonic oscillator model are calculated including and excluding excitons. The effects of non-equilibrium distributions are considered at low temperatures. The variations of threshold current density in a wide temperature range are analyzed and the negative characteristic temperature and oscillatory characteristic temperature appearing in that temperature range are discussed. Also,the improvement of quantum dot lasers＇ performance is investigated through vertical stacking and p-type doping and the optimal dot density, which corresponds to minimal threshold current density,is calculated.

Gain Switch of an AlGaInP Red Light Semiconductor Laser Diode

We solve the single mode coupled rate equations by computer,simulate the behavior of a gain switch of an AlGaInP red light semiconductor laser diode,and find the characteristic of FWHM of pulses changing with the amplitude of modulation signal, the bias current, and the modulated frequency. On this basis, we conduct experiments. The experiment results accord with the simulations well.

First commissioning results of the coherent scattering and imaging endstation at the Shanghai soft X-ray free-electron laser facility

The Shanghai soft X-ray free-electron laser(SXFEL)user facility project started in 2016 and is expected to be open to users by 2022.It aims to deliver ultra-intense coherent femtosecond X-ray pulses to five endstations covering a range of 100–620 eV for ultrafast X-ray science.Two undulator lines are designed and constructed,based on different lasing modes:self-amplified spontaneous emission and echo-enabled harmonic generation.The coherent scattering and imaging(CSI)endstation is the first of five endstations to be commissioned online.It focuses on high-resolution single-shot imaging and the study of ultrafast dynamic processes using coherent forward scattering techniques.Both the single-shot holograms and coherent diffraction patterns were recorded and reconstructed for nanoscale imaging,indicating the excellent coherence and high peak power of the SXFEL and the possibility of‘‘diffraction before destruction’’experiments at the CSI endstation.In this study,we report the first commissioning results of the CSI endstation.

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.

An investigation of the L-shell x-ray conversion efficiency for laser-irradiated tin foils

We have used the ShenguangⅡlaser in third harmonic(351 nm)to investigate the emission of L-shell radiation in the 3.3–4.4 ke V range generated using thin foils of Sn coated onto a parylene substrate with irradiation of order 1015 W cm-2 and nanosecond pulse duration.In our experiment,we have concentrated on assessing the emission on the non-laser irradiated side as this allows an experimental geometry relevant to experiments on photo-ionised plasmas where a secondary target must be placed close to the source,to achieve x-ray fluxes appropriate to astrophysical objects.Overall L-shell conversion efficiencies are estimated to be of order 1%,with little dependence on Sn thickness between 400 and 800 nm.

Passively Mode-Locked Femtosecond Disordered Crystal Laser with Nd:CGA as Gain Medium

We present a laser-diode-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond disordered crystal laser by using Nd：CaGdAI04 （Nd：CGA） as the gain medium. With a pair of SF6 prisms to control the dispersion compensation, laser pulses as short as 850fs at 1079nm are obtained with a repetition rate of 124.6 MHz. The measured threshold pump power is 1.45 W. A maximum average output power of 122mW is obtained under the pump power of 5.9 W. These results show that Nd：CGA could be a promising laser medium for generating femtosecond ultrashort pulse at about 1 μm.