Generation of monoenergetic ultrashort electron pulses from a fs laser plasma

Ultrashort high-energy electron beams are generated by focusing fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses on a thin metal tape at normal incidence. At laser intensities above 10¹⁶ W/cm² , the fs laser plasma ejects copious amounts of electrons in a direction parallel to the target surface. These electrons are directly detected by means of a backside illuminated X-ray CCD, and their energy spectrum is determined with an electrostatic analyzer. The electrons were observed for two laser polarization directions, parallel and perpendicular to the observation direction. At the maximum applied intensity of 2×10¹⁷ W/cm², the energy distribution peaks at around 35 keV with a hot tail detectable up to about 300 keV. The number of electrons per shot at 35 keV is about 5×10⁸ per sterad per keV. Quasi-monoenergetic electron pulses with a relative energy spread of 1% were produced by using a 50-m slit in the beam path after the analyzer. This approach offers great potential for time-resolved studies of plasma, liquid, and surface structures with atomic-scale spatial resolution. PACS 41.75.Fr; 52.38.Kd; 52.70.Nc     

Near QED regime of laser interaction with overdense plasmas

Interaction of laser plulses with intensities up to 10²⁵?W/cm² with overdense plasma targets is investigated via three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. At these intensities, radiation of electrons in the laser field becomes important. Electrons transfer a significant fraction of their energy to γ-photons and obtain strong feedbacks due to radiation reaction (RR) force. The RR effect on the distribution of laser energies among three main species: electrons, ions and photons is studied. The RR and electron-positron pair creation are implemented by a QED model. As the laser intensity inreases, the ratio of laser energy coupled to electrons drops while the one for γ-photons reaches up to 35%. Two distinctive plasma density regimes of the high-density carbon target and low-density solid hydrogen target are identified from the laser energy partitions and angular distributions of photons. The power-laws of absorption efficiency versus laser intensity and the transition of photon divergence are revealed. These show enhanced generation of γ-photon beams with improved collimation in the relativistically transparent regime. A new effect of transverse trapping of electrons inside the laser field caused by the RR force is observed: electrons can be unexpectedly confined by the intense laser field when the RR force is comparable to the Lorentz force. Finally, the RR effect and different regions of photon emission in laser-foil interactions are clarified.     

A study of electron beams extracted from a plasma produced by laser interaction with a solid target

In this work, wave formation in laser-produced plasma is investigated by an analysis of time-of-flight signal of the electron pulse. Electrons are extracted from a non-equilibrium plasma, generated by pulsed laser ablation on a solid Ge target. The process is represented by ion-acoustic waves, which are generated from an external perturbation, given by the positive bias voltage of a Faraday cup. The characteristics of the waves depend substantially on the geometry of the plasma expansion chamber and on laser fluence, but are independent on bias potential. A KrF excimer UV laser was employed for plasma generation. Measurements were performed at two different laser fluences, 4 and 7 J/cm². The plasma created propagates with a mean velocity of about 1.1?×?10⁴ m/s. A movable Faraday cup was employed in order to collect electrons at different bias voltage values.     

Generation of a fast-ion beam upon the interaction of a multiterawatt picosecond laser pulse with a solid target

The parameters of fast particles generated upon the interaction of 10¹⁹ W/cm² laser pulses with solid targets are studied. The spatial and energy parameters of fast ions are investigated. It is found that approximately 1–3% of the laser energy is transformed to the energy of mega-and submegaelectronvolt ions at laser pulse intensities ≥10¹⁸ W/cm². It is shown experimentally that an ion beam is directed perpendicular to the target surface. The analytic and numerical simulations agree with experimental results and predict the propagation of fast electrons in the mirror direction with respect to the incident laser beam and of ions perpendicular to the target. The theoretical calculations are compared with the experimental output and spectra of fast electrons and ions.     

Cold electrons acceleration in TNSA laser-generated plasma using a low-contrast fs laser

The fs laser facility in Bordeaux, delivering an intensity of 10¹⁸ W/cm² at normal incidence on thin foils, has been used to induce forward electron and ion acceleration in target-normal-sheath-acceleration (TNSA) regime. Micrometric thin foils with different composition, thickness, and electron density, were prepared to promote the charge particle acceleration in the forward direction. The plasma electron and ion emission monitoring were performed on-line using SiC semiconductor detectors in time-of-flight (TOF) configuration and gaf-chromics films both covered by thin absorber filters. The experiment has permitted to accelerate electrons and protons. A special attention was placed to detect relativistic hot electrons escaping from the plasma and cold electrons returning to the target position. The electron energies of the order of 100 keV and of about 1 keV were detected as representative of hot and cold electrons, respectively. A high cold electron contribution was measured using low-contrast fs laser, while it is less evident using high-contrast fs lasers. The charge particle acceleration depends on the laser parameters, irradiation conditions, and target properties, as will be presented and discussed.     

Observation of high-energy electrons from a metal target irradiated by protons with a mean energy of 25 keV

Electrons with abnormally high energies of up to 16 keV are detected from an iron target irradiated by ions (H⁺, Fe⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺) with energies ranging from 20 to 100 keV from the plasma of a high-power femtosecond laser pulse with an intensity of 10¹⁶ J/(s cm²). These electrons indicate that the energy of an incident ion is almost completely transferred to an electron knocked out of the target. In a range of 6–16 keV, the spectrum of electrons knocked out of the K shell of iron atoms by protons with an energy of 22 ± 2 keV is quasi-exponential with an exponent of 4 keV. For 8-keV electrons, the double differential cross section for ionization by such protons is estimated as 10^?7 b/(eV sr).     

Overheated plasma at the surface of a target with a periodic structure induced by femtosecond laser radiation

A periodic structure is induced at the surface of a metal target exposed to a series of p-polarized 200-femtosecond laser pulses with intensity close to the melting threshold of the target material. The period of the structure is determined by the interference between the incident pump wave and the surface electromagnetic wave. Exposure of the obtained structure to the same laser pulse, but with an intensity of ～10¹⁶ W/cm², provides resonant excitation of the surface electromagnetic waves at the plasma-vacuum interface. This leads to an increase in the X-ray output and the temperature of plasma hot electrons.     

Excitation of X rays by electrons accelerated in air in the wake wave of a laser pulse

The characteristics of X rays of a laser plasma generated in the interaction of a femtosecond pulse with solid targets in an air atmosphere have been investigated. It has been shown that the mechanism for the generation of X rays in the interaction of short intense laser pulses with solid targets in a gas atmosphere is attributed to the generation of fast electrons in the region of the filamentation of a laser pulse. It has been proven experimentally that under such conditions, the solid target irradiated by laser radiation of even a low density of about 10¹⁵ W/cm² very efficiently emits ∼10-keV photons. It has been shown theoretically that the maximum energy of accelerated electrons can reach ɛ_max ∼ 100–200 keV under these conditions. This means that the proposed method can provide characteristic radiation with the energy of photons much higher than 10 keV.     

Neutron production in picosecond laser-generated plasma on a be target

Experimental data on neutron production in a plasma generated on a Be target by a picosecond laser of intensity 2 × 10¹⁸ W/cm² are presented. In contrast to previous measurements, a Ta converter is not used in this study to generate γ rays. The neutron yield is equal to 2 × 10³ over a solid angle of 4π steradians per laser pulse. A simultaneous measurement of the maximum energy of hard x rays gave E _γmax ～ 6 MeV, the number of these photons being 5 × 10⁸ over an angle of 4π steradians per laser pulse. The energy distributions of fast electrons and photons are estimated theoretically.     

Hard X-ray generation from microdroplets in intense laser fields

Microdroplets of 15-μm diameter are subjected to ultra-short laser pulses of intensities up to 10¹⁵Wcm⁻² to produce hot dense plasma. The hot electrons produced in the microdroplet plasma result in efficient generation of hard X-rays in the range 50–150keV at an irradiance as low as 8×10¹⁴Wcm⁻². The X-ray source efficiency is estimated to be about 2 ×10⁻⁷%. A prepulse that is about 11ns ahead of the main pulse strongly influences the droplet plasma and the resulting X-ray emission. For a similar laser prepulse and intensity, no measurable hard X-ray emission is observed when the laser is focused on a solid target of similar composition and this indicates that liquid droplet targets are best suited for hard X-ray generation in laser–plasma interactions.     

Laser-generated ns plasma pulses characterized using SiC Schottky diode

The nonequilibrium plasma generated by nanosecond laser pulse is characterized using a SiC detector connected in time-of-flight configuration to measure the radiations emitted from the plasma. Different metallic targets were irradiated by the pulsed laser at an intensity of 10¹⁰ W/cm² and 200 mJ pulse energy. The SiC allows detecting ultraviolet radiations and soft X-rays, electrons, and ions. The obtained plasma has a temperature of the order of tens to hundreds eV depending on the atomic number of the irradiated target and ion accelerations of the order of 100 eV per charge state.     

Physical processes in a laser-greenhouse target: Experimental results, theoretical models, and numerical calculations

The paper is devoted to recent results concerning investigation of physical processes occurring in a “laser greenhouse” target. Results of experimental and theoretical studies of laser-pulse interaction with a low-density absorber of the target, namely, with a porous substance having density close to the plasma critical density, are presented. On the basis of a vast cycle of experiments carried out in a number of laboratories, it is shown that the absorption of the laser radiation in porous media, including those with a density exceeding the critical one by at least a factor of 4 to 6, has a bulk nature and is distributed over the target depth. In particular, the laser-radiation absorption region in a porous substance with density 10⁻³–10⁻² g/cm³ is extended into the target 400–100 μm, respectively. The coefficient of absorption of laser radiation with intensity 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ W/cm² in porous substances, including those of the supercritical density, is 70–90%. Experiments have not shown enhanced (compared to a solid-state target) radiation intensity associated with a possible development of parametric instabilities in an extended laser plasma of low-density porous media, as well as noticeable contribution of fast electrons to the energy balance and their effect on the energy transfer. In this paper, theoretical models are developed explaining features of the laser-radiation absorption and energy transfer in porous media. These models are based on the phenomenon of laser-radiation interaction with solid components of a porous substance and plasma production inside pores and cells of the medium. The efficiency of energy conversion in the vicinity of the ignition threshold for the laser-greenhouse target is investigated in the case of an absorber having the above properties. Numerical calculations have shown that a thermonuclear-gain coefficient of 1 to 2 (with respect to the energy absorbed) is attained for a laser-radiation energy of 100 kJ. Translated from Preprint No. 58 of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (1999).     

Variations in the parameters of the erosion lead plasma with distance from the laser target

The main parameters of the erosion lead plasma (the atomic density, the densities of electrons and single-and double-charged ions, the pressure, the mean free path, and the degree of ionization) at distances 1 and 7 mm from the laser target are investigated using emission spectroscopy. The plasma was produced by using a repetitive neodymium laser with a peak intensity of (3–5) × 10⁸ W/cm², wavelength of 1.06 μm, pulse duration of 20 ns, and repetition rate of 12 Hz. Original Russian Text ? A.K. Shuaibov, M.P. Chuchman, 2006, published in Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoĭ Fiziki, 2006, Vol. 76, No. 11, pp. 61–65.     

Nuclear fusion induced by a super-intense ultrashort laser pulse in a deuterated glass aerogel

A SiO₂ aerogel with absorbed deuterium is proposed as a target for the fusion reaction d + d → He³ + n induced by a superintense ultrashort laser pulse. The multiple inner ionization of oxygen and silicon atoms in the aerogel skeleton occurs in the superintense laser field. All the formed free electrons are heated and removed from the aerogel skeleton by the laser field at the front edge of the laser pulse. The subsequent Coulomb explosion of the deuterated charged aerogel skeleton propels the deuterium ions up to kinetic energies of ten keV and higher. The neutron yield is estimated at up to 10⁵ neutrons per laser pulse for ～200–500 ps if the peak intensity is 10¹⁸ W/cm² and the pulse duration is 35 fs.     

Non-contact acoustic tests based on nanosecond laser ablation: Generation of a pulse sound source with a small amplitude

A method to generate a pulse sound source for acoustic tests based on nanosecond laser ablation with a plasma plume is discussed. Irradiating a solid surface with a laser beam expands a high-temperature plasma plume composed of free electrons, ionized atoms, etc. at a high velocity throughout ambient air. The shockwave generated by the plasma plume becomes the pulse sound source. A laser ablation sound source has two features. Because laser ablation is induced when the laser fluence reaches 10¹²–10¹⁴ W/m², which is less than that for laser-induced breakdown (10¹⁵ W/m²), laser ablation can generate a lower sound pressure, and the sound source has a hemispherical radiation pattern on the surface where laser ablation is generated. Additionally, another feature is that laser-induced breakdown sound sources can fluctuate, whereas laser ablation sound sources do not because laser ablation is produced at a laser beam–irradiation point. We validate this laser ablation method for acoustic tests by comparing the measured and theoretical resonant frequencies of an impedance tube.     

强激光与高密度气体相互作用中电子和离子加速的数值模拟

在现有的一维粒子模拟程序的基础上发展了带光电离和碰撞电离及蒙特卡罗两体碰撞的模拟程序(1D PIC-MCC). 用此程序模拟研究了短脉冲激光与He气靶相互作用时电子和离子的加速过程. 研究表明当强激光与过临界密度的微米厚度的平面靶相互作用时，靶前表面物质将被激光脉冲前沿迅速离化；新生的电子被激光场有质动力加速成为高能电子，这些电子穿入到靶内，通过电子碰撞电离离化靶内物质；一部分高能电子穿透靶后，会在靶的后表面形成强的电荷分离场，该场迅速离化靶后表面物质，同时使得后表面离子得到加速. 部分穿透靶的超热电子将被电荷分离场重新拉回靶内，在靶的前后表面振荡. 一些振荡电子在此过程中得到电荷分离场加速，离开前表面，在前表面也形成电荷分离场，使前表面离子得到加速. 关键词： 激光等离子体 光电离和碰撞电离 电子加速 离子加速     

Generation of characteristic x rays by a terawatt femtosecond chromium-forsterite laser

Characteristic K _α x rays arising when a metallic target is irradiated by femtosecond infrared pulses that are generated by a terawatt chromium-forsterite laser system (1240 nm, 90 mJ, 80 fs) are studied. The absolute yield (up to 3 × 10⁸ photons/sr pulse) and the coefficient of the transformation of laser radiation to K _α radiation (maximum value ≈0.03%) are measured for an iron target. The dependence of the radiation intensity on the angle of incidence of p polarized laser radiation is analyzed. The mechanisms of the production of fast electrons responsible for generating characteristic x rays are discussed.     

Escape into vacuum of fast electrons generated by oblique incidence of an ultrashort, high-power laser pulse on a solid target

The possibility that fast electrons can escape in a direction close to the trajectory of a reflected ultrashort laser pulse at extremely high laser radiation fluxes is examined analytically and numerically. Analytic estimates are made of the feasibility of forming electron bursts in the plasma and of their subsequent motion. The self-consistent, collisionless motion of a plasma acted on by specified incident and reflected ultrashort laser pulses is modeled in two dimensions by the particle-in-cell method. It is shown that a substantial number of electrons located in the subcritical region are gathered into bunches by the resultant forces and escape to the vacuum in a direction different from the normal to the target surface within a narrow range of solid angles. This demonstrates the feasibility of laser acceleration of an electron burst during reflection of an ultrashort laser pulse from a solid target. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1184–1197 (October 1999)     

Stimulated emission of x-rays from plasmas generated by short-pulse-laser-heating of solid targets

The problem of heating of a solid target to generate a nonequilibrium plasma by subnanosecond laser pulses is considered. For an appreciable absorption of energy from a Nd-glass laser, the critical density of the electrons in the plasma turns out to be 10²¹ cm⁻³. These electrons can be heated up to 10⁷ K or more by using pulses of about 10 picosecond duration and absorbed energy flux of the order of 10²¹ erg cm⁻² sec⁻¹. Starting from neutral atoms in a solid with a high atomic number, e.g., Z=26, for times in the picosecond regime the relevant rate equations are solved analytically to predict densities of the atoms at different ionization levels. It is shown that during such a short time the population density of the ions isoelectronic to neon builds up to a very large amount. This in turn leads to the population inversion in the 4s → 3p soft x-ray laser transition, via the electron-impact excitation of the 4s level of the isoelectronic neon ion. For the effective pumping times of the order of 5 picoseconds, a gain of the order of 10² db cm⁻¹ is predicted for the laser transition in Fe XVII, Co XVIII or Cu XX.     

Formation of fast multicharged heavy ions under the action of a superintense femtosecond laser pulse on the cleaned surface of a target

It is found that the mean charge of tungsten ions in a solid tungsten target cleaned from the surface layer of hydrocarbon and oxide compounds and exposed to femtosecond laser radiation with an intensity exceeding 10¹⁶ W/cm² attains 22+, while the maximum charge is 29+. The maximum energy of such ions approaches 1 MeV. The corresponding values obtained on a dirty target with the same laser pulse parameters constitute 3+, 5+, and 150 keV. The results of numerical simulation show that such a large maximum charge of ions can be attained owing to the emergence of an electrostatic ambipolar field at the sharp boundary between the plasma and vacuum. The main mechanism of ionization of ions with maximum charges is apparently impact ionization in the presence of an external quasi-static field. In addition, direct above-threshold ionization by this field can also play a significant role. It is also shown that heavy ions in a clean target are accelerated by hot electrons. This leads to the formation of high-energy ions. The effect of recombination on the charge of the ions being detected is analyzed in detail.