A comprehensive diagnostic system of ultra-thin liquid sheet targets

To meet the demands of laser-ion acceleration at a high repetition rate,we have developed a comprehensive diagnostic system for real-time and in situ monitoring of liquid sheet targets(LSTs).The spatially resolved rapid characterizations of an LST’s thickness,flatness,tilt angle and position are fulfilled by different subsystems with high accuracy.With the help of the diagnostic system,we reveal the dependence of thickness distribution on collision parameters and report the 238-nm liquid sheet generated by the collision of two liquid jets.Control methods for the flatness and tilt angle of LSTs have also been provided,which are essential for applications of laser-driven ion acceleration and others.

Development of an ultrathin liquid sheet target for laser ion acceleration at high repetition rates in the kilohertz range

A colliding microjet liquid sheet target system was developed and tested for pairs of round nozzles of 10,11 and 18μm in diameter.The sheet's position stability was found to be better than a few micrometers.Upon interaction with 50 mJ laser pulses,the 18μm jet has a resonance amplitude of 16μm at a repetition rate of 33 Hz,while towards 100 Hz it converges to 10μm for all nozzles.A white-light interferometric system was developed to measure the liquid sheet thickness in the target chamber both in air and in vacuum,with a measurement range of 182 nm±1μm and an accuracy of±3%.The overall shape and 3D shape of the sheet follow the Hasson±Peck model in air.In vacuum versus air,the sheet gradually loses 10%of its thickness,so the thinnest sheet achieved was below 200 nm at a vacuum level of 10±4mbar,and remained stable for several hours of operation.

Detailed characterization of kHz-rate laser-driven fusion at a thin liquid sheet with a neutron detection suite

We present detailed characterization of laser-driven fusion and neutron production(-10^(5)/second) using 8 mJ, 40 fs laser pulses on a thin(<1 μm) D_2O liquid sheet employing a measurement suite. At relativistic intensity(~ 5 × 10^(18)W/cm^(2))and high repetition rate(1 kHz), the system produces deuterium±deuterium(D-D) fusion, allowing for consistent neutron generation. Evidence of D-D fusion neutron production is verified by a measurement suite with three independent detection systems: an EJ-309 organic scintillator with pulse-shape discrimination, a ~3He proportional counter and a set of 36 bubble detectors. Time-of-flight analysis of the scintillator data shows the energy of the produced neutrons to be consistent with 2.45 MeV. Particle-in-cell simulations using the WarpX code support significant neutron production from D-D fusion events in the laser±target interaction region. This high-repetition-rate laser-driven neutron source could provide a low-cost, on-demand test bed for radiation hardening and imaging applications.