Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of the impulse delivering from laser-produced plasma to solid target

A plasma is produced in air by using a high-intensity Q-switch Nd：YAG pulsed laser to irradiate a solid target, and the impulses delivering from the plasma to the target are measured at different laser power densities. Analysing the formation process of laser plasma and the laser supported detonation wave （LSDW） and using fluid mechanics theory and Pirri＇s methods, an approximately theoretical solution of the impulse delivering from the plasma to the target under our experimental condition is found. Furthermore, according to the formation time of plasma and the variation of pressure in plasma in a non-equilibrium state, a physical model of the interaction between the pulse laser and the solid target is developed. The plasma evolutions with time during and after the laser pulse irradiating the target are simulated numerically by using a three-dimensional difference scheme. And the numerical solutions of the impulse delivering from the plasma to the target are obtained. A comparison among the theoretical, numerical and experimental results and their analyses are performed. The experimental results are explained reasonably. The consistency between numerical results and experimental results implies that the numerical calculation model used in this paper can well describe the mechanical action of the laser on the target.     

Influence of air pressure on mechanical effect of laser plasma shock wave

The influence of air pressure on mechanical effect of laser plasma shock wave in a vacuum chamber produced by a Nd:YAG laser has been studied. The laser pulses with pulse width of 10ns and pulse energy of about 320mJ at 1.06$\mu $m wavelength is focused on the aluminium target mounted on a ballistic pendulum, and the air pressure in the chamber changes from $2.8\times 10^{3}$ to 1.01$\times $10$^{5 }$Pa. The experimental results show that the impulse coupling coefficient changes as the air pressure and the distance of the target from focus change. The mechanical effects of the plasma shock wave on the target are analysed at different distances from focus and the air pressure.     

Generation of Broadband High Harmonics through Linear Mode Conversion in Inhomogeneous Plasmas

The generation of high order harmonics from an inhomogeneous ovderdense plasma target irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse is studied by numerical simulation. During such interaction, ultrafast electron bunches are generated and excite electron plasma oscillations as they pass through the overdense target. These plasma oscillations will emit high-frequency electromagnetic emission by linear mode conversion. Instead of the integer harmonies generation, the emission appears with a broadband and even continuous spectrum corresponding to the electron plasma frequency range of the inhomogeneous plasma density.     

Ion dynamics in ultrafast laser ablation of copper target

We investigate the angular distribution and average kinetic energy of ions produced during ultrafast laser ablation （ULA） of a copper target in high vacuum. Laser produced plasma （LPP） is induced by irradiating the target with Ti：Sapphire laser pulses of -50 fs and 800 nm at an angle of incidence of 45°. An ion probe is moved along a circular path around the ablation spot, thereby allowing characterization of the time-of-flight （TOF） of ions at different angles relative to the normal target. The angular distribution of the ion flux is well-described by an adiabatic and isentropic expansion model of a plume produced by solid-target laser ablation （LA）. The angular width of the ion flux becomes narrower with increasing laser fluence. Moreover, the ion average kinetic energy is forward-peaked and shows a stronger dependence on the laser pulse fluence than on the ion flux. Such results can be ascribed to space charge effects that occur during the early stages of LPP formation.     

Enhancement of the Number of Fast Electrons Generated in a Laser Inverse Cone Interaction

Enhancement of the energy-conversion efficiency from laser to target electrons is demonstrated by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations in a laser-inverse cone interaction. When an intense short-pulse laser illuminates the inverse cone target, the electrons at the cone end are accelerated by the ponderomotive force. Then these electrons are guided and confined to transport along the inverse cone walls by the induced electromagnetic fields. A device consisting of inverse hollow-cone and multihole array plasma is proposed in order to increase the energy-conversion efficiency from laser to electrons. Particle-in-cell simulations present that the multiholes transpiercing the cone end help to enhance the number of fast electrons and the maximum electron energy significantly.     

Numerical Simulation of Plasma Antenna with FDTD Method

We adopt cylindrical-coordinate FDTD algorithm to simulate and analyse a 0.4-m-long column configuration plasma antenna. FDTD method is useful for solving electromagnetic problems, especially when wave characteristics and plasma properties are self-consistently related to each other. Focus on the frequency from 75 MHz to 400 MHz, the input impedance and radiation efficiency of plasma antennas are computed. Numerical results show that, different from copper antenna, the chaxacteristics of plasma antenna vary simultaneously with plasma frequency and collision frequency. The property can be used to construct dynamically reconfigurable antenna. The investigation is meaningful and instructional for the optimization of plasma antenna design.     

Spatial and time resolved analysis of CN bands in the laser induced plasma from graphite

Analysis of the emission bands of the CN molecules in the plasma generated from a graphite target irradiated with 1.06 μm radiation pulses from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser has been done. Depending on the position of the sampled volume of the plasma plume, the intensity distribution in the emission spectra is found to change drastically. The vibrational temperature and population distribution in the different vibrational levels have been studied as function of distance from the target for different time delays with respect to the incidence of the laser pulse. The translational temperature calculated from time of flight is found to be higher than the observed vibrational temperature for CN molecules and the reason for this is explained.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON INTERMITTENT PHENOMENA IN A PLASMA

An intermittent process occurring in a low-temperature plasma discharge has been investigated. During a continuous scan of the discharge voltage, one kind of intermittency evolves from random upward bursts to a periodic oscillation, while the other evolves to chaos from random downward bursts. A critical exponent concerning the onset of the latter intermittency is quantitatively determined to be γ= 0.912.     

Installation and Primary Results of a Neutral Particle Analyzer on HL-2A Tokamak

The target of nuclear fusion research is to realize effective and sustainable fusion reaction of hydrogen isotope ions and to get the thermonuclear energy economically. Naturally the parameters of plasma ions are of importance and measurement of the parameters of ions has been an essential concern to the nuclear fusion research work since 1950s. However, the ions are confined by the mag- netic field, one can measure the neutral particles emitting from the plasma to obtain the parameters of ions. The diagnosing of neutral particles is a method by measuring the neutral particles from the plasma to obtain the information （such as energy） of ions, and it is important and foundational to the experi ments as well.     

Fast Electron Spatial Temperature Distribution Studied by X-Ray 2D Imaging

We present the experimental and numerical results of two-dimensional x-ray imaging due to fast electron transport in a solid target. A 40-μm-thick copper film target is irradiated by a lOOm J, 50rs normal incident laser pulse. The full width at half maximum of the x-ray photon dose is 25 μm, and the divergence angle of fast electrons is 25°-30°, which is detected by the pin-hole x-ray imaging technique. The target surface plasma layer is compressed by a ponderomotive force into a depth of 0.2λ. The plasma wave accompanied by fast electrons transporting into the target is studied by dividing the plasma into layers in a radial direction. A narrow fast electron channel, which is approximately 8 μm-10 μm in width, mainly contributes to the x-ray dose.     

On the atomic particle concentration ratio in a multicomponent laser plasma plume

The occupancy distribution for the excited states of atoms and ions is derived based on emission spectroscopy data for an erosion plasma arising when laser radiation strikes a solid CuSbS₂ target. The ratios between the copper and sulfur concentrations in the laser plume at distances of 1 and 7 mm from the target are compared. It is shown that the copper atom-to-sulfur ion concentration ratio in the laser plasma decreases with distance from the target.     

Subpicosecond laser ablation of copper and fused silica: Initiation threshold and plasma expansion

We investigated the subpicosecond laser ablation of copper and fused silica under 100 fs laser irradiation at 800 nm in vacuum by means of fast plume imaging and time- and space-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. We found that, to the difference of copper ablation, the laser-generated plasma from a fused silica target exhibited one “main” component only. The “slow” plasma component, observed during copper ablation and usually assigned to optical emission from nanoparticles was not detected by either plasma fast imaging or optical emission spectroscopy even when fused silica targets were submitted to the highest incident fluences used in our experiments. The characteristic expansion velocity of this unique component was about three times larger than the velocity of the fast plume component observed during copper ablation. The dependence of laser fluence on both plasma expansion and ablation rate was investigated and discussed in terms of ablation efficiency and initiation mechanisms.     

Duration of the source of the current in laser-produced plasmas

The source of the current in a plasma produced by a 1.7 ns CO₂ laser irradiation of a copper target is found to last for to 150 ns. Evidence is shown for a short circuit in the laser plasma which shields the target from the intense magnetic field associated with the current.     

离焦量对空气中激光诱导铜等离子体光谱特性的影响

利用Nd: YAG脉冲激光在空气中烧蚀金属Cu靶,获得等离子体光谱;采用改变离焦量的方法,研究了离焦量的变化对谱线结构及谱线强度的影响;分析了离焦量分别为1mm、0mm和-2mm时,沿靶面法线方向不同空间距离处电子温度的演化规律;并对等离子体光谱的特性和产生机制进行了讨论. 结果表明,谱线结构、谱线强度和等离子体的电子温度都与离焦量的变化密切相关,聚焦点在-2mm处CuⅠ谱线相对强度出现峰值,电子温度数值最大;聚焦点在-0.5mm和-1.0mm附近谱线相对强度遽然降低的现象是由于等离子体的屏蔽效应造成的.     

脉冲激光-铜靶等离子体产生及其演化过程的瞬态光谱研究

应用时间分辨光谱技术, 研究了高能量纳秒脉冲激光作用下铜靶表面等离子体产生及演化的物理过程. 实验中相互作用区固-气-液三相对激光能量的吸收明显地反映于激光反射强度随时间的演化中, 使得靶表面物质形态的改变导致激光反射强度随时间呈双峰分布.同时, 随着激光峰值功率密度的增加, 靶面等离子体(气)-固-液相变发生的时间相应提前.因此, 这些瞬态性质是诊断激光-固体靶相互作用中靶面物质相变时间的有效方法.     

Time-resolved PLIF imaging of Cu in a laser-ablated copper plasmaplume

Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) has been used to determine the relative number density of ground state copper atoms in laser-ablated plasma plumes. An ablation laser power flux of ~1.5 GW/cm ² is applied to a solid copper target in a background gas, producing a plasma plume suitable for studying homogeneous copper vapor condensation. Density is measured at postablation time delays ranging from 5 μs to 10 ms with 1-100 torr of either argon or helium as the background gas. Planar laser-induced fluorescence images are used to spatially resolve the relative density within the plume, The decrease in density is due to the homogeneous condensation of copper vapor to form particulate     

Measurement of the Hydrodynamic Efficiency of Laser Plasma at the “Kanal-2” Installation using Aluminum and Copper Targets

The results of experimental measurements of the hydrodynamic efficiency of laser plasma for aluminum and copper targets are presented. The studies were performed on the “Kanal-2” laser setup system using the ballistic pendulum method. The pressure in the interaction chamber was 10^?4 Torr, the pendulum length was 145 mm, the mass of the pendulum with a target was 7.2 g. At the half-height pulse duration of 2.5 ns, the power density on the target surface was ～10¹³ W/cm². In the case of aluminum target, the hydrodynamic efficiency coefficient increased from 1.5% to 4.5% with increasing laser pulse energy from 5 J to 10 J, whereas it remained at the level of 5% for the copper target.     

A simple self-triggered plasma shutter

A simple self-triggered plasma shutter for switching a high power laser beam was demonstrated. The triggering action comes from the surface plasma of a metal target. Several materials were tested and it was found that for copper, the amplitude fluctuation in the triggering was only 5%.     

空气中YAG激光诱导Cu等离子体空间特性的研究

在空气中利用Nd: YAG脉冲激光诱导金属Cu靶,产生激光等离子体羽,并获得等离子体羽的空间谱;研究了空间谱线结构;分析了不同空间位置处电子温度和电子密度的空间演化规律;并对等离子体光谱的特性和产生机制进行了讨论. 结果表明：谱线结构、谱线强度和等离子体的电子温度及电子密度都与空间位置变化密切相关,特征谱强度最大值出现在距靶面0.75-1.0mm的空间位置处,此处CuⅠ谱线相对强度最强,在1.25 mm空间位置处电子温度比周边的电子温度偏低,但此处电子密度反而升高,这种现象可以由级联效应得到解释。     

The structural and optical property dependence of disordered copper oxide on oxygen content

This study has investigated the optical and structural properties of reactively sputtered copper oxide. The investigated Cu to O ratio (oxygen content) spans the metal-insulator transition. Initially, the number of copper crystallites reduces and Cu₂O crystallite numbers increase with increasing oxygen content, this then turns to a crystallite evolution of Cu₂O to CuO as the oxygen content is increased above the nominal value for Cu₂O, with no copper crystallites remaining. Along with the change in the structure, the system smoothly evolves from optically being metallic in nature to being band gap like, with increasing oxygen content.