Internal modification of glass by ultrashort laser pulse and its application to microwelding

Internal modification process of glass by ultrashort laser pulse (USLP) and its applications to microwelding of glass are presented. A simulation model is developed, which can determine intensity distribution of absorbed laser energy, nonlinear absorptivity and temperature distribution at different pulse repetition rates and pulse energies in internal modification of bulk glass with fs- and ps-laser pulses from experimental modified structure. The formation process of the dual-structured internal modification is clarified, which consists of a teardrop-shaped inner structure and an elliptical outer structure, corresponding to the laser-absorbing region and heat-affected molten region, respectively. Nonlinear absorptivity at high pulse repetition rates increases due to the increase in the thermally excited free electron density for avalanche ionization. USLP enables crack-free welding of glass because the shrinkage stress is suppressed by producing embedded molten pool by nonlinear absorption process, in contrast to conventional continuous wave laser welding where cracks cannot be avoided due to shrinkage stress produced in cooling process. Microwelding techniques of glass by USLP have been developed to join glass/glass and Si/glass using optically contacted sample pairs. The strength of the weld joint as high as that of base material is obtained without pre- and post-heating in glass/glass welding. In Si/glass welding, excellent joint performances competitive with anodic bonding in terms of joint strength and process throughput have been attained.     

Simulation of material removal efficiency with ultrashort laser pulses

Understanding physical processes accompanying ablation is necessary for the optimal use of ultrashort laser pulse (USLP) material processing. We describe the implementation of self-consistent electromagnetic propagation-energy absorption in our numerical models. We evaluate absorption as a function of the pulse duration, energy, angle of incidence and polarization. We formulate a measure of material removal and use it to estimate the effect of energy, pulselength and prepulses on material removal.     

激光诱导介质击穿中的脉冲截断问题

强激光与介质相互促进作用过程中,当自由电子的密度达到介质的损伤阈值时,介质将被击穿,脉冲的后续能量被激光等离子体强烈吸收而引发截断,这个时间点定义为截断时间点.脉冲的截断时间点对激光脉冲能量的传输有很大的影响.理论研究了入射激光脉冲能量对脉冲截断时间点分布的影响.定量分析和模拟了截断时间点对脉冲能量透过率的影响.模拟结果和实验结果符合很好.研究发现:激光脉冲能量透过率由脉冲截断时间点的位置决定.当脉冲截断时间点分布在脉冲前沿、峰值和后沿时,激光脉冲能垦的透过率分别对应小于50%,等于50%和大于50%.在线测量激光脉冲能量的透过率也可作为一种在线检测光学元件是否发生破坏的方法.     

多脉冲激光辐照下介质损伤理论研究

针对纳秒脉冲和飞秒脉冲不同的损伤机制,分别建立了两种多脉冲激光损伤模型。脉宽小于10 ps时,损伤是由于等离子体形成造成介质发生烧蚀所致,对此建立了基于电子密度演化方程的介质击穿模型;脉宽大于100 ps时,损伤是由于热沉积造成介质发生熔融所致,对此建立了基于傅里叶热传导方程的介质热损伤模型。通过计算两种模型下激光参数和材料参数对多脉冲损伤的影响,发现由于损伤机理不同,不同参数对单脉冲损伤阈值和多脉冲损伤阈值的影响趋势不完全一致,敏感程度也不同。通过计算得到了与实验结果一致的多脉冲损伤阈值与脉冲数间关系,使定量预估多脉冲损伤阈值和元件使用寿命成为可能。     

超短脉冲激光与微小水滴相互作用中电子密度和光场的时空分布

为了研究超短激光脉冲和液滴相互作用过程中电子密度和光场的变化,基于非线性麦克斯韦方程组和电离速率方程,构建了激光等离子体非线性瞬态时域耦合模型,对飞秒激光脉冲击穿微米量级水滴时的电子密度和光场的时空分布进行了计算.结果显示水滴的击穿阈值最小可达2 TW/cm~2,为同等条件下无边界水介质击穿阈值的1/4.随着脉冲能量增强,水滴内自由电子密度峰值区域逆着激光入射方向移动,且入射光越强,水滴对光传播的屏蔽越明显.光束在水滴出射端外部汇聚,汇聚点的光功率密度可达入射光的5倍,且时域波形出现压缩和变形.另外,水滴对激光能量的吸收系数随光强增大而增大,并最终趋于饱和.     

Nonlinear interaction of a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave with a dense laser plasma

The interaction of an intense circularly polarized laser pulse with a layer of plasma of supercritical density is studied. The nonlinear skin effect for the electromagnetic field and the coefficient of collisionless absorption of the laser pulse were calculated analytically. It is shown that, in the process of interaction with the plasma, the laser pulse generates solitons propagating through the plasma layer and transferring the radiation through the opaque medium. The coefficient of transparency of the plasma layer for the soliton-like penetration of the laser radiation was calculated. The plasma parameters at which the collisionless absorption is small as compared to the transformation of the laser energy into solitons were found.     

激光辐照固体靶产生等离子体反冲研究

提出一种通过诊断等离子体反冲动量来计算激光加载产生冲击压强的方法. 当强激光辐照固体靶表面时, 所产生的高速喷射的等离子体对靶具有反冲作用, 通过诊断等离子体反冲动量的变化可以计算激光辐照固体靶产生的冲击压强变化. 本文利用辐射流体力学软件研究了这种诊断方法, 模拟采用的激光功率密度为5×10¹²-5×10¹³ W/cm², 激光脉宽选取纳秒量级. 模拟结果表明该方法是有效且可行的.     

超短激光脉冲对宽带光学物质的微加工

通过讨论超快飞秒激光脉冲和长脉冲宽度的激光脉冲紧导致宽能隙透明电介质的损伤机理和比较超短激光脉冲与长激光脉冲对宽能隙透明电介质的损伤程度，得出超短激光脉冲是一种可对透明宽带电介质进行加工的有效工具的结论。当波长为800nm，脉冲宽度为150fs的激光脉冲紧聚焦到不同的宽能隙透明电介质（K9玻璃和ZK6玻璃）体内时，可制作不同光栅常数的光栅，并在波长为635nm的He-Ne连续激光的垂直照射下，对光栅的远场相对衍射效率和光栅的衍射效率进行了测量。     

Coupling of focused laser pulse to surfaces of transparent materials studied by time-resolved imaging technique

Short and intense laser pulse can process the surface and the inside of transparent materials by focusing the pulse at the desired position. Here we report the interaction of fundamental radiation (1064 nm) of the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser to the surface of PMMA as observed by an imaging system with nanosecond time resolution. The system used fundamental radiation of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser as a processing laser and second harmonic radiation (532 nm) of another Nd:YAG laser as illuminating light. We observed shock waves which propagate into the material and into the atmosphere by shadowgraph and photoelastic method. Surface roughness of a sample is expected to affect the coupling of light and transparent materials for both normal and focused laser light. Our results have revealed the effects visually. For roughness larger than 0.6 m, all energy is absorbed at the surface, while the larger part of the energy is absorbed inside the material as the surface becomes smoother. PACS 52.38.MF; 79.20.DS; 87.63.Lk     

Simulation of rippled structure adjustments based on localized transient electron dynamics control by femtosecond laser pulse trains

This study investigates the effects of pulse energy distributions on subwavelength ripple structures (the ablation shapes and subwavelength ripples) using the plasma model with the consideration of laser particle–wave duality. In the case studies, the laser pulse (800 nm, 50 fs) trains consist of double pulses within a train with the energy ratios of 1:2, 1:1, and 2:1. Localized transient electron densities, material optical properties, and surface plasmon generation are strongly affected by the energy distributions. Hence, the adjustment of the ablation shape and subwavelength ripples can be achieved based on localized transient electron dynamics control during femtosecond laser pulse train processing of dielectrics. The simulation results show that better, more uniform structures, in terms of ablation shapes and subwavelength ripples, can be easily formed at a lower fluence or subpulse energy ratio of 1:1 with a fixed fluence. It is also found that pulse trains at a 1:1 energy ratio are preferred for drilling high-aspect-ratio microholes or microchannels.     

Midinfrared optical breakdown in transparent dielectrics

Optical breakdown measurements for transparent dielectrics are reported for 1 ps laser pulses as a function of mid-IR wavelength from 4.7 to 7.8 microm. For wide-gap dielectrics seed electrons are generated by tunnel ionization with subsequent avalanche ionization and laser absorption by dense plasma. For narrow-gap dielectrics tunnel ionization alone leads to dense plasma formation.     

Time-resolved measurements during backside dry etching of fused silica

The laser-induced backside dry etching (LIBDE) investigated in this study makes use of a thin metal film deposited at the backside of a transparent sample to achieve etching of the sample surface. For the time-resolved measurements at LIBDE fused silica samples coated with 125 nm tin were used and the reflected and the transmitted laser intensities were recorded with a temporal resolution of about 1 ns during the etching with a ∼30 ns KrF excimer laser pulse. The laser beam absorption as well as characteristic changes of the reflection of the target surface was calculated in dependence on the laser fluence in the range of 250-2500 mJ/cm² and the pulse number from the temporal variations of the reflection and the transmission. The decrease of the time of a characteristic drop in the reflectivity, which can be explained by the ablation of the metal film, correlates with the developed thermal model. However, the very high absorption after the film ablation probably results in very high temperatures near the surface and presumably in the formation of an absorbing plasma. This plasma may contribute to the etching and the surface modification of the substrate. After the first pulse a remaining absorption of the sample was measured that can be discussed by the redeposition of portions of the ablated metal film or can come from the surface modification in the fused silica sample. These near-surface modifications permit laser etching with the second laser pulse, too.     

Shadow photography of laser-driven shock waves in air

The interaction of a pulsed TE-CO₂-laser (10.6 μm wavelength, 7 μs pulse length, 0.7 J pulse energy, 10⁷ W/cm² power density, 100 kW mean power) with metals in air was investigated. Laser-supported absorption phenomena and material ablation processes are compared to those of conventional pulsed TEA-CO ₂-lasers. Of interest were the time-dependent plasma formation and the evolution of the shock waves. To achieve a time resolution better than 10 ns, a pulsed dye laser was used as a light source for the shadow photography     

Ultra-fast laser absorption and ablation dynamics in wide-band-gap dielectrics

The highly nonlinear laser–matter interaction conditions produced by high-intensity amplified ultra-fast laser pulses have proven to be beneficial in the processing of normally transparent wide-band-gap dielectric materials. This article presents experimental studies of the ultra-fast laser absorption process in three wide-band-gap dielectrics: fused silica, calcium fluoride, and sapphire. Time-resolved measurements of the probe transmissivity and reflectivity show both the formation of dense free-electron plasma at the surface due to nonlinear absorption of the laser pulses and rapid structural damage on the order of a few picoseconds. Pump–probe data with intense pump and probe pulses was also correlated to atomic force microscopy measurements of the ablated volume. It was observed that the material removal peaked near zero delay between the pulses and decreased within a temporal separation of about 1 ps. PACS 52.38.Mf; 78.47.+p; 79.20.Ds     

Investigation of the effect of plasma waves excitation on target normal sheath ion acceleration using fs laser‐irradiating hydrogenated structures

Measurements of ion acceleration in polymethylmethacrylate foils covered by a thin copper film irradiated by fs laser in target normal sheath acceleration regime are presented. The ion acceleration depends on the laser parameters, such as the pulse energy; depends on the irradiation conditions, such as the focal point position of the laser with respect to the target surface; and depends on the target properties, such as the metallic film thickness. The proton acceleration increases in the presence of the metallic film enhancing the plasma electron density, reaching about 1.6 MeV energy for a focal position on the target surface. The plasma diagnostics uses SiC detectors, absorber foils, Faraday cups, and gafchromic films. Employing p‐polarized laser light and a suitable oblique incidence, it is possible to increase the proton acceleration up to about 2.0 MeV thanks to the effects of laser absorption resonance due to plasma waves excitation.     

基于神光Ⅲ原型装置的冲击点火分解实验

冲击点火是一种新型点火方式,介绍了国内进行的冲击点火分解实验。实验结果表明:相比于方波脉冲,在冲击峰整形脉冲作用下激光与等离子体相互作用明显增强,背向散射光的份额增加,散射光谱来自于不同密度的等离子体区域。实验中也观察到了方波条件下冲击波在CH样品中的传播过程,与模拟计算结果较为符合。     

脉冲CO2激光烧蚀锡靶等离子体的数值研究

使用一维辐射流体力学程序MULTI模拟了脉冲CO2激光烧蚀平面锡靶的过程,研究了脉冲宽度、峰值功率密度、靶材初始密度对锡等离子体电子密度、电子温度的时空分布的影响,并结合统计分析得到最有利于产生13.5 nm 极紫外光的激光脉冲宽度。模拟结果表明,脉冲宽度为100~200 ns的长脉冲激光产生的等离子体有利于实现极紫外输出的最佳条件,通过分析等离子体的电子密度、电子温度的分布对这一结论进行了解释。临界电子密度区域有效吸收了脉冲能量,而低密度的羽辉对激光与极紫外辐射的吸收很少。采用长脉冲激光,使得辐射极紫外等离子体持续时间更长,是提高极紫外辐射效率的有效手段。同时模拟还发现,靶材初始密度对等离子体参数的影响不大。     

Electron injection in laser wake-field acceleration by using near critical layers

A method for enhancing trapped electrons in the laser wake-field acceleration in dilute plasma is proposed. In this method, a thin layer with near critical density is placed in front of the dilute plasma. Upon interaction of this layer with a short and high power laser pulse, a relatively large number of layer electrons are injected in dilute plasma. Some of these electrons are trapped in the wake-field of transmitted laser pulse. Particle in cell simulation is used to demonstrate this method. Simulations showed that in addition to increasing the number of trapped electrons, this mechanism also reduces the energy broadening.     

Heating of nonequilibrium electrons by laser radiation in solid transparent dielectrics

A computer simulation of the heating of nonequilibrium electrons by an intense high-frequency electromagnetic field leading to the bulk damage of solid transparent dielectrics under single irradiation has been carried out. The dependences of the avalanche ionization rate on threshold field strength have been derived. Using the Fokker-Planck equation with a flux-doubling boundary condition is shown to lead to noticeable errors even at a ratio of the photon energy to the band gap ∼0.1. The series of dependences of the critical fields on pulse duration have been constructed for various initial lattice temperatures and laser wavelengths, which allow the electron avalanche to be identified as a limiting breakdown mechanism. The ratio of the energy stored in the electron subsystem to the excess (with respect to the equilibrium state) energy of the phonon subsystem by the end of laser pulse action has been calculated both with and without allowance for phonon heating. The influence of phonon heating on the impact avalanche ionization rate is analyzed.     

激光等离子体不稳定性的入射光强度效应

用3维粒子模拟程序研究了相对论强激光和高密度等离子体相互作用引起的电磁不稳定。数值模拟表明,在线偏振强激光作用下,等离子体表面出现了电磁不稳定性。形成的不稳定结构随时间发展和激光功率密度的增加进一步深入到等离子体内部,最终使等离子体表面处激发饱和自生磁场。这种由电子速度各向异性而产生的自生磁场对激光有质动力推开电子时所形成的电子热流产生抑制作用,并将直接影响电子加速效率。