A review on glass welding by ultra-short laser pulses

Glass welding by ultra-short pulsed(USP)lasers is a piece of technology that offers high strength joints with hermetic sealing.The joints are typically formed in glass that is transparent to the laser by exploiting nonlinear absorption effects that occur under extreme conditions.Though the temperature reached during the process is on the order of a few 1000°C,the heat affected zone(HAZ)is confined to only tens of micrometers.It is this controlled confinement of the HAZ during the joining process that makes this technology so appealing to a multitude of applications because it allows the foregoing of a subsequent tempering step that is typically essential in other glass joining techniques,thus making it possible to effectively join highly heat sensitive components.In this work,we give an overview on the process,development and applications of glass welding by USP lasers.

Ultra-Short Pulsed Laser Manufacturing and Surface Processing of Microdevices

Ultra-short laser pulses possess many advantages for materials processing.Ultrafast laser has a significantly low thermal effect on the areas surrounding the focal point;therefore,it is a promising tool for micro-and submicro-sized precision processing.In addition,the nonlinear multiphoton absorption phenomenon of focused ultra-short pulses provides a promising method for the fabrication of various structures on transparent material,such as glass and transparent polymers.A laser direct writing process was applied in the fabrication of high-performance three-dimensional(3D)structured multilayer microsupercapacitors(MSCs)on polymer substrates exhibiting a peak specific capacitance of 42.6 mF·cm^-2 at a current density of 0.1 mA·cm^-12.Furthermore,a flexible smart sensor array on a polymer substrate was fabricated for multi-flavor detection.Different surface treatments such as gold plating,reducedgraphene oxide(rGO)coating,and polyaniline(PANI)coating were accomplished for different measurement units.By applying principal component analysis(PCA),this sensing system showed a promising result for flavor detection.In addition,two-dimensional(2D)periodic metal nanostructures inside 3D glass microfluidic channels were developed by all-femtosecond-laser processing for real-time surfaceenhanced Raman spectroscopy(SERS).The processing mechanisms included laser ablation,laser reduction,and laser-induced surface nano-engineering.These works demonstrate the attractive potential of ultra-short pulsed laser for surface precision manufacturing.

Study on Ultra-Short Laser Pulse Ablation of Metals by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The dynamical progresses involved in ultra-short laser pulse ablation of face-centered cubic metals under stress confinement condition are described completely using molecular dynamics method. The laser beam absorption and thermal energy turning into kinetics energy of. atoms are taken into account to give a detailed picture of laser metal interaction. Superheating phenomenon is observed, and the phase change from solid to liquid is characterized by a destroyed atom configuration and a decreased number density. The steep velocity gradients are found in the systems of Cu and Ni after pulse in consequence of located heating and exponential decrease of fluences following the Lambert-Beer expression. The shock wave velocities are predicted to be about 5 000 m/s in Cu and 7 200 m/s in Ni. The higher ablation rates are obtained from simulations compared with experimental data as a result of a well-defined crystalline surface irradiated by a single pulse. Simulation results show that the main mechanisms of ablation are evaporation and thermoelastic stress due to located heating.

Cooling rate calibration and mapping of ultra-short pulsed laser modifications in fused silica by Raman and Brillouin spectroscopy

This paper focuses on the preparation of a new extended set of calibrations of cooling rate(fictive temperature)in fused silica determined by inelastic light scattering and its subsequent use to characterize the local cooling rate distribution in ultra-short pulsed(USP)laser modification.In order to determine the thermal history(e.g.cooling rate and fictive temperature)of fused silica,high-resolution inelastic light-scattering experiments(Raman and Brillouin spectroscopy)were investigated.Calibrations were performed and compared to the existing literature to quantify structural changes due to a change of fictive temperature.Compared to existing calibrations,this paper provides an extension to lower and higher cooling rates.Using this new set of calibrations,we characterized a USP laser modification in fused silica and calculated the local fictive temperature distribution.An equation relating the fictive temperature(Tf)to cooling rates is given.A maximum cooling rate of 3000 K min-1 in the glass transition region around 1200℃ was deduced from the Raman analysis.The Brillouin observations are sensitive to both the thermal history and the residual stress.By comparing the Raman and Brillouin observations,we extracted the local residual stress distribution with high spatial resolution.For the first time,combined Raman and Brillouin inelastic light scattering experiments show the local distribution of cooling rates and residual stresses(detailed behavior of the glass structure)in the interior and the surrounding of an USP laser modified zone.

Development of gated fiber detectors for laser-induced strong electromagnetic pulse environments

With the development of laser technologies,nuclear reactions can happen in high-temperature plasma environments induced by lasers and have attracted a lot of attention from different physical disciplines.However,studies on nuclear reactions in plasma are still limited by detecting technologies.This is mainly due to the fact that extremely high electromagnetic pulses(EMPs)can also be induced when high-intensity lasers hit targets to induce plasma,and then cause dysfunction of many types of traditional detectors.Therefore,new particle detecting technologies are highly needed.In this paper,we report a recently developed gated fiber detector which can be used in harsh EMP environments.In this prototype detector,scintillating photons are coupled by fiber and then transferred to a gated photomultiplier tube which is located far away from the EMP source and shielded well.With those measures,the EMPs can be avoided which may result that the device has the capability to identify a single event of nuclear reaction products generated in laser-induced plasma from noise EMP backgrounds.This new type of detector can be widely used as a time-of-flight(TOF)detector in high-intensity laser nuclear physics experiments for detecting neutrons,photons,and other charged particles.

Effect of Lorentz local field correction on propagation of ultrashort laser pulse in one-dimensional para-nitroaniline (PNA) molecules

This paper investigates the effect of Lorentz local field correction （LFC） on the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in a para-nitroaniline molecular medium under resonant and nonresonant conditions by solving numerically the full-wave Maxwell-Bloch equations beyond slowly-varying envelope approximation and rotating-wave approximation. The effect of the LFC is considerably obvious when pulses with large areas propagate in the dense molecular medium. In the case of resonance, the group velocity of the sub-pulses split from the incident pulse along propagation is severely decreased by the LFC, especially for the latest sub-pulse. However, in the case of nonresonance, the influence of the LFC on the temporal evolution of the pulse is less obvious and lacks homogeneity with an increase in incident pulse area, propagation distance and molecular density.

Dynamics of cooperative emissions in a cascade three-level molecular system driven by an ultrashort laser pulse

This paper investigates the dynamics of cooperative emissions in a cascade three-level system driven by an ultra, short laser pulse by solving numerically the full-wave Maxwell-Bloch equations. The 4, 4＇-bis（dimethylamino） stilbene molecule is used as the model molecule because of its strong two-photon absorption property. The two-colour cooperative emissions are studied as functions of molecular number density and dephasing rate of the dipole coherence. The propagation effects on the evolution of the cooperative radiations are also taken into account. The cooperative radiations are enhanced for large number density of the molecule, while the fast dephasing of the dipole coherence reduces the intensity of the cooperative radiations and delays the emission times or even inhibits the formation of the emissions. The delay time of the radiation decreases with the increase of the molecular number density and the propagation distance.

Amplification of 200-ps high-intensity laser pulses via frequency matching stimulated Brillouin scattering

Laser pulses of 200 ps with extremely high intensities and high energies are sufficient to satisfy the demand of shock ignition,which is an alternative path to ignition in inertial confinement fusion(ICF).This paper reports a type of Brillouin scheme to obtain high-intensity 200-ps laser pulses,where the pulse durations are a challenge for conventional pulsed laser amplification systems.In the amplification process,excited Brillouin acoustic waves fulfill the nonlinear optical effect through which the high energy of a long pump pulse is entirely transferred to a 200-ps laser pulse.This method was introduced and achieved within the SG-Ⅲprototype system in China.Compared favorably with the intensity of 2 GW/cm^2 in existing ICF laser drivers,a 6.96-GW/cm^2 pulse with a width of 170 ps was obtained in our experiment.The practical scalability of the results to larger ICF laser drivers is discussed.

Formation mechanism of bifurcation in mode-locked class-B laser

The random oscillations of many longitudinal modes are inevitable in both class –A and –B lasers due to their broadened atomic bandwidths. The destructive superposition of electric field components that are incoherently oscillating at the different longitudinal modes can be converted into a constructive one by using the mode-locking technique. Here, the Maxwell–Bloch equations of motion are solved for a three-mode class-B laser under the mode-locking conditions. The results indicate that the cavity oscillating modes are shifted by changing the laser pumping rate. On the other hand, the frequency components of cavity electric field simultaneously form the various bifurcations. These bifurcations satisfy the well-known mode-locking conditions as well. The atomic population inversion forms only one bifurcation, which is responsible for shaping the cavity electric field bifurcations.

10 PW peak power femtosecond laser pulses at ELI-NP

We report on the generation and delivery of 10.2 PW peak power laser pulses,using the High Power Laser System at the Extreme Laser Infrastructure–Nuclear Physics facility.In this work we demonstrate for the first time,to the best of our knowledge,the compression and propagation of full energy,full aperture,laser pulses that reach a power level of more than 10 PW.

High-energy hybrid femtosecond laser system demonstrating 2×10 PW capability

We report on a two-arm hybrid high-power laser system(HPLS)able to deliver 2×10 PW femtosecond pulses,developed at the Bucharest-Magurele Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics(ELI-NP)Facility.A hybrid frontend(FE)based on a Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier and a picosecond optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier based on beta barium borate(BBO)crystals,with a cross-polarized wave(XPW)filter in between,has been developed.It delivers 10 mJ laser pulses,at 10 Hz repetition rate,with more than 70 nm spectral bandwidth and high-intensity contrast,in the range of 1013:1.The high-energy Ti:sapphire amplifier stages of both arms were seeded from this common FE.The final high-energy amplifier,equipped with a 200 mm diameter Ti:sapphire crystal,has been pumped by six 100 J nanosecond frequency doubled Nd:glass lasers,at 1 pulse/min repetition rate.More than 300 J output pulse energy has been obtained by pumping with only 80%of the whole 600 J available pump energy.The compressor has a transmission efficiency of 74%and an output pulse duration of 22.7 fs was measured,thus demonstrating that the dual-arm HPLS has the capacity to generate 10 PW peak power femtosecond pulses.The reported results represent the cornerstone of the ELI-NP 2×10 PW femtosecond laser facility,devoted to fundamental and applied nuclear physics research.

Overview and specifications of laser and target areas at the Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory

We present the main features of the ultrashort, high-intensity laser installation at the Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory(ILIL) including laser, beam transport and target area specifications. The laboratory was designed to host laser–target interaction experiments of more than 220 TW peak power, in flexible focusing configurations, with ultrarelativistic intensity on the target. Specifications have been established via dedicated optical diagnostic assemblies and commissioning interaction experiments. In this paper we give a summary of laser specifications available to users,including spatial, spectral and temporal contrast features. The layout of the experimental target areas is presented, with attention to the available configurations of laser focusing geometries and diagnostics. Finally, we discuss radiation protection measures and mechanical stability of the laser focal spot on the target.

Simultaneous observation of ultrafast electron and proton beams in TNSA

The interaction of ultra-intense high-power lasers with solid-state targets has been largely studied for the past 20 years as a future compact proton and ion source.Indeed,the huge potential established on the target surface by the escaping electrons provides accelerating gradients of TV/m.This process,called target normal sheath acceleration,involves a large number of phenomena and is very difficult to study because of the picosecond scale dynamics.At the SPARC LAB Test Facility,the high-power laser FLAME is employed in experiments with solid targets,aiming to study possible correlations between ballistic fast electrons and accelerated protons.In detail,we have installed in the interaction chamber two different diagnostics,each one devoted to characterizing one beam.The first relies on electro-optic sampling,and it has been adopted to completely characterize the ultrafast electron components.On the other hand,a time-of-flight detector,based on chemical-vapour-deposited diamond,has allowed us to retrieve the proton energy spectrum.In this work,we report preliminary studies about simultaneous temporal resolved measurements of both the first forerunner escaping electrons and the accelerated protons for different laser parameters.

Performance of an elliptical crystal spectrometer for SGⅡX-ray opacity experiments

A new crystal spectrometer for application in X-ray opacity experiments is proposed. The conditions necessary to yield broad spectral coverage with a resolution >500, strong rejection of hard X-ray backgrounds and negligible source broadening for extended sources are formulated. In addition, the design, response modeling and reporting of an elliptical crystal spectrometer in conjunction with a linear detector are presented. The measured results demonstrate the performance of the new crystal spectrometer with a broad energy coverage range, high spectral resolution, and high luminosity(good collection efficiency). This spectrometer can be used in combination with point-projection backlighting techniques as utilized in X-ray opacity experiments. Specifically, the X-ray source, transmission and self-emission spectra of the sample can be measured simultaneously in a single shot, which can reduce the experimental uncertainties from shot-to-shot fluctuations. The new crystal spectrometer has been used in the X-ray opacity experiment to precisely measure the aluminum K-absorption edge shift in the energy range around 1.560 keV in strongly compressed matter. It is demonstrated that the spectrometer can be used to realize measurements of new and unpredictable physical interactions of interest, as well as basic and applied high-energy-density science.

Review on TNSA diagnostics and recent developments at SPARC LAB

Interaction between high-intensity lasers with solid targets is the key process in a wide range of novel laser-based particle accelerator schemes,as well as electromagnetic radiation sources.Common to all the processes is the generation of femtosecond pulses of relativistic electrons emitted from the targets as forerunners of the later-time principal products of the interaction scheme.In this paper,some diagnostics employed in laser–solid matter interaction experiments related to electrons,protons,ions,electromagnetic pulses(EMPs)and X-rays are reviewed.Then,we present our experimental study regarding fast electrons and EMPs utilizing a femtosecond-resolution detector previously adopted only in accelerator facilities.

New scheme to trigger fusion in a compact magnetic fusion device by combining muon catalysis and alpha heating effects

The application of laser pulses with psec or shorter duration enables nonthermal efficient ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with homogeneous high ion energies exceeding ion current densities of 10^(12) A cm^(-2). The effects of ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with high energy proton beams are proposed for muon production in a compact magnetic fusion device. The proposed new scheme consists of an ignition fusion spark by muon catalyzed fusion(μCF) in a small mirror-like configuration where low temperature D–T plasma is trapped for a duration of 1 μs. This initial fusion spark produces sufficient alpha heating in order to initiate the fusion process in the main device. The use of a multi-fluid global particle and energy balance code allows us to follow the temporal evolution of the reaction rate of the fusion process in the device. Recent progress on the ICAN and IZEST projects for high efficient high power and high repetition rate laser systems allows development of the proposed device for clean energy production. With the proposed approaches,experiments on fusion nuclear reactions and μCF process can be performed in magnetized plasmas in existing kJ/PW laser facilities as the GEKKO-LFEX, the PETAL and the ORION or in the near future laser facilities as the ELI-NP Romanian pillar.