紧聚焦激光束作用于电子实现单个阿秒脉冲输出

研究了电子在聚焦的圆偏振高斯激光束中的非线性汤姆孙散射过程，在此基础上提出了实现单个阿秒脉冲输出的新机理.通过计算机模拟，发现利用紧聚焦的激光脉冲可以有效地增大辐射脉冲链的最高峰和次高峰的峰值强度比即信噪比，从而将阿秒脉冲链变为单个阿秒脉冲输出.紧聚焦情形下，随着驱动激光强度的增大，辐射信号的脉宽变短，信噪比变大；同时当减小激光束腰半径时，辐射信号信噪比也能得到有效改善.研究还发现，利用几个光周期的极短激光脉冲与电子的相互作用也能实现单个阿秒脉冲输出. 关键词： 阿秒脉冲 紧聚焦 信噪比     

周期量级激光脉冲的Thomson散射

用经典辐射理论对线偏振周期量级激光脉冲的线性Thomson散射进行分析，从理论上得到它可产生亚阿秒脉冲的结论. 计算显示，在电子相对论因子为50、激光脉冲中心波长为1μm、归一化光场强度为0.01的情况下，用包含1.5个光周期的激光脉冲，可获得0.2as(半高全宽)的散射脉冲输出. 还对光场载波包络初相φ_ce和电子进入光场的初相φ_in对散射脉冲的影响作了分析讨论，结果表明，在适当的φ_ce和φ_in条件下，能实现单个阿秒脉冲输出，并可对脉冲宽度和频率进行调谐. 关键词： 线性Thomson散射 周期量级激光脉冲 载波包络初相 阿秒脉冲     

高次谐波辐射发射特性研究

报告由不同脉冲宽度(半高宽,FWHM)和不同载波-包络相位(CEP,Φ)的激光产生的高次谐波辐射能量输出时间特性即发射特性的研究结果. 计算表明,由宽度为几个周期的激光产生的高次谐波辐射的截止能量明显低于由无限长脉冲宽度激光产生的截止能量ω_max=3.17U_p+I_p(其中ω_max为光子角频率,U_p和I_p分别为激光有质动力势和原子的电离能). 例如,由两周期(FWHM),Φ＝15°的激光产生的高次谐波辐射的截止能量为ω_max=2.90U_p+I_p,此时发射特性单脉冲(即分布单脉冲)具有最大的能量带宽0.86U_p. 脉冲中心位置的载波相位和时间宽度分别为0.94rad(弧度)和1.29rad. 而该激光脉冲在Φ＝-75°时能产生截止能量为ω_max=2.70U_p+I_p,最大能量带宽为0.70U_p的双分布脉冲,其中心位置分别为-0.58rad和2.43rad,宽度分别为1.22rad和1.33rad. 随着激光脉冲宽度的增加,分布单脉冲的能量带宽比时间宽度下降得更快. 对于一定宽度的激光脉冲,所产生的分布单脉冲的能量带宽和时间宽度的CEP依赖性显示出180°的周期结构. 利用这个有趣的特点,在实验上可以通过调节CEP来选择分布脉冲的能量参数,也可用来定位和控制阿秒脉冲的时间参数. 理论分析指出,只要选择合适的阿秒X射线能量带宽,CEP不稳定性对于光电子谱和测量结果的影响将大为降低,甚至在最大程度上消除这种影响. 这些研究结果不仅有助于在物理上深入了解高次谐波辐射的动力学过程,而且对于进一步在实验上优化和选择阿秒单脉冲和双脉冲具有重要的参考和指导意义. 关键词： 高次谐波产生 鞍点方法 谐波发射特性 分布脉冲     

紧聚焦的飞秒激光脉冲在真空中对电子的加速

研究了紧聚焦的圆偏振飞秒相对论高斯激光脉冲与电子的相互作用，提出了一种激光加速电子的新机制.利用束腰小、强度大的激光脉冲上升沿加速电子，束腰大、强度小的脉冲下降沿减速电子，当光脉冲和电子分离时，电子获得了能量增益.研究发现，初始静止的电子与强度高于10¹⁹Wμm^{2/cm2的光脉冲作用以后，可以获得MeV量级的能量.初始位于焦点附近的电子被加速的效果较好，而远离焦点的电子几乎不能获得能量增益. 关键词： 电子加速 能量增益 高斯脉冲 束腰}     

极紫外阿秒脉冲在高次谐波产生过程中引起的非偶极效应

当红外强激光和极紫外(XUV)阿秒脉冲共同作用于原子分子时，电离出去的电子通常会吸收和辐射激光光子而发生能量扩展.讨论了由于XUV阿秒脉冲的短波长与扩展后的电子波包尺度可相比拟时在高次谐波产生过程中引起的非偶极效应.采用H⁺₂作为模型分子，并把分子轴置于激光场的传播方向，通过解二维含时薛定谔方程并比较考虑非偶极效应和采用偶极近似两种方法计算得到的结果，两者相比，前者的谐波强度降低，谐波频率向低级次稍有移动，电子能谱的能带内出现了更多的光电子峰.在相同的光电子能量处，两种方法计算得到的信号强度相差2—5倍.并且这种非偶极效应随着红外基频光光强的增大而增强，随阿秒脉冲波长的增大而减弱. 关键词： 非偶极效应 光场空间不均匀性 阿秒脉冲 高次谐波产生     

电子在线极化相对论强度驻波场中的散射研究

研究了线极化相对论激光驻波场中的电子运动,分析了偏振面内入射的电子在激光驻波场中的散射与电子初始位置、能量以及激光强度的关系.结果表明,电子在驻波场中的散射情况与电子对激光的相对能量γ₀/a₀密切相关.对于同样的激光强度,电子初始能量存在一个能够发生前向或背向散射的临界值.光强越大,电子发生前向散射的初始能量临界值越大.用电子相对能量来衡量,这个临界值大约在1.0一1.25范围内.当相对能量超过该值,电子运动会从背向变为前向散射.电子在驻波场中的振荡中心和有质动力逆转效应的存在也是有条件的,二者只有电子相对能量γ₀/a₀在一定取值范围内才可能存在.相对能量越小,电子能发生前向散射的入射驻波面越小,而低能电子更倾向于从波节透过.在偏振面内入射的电子在高强度驻波场中会发生非弹性散射,电子与场会发生高能量交换.     

矢量非傍轴厄米-拉盖尔-高斯光束的光束质量

基于矢量Rayleigh-Sommerfeld衍射积分，推导出矢量非傍轴圆偏振厄米-拉盖尔-高斯(HLG)光束的远场解析表达式.矢量非傍轴圆偏振高斯光束可作为一般公式的特例给出.将桶中功率(PIB)概念推广到非傍轴范畴，用以描述矢量非傍轴光束的远场光束质量，其中光强用时间平均坡印廷矢量的z分量取代.数值计算和分析表明，矢量非傍轴HLG光束的PIB不仅与束腰宽度与波长之比w₀/λ有关，而且还与α参数，模指数n和m以及所取桶的尺寸有关. 关键词： 矢量非傍轴厄米-拉盖尔-高斯光束 矢量Rayleigh-Sommerfeld衍射积分 桶中功率     

紧聚焦的超短超强激光脉冲在真空中加速斜入射的相对论电子

研究了紧聚焦的线偏振飞秒超强高斯激光脉冲俘获并剧烈加速斜入射低能相对论电子的效应 ，发现被俘获的电子在激光脉冲纵向有质动力的强大加速作用下，可以获得GeV量级的能量 ，并详细研究了入射电子的初能量、斜入射角、电子与激光脉冲的相对延迟时间和激光脉冲 宽度等条件对电子能量增益的影响，发现当激光脉宽超过10λ时，脉宽对电子能量增益影响 不大. 关键词： 电子加速 有质动力 能量增益 束腰     

非傍轴矢量拉盖尔-高斯光束的二阶矩表示

基于Porras提出的光传输的非傍轴矢量矩理论，推导出初始圆偏振的非傍轴矢量拉盖尔-高斯(LG)光束的特征参数，包括束宽、远场发散角和M²因子等的公式，并表示为级数求和形式.非傍轴矢量高斯光束公式作为特例给出.研究表明，基于二阶矩定义的束宽按双曲线规律传输，当w₀/λ→0(w₀为束宽，λ为波长)时，远场发散角θ趋于90°，大于非傍轴标量理论预示的值63.435°.非傍轴矢量LG光束的M²因子不仅与模指数p有关，而且还与w₀/λ有关.最后，对非傍轴矢量LG光束和非傍轴标量LG光束的传输作了比较，结果表明在w₀/λ较小时，矢量效应对远场发散角的影响十分显著.对θ→90°引起的问题和非傍轴矢量矩理论的适用范围，以及解决问题的可能途径作了分析和讨论. 关键词： 非傍轴矢量拉盖尔-高斯光束 圆偏振 非傍轴矢量矩理论 光束参数     

影响单电子非线性汤姆孙散射因素的研究

应用电子汤姆孙散射的经典理论，通过理论分析和计算机模拟，研究了超短超强激光脉冲作用下电子产生的辐射脉冲的性质.计算表明，在这种情况下，电子的辐射通常以阿秒脉冲列的形式出现.讨论了不同激光场参数（包括激光强度、脉宽、初相位和偏振态）、不同电子初始状态（初始速度和位置）对辐射脉冲的时间和空间特性的影响.通常在相对论光强条件下，激光强度越大，电子辐射越强，脉宽越窄，中心频率越大，并且方向性越好；电子在线偏振激光中产生的辐射效率，比在同样强度下圆偏振激光中产生的效率更高；无论入射光是线偏振光，还是圆偏振光,辐射场呈现较复杂的偏振态, 并且它与辐射方向有关.当电子具有一定的初始能量时，通常辐射场的振幅随电子初始能量的增大而增大.不管电子的初始能量以及运动方向如何，做相对论运动的电子产生的辐射趋向于出现在靠近电子运动方向的角度区域.     

Scaling laws of electron acceleration driven by an intense laser pulse

We studied the scaling laws for slow-electron acceleration driven by an intense laser pulse in a vacuum, the ponderomotive acceleration scenario (PAS) scheme. With 3D test particle simulation by numerically solving the relativistic Lorentz–Newton equation of motion, the maximum electron energy gain was found to be proportional to the laser intensity (a₀), the laser beam width (w₀), and inversely proportional to the laser pulse duration (τ). Theoretical analyses and a physical explanation based on the ponderomotive potential model (PPM) are presented. PACS 42.50.Vk; 41.75.Jv; 42.60.Jf     

High-peak-power,high-repetition-rate LD end-pumped Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> burst mode laser

A compact high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate burst mode laser is achieved by an acousto-optical Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ 1064 nm laser directly pumped at 878.6 nm. Pulse trains with 10–100 pulses are obtained using acousto-optical Q-switch at repetition rates of 10–100 kHz under a pulsed pumping with a 1 ms duration. At the maximum pump energy of 108.5 mJ, the pulse energy of 10 kHz burst mode laser reaches 44 mJ corresponding to a single pulse energy of 4.4 mJ and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 40.5 %.The maximum peak power of ~468.1 kW at 10 kHz is obtained with a pulse width of 9.4 ns. The beam quality factor is measured to be M ² ~1.5 and the pulse jitter is estimated to be less than 1 % in both amplitude and time region.     

Accurate description of ultra-short tightly focused Gaussian laser pulses and vacuum laser acceleration

High-order correction terms to the expression of the field of ultra-short tightly focused Gaussian laser pulses are derived. Terms up to seventh order in the small dimensionless spatial parameter s=1/(k₀w₀₀) and first order in the small dimensionless temporal parameter ε=1/(ω₀t₀) are explicitly presented (ω₀=ck₀ the central oscillatory frequency, 2t₀ the pulse duration, w₀₀ the beam waist radius at the central frequency ω₀). To evaluate the correction efficacy, both the corrected and the paraxial field equations are used in detailed simulation studies of laser/electron interaction dynamics. Special attention is given to the vacuum laser acceleration scheme. The influence on the electron dynamics due to the diffraction edge field of a tightly focused laser beam is also investigated. PACS  42.25.Bs; 42.60.Jf; 41.75.Jv     

Modeling of fast phase transitions dynamics in metal target irradiated by pico- and femtosecond pulsed laser

We investigate laser pulse influence on aluminum target in irradiance range 10⁹ to 10¹⁶ W/cm², pulse duration between 10⁻⁸ and 10⁻¹⁵ s, Gaussian time profile with wavelength of 0.8 μm. For all computations energy density was 10 J/cm². Plasma in the evaporated material is generated at the energy density above 10 J/cm²as the modeling showed.Long and short laser pulses distinguish by the mechanisms of energy transformation. For short laser pulses there is volumetric energy absorption, together with rapid phase transitions it lead to overheating in solid and liquid states, overheated solid temperature rises up to (6-8)T_m. Under influence of the energy saved in overheated solid, duration of the phase transitions becomes nanosecond, which is several orders of magnitude longer than laser pulse.     

Effect of spot size on cone formation in a XeCl laser ablation of polyethersulfone films

Radiation from the UV excimer lasers, with the fluence above the ablation threshold, can etch the polymer surfaces by photoablation. In some cases different microstructures may appear on the surface during the laser ablation. In this paper the effect of the laser spot size on the cone formation on polyethersulfone films has been investigated. The experiments have been performed with a XeCl laser at the wavelength of 308 nm and at the fluences of 70 and 100 mJ/cm² at air. For the investigation of the effect of the laser spot size on cone formation, the samples were irradiated at two different laser spot sizes of w₁ and w₂ = 0.1 w₁. The morphology of the processed surface was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has shown that the shape, size and density of cones change with the change of the laser spot size. Also, the number of pulses and the pulse repetition rate which are needed for threshold of cone formation are affected by the laser beam spot size on the surface.     

High-peak power multi-wavelength picosecond pulses generated from a BaWO4 Raman-seeded optical parametric amplifier

We report the generation of high-peak power multi-wavelength picosecond laser pulses using optical parametric amplification (OPA) in BBO seeded with pulses generated in a 5-mm length BaWO₄ crystal by stimulated Raman scattering of 18-ps laser pulses at 532 nm. The maximum output energy of the amplified first-Stokes component at 559.7 nm was about 1.76 mJ. The corresponding maximum peak power, pulse duration and spectral line width were measured to be 117.3 MW, 15 ps and 18.0 cm⁻¹, respectively. The multi-wavelength picosecond laser pulses were in the visible and near infrared ranges. Using this Raman-seeded OPA technique, the beam quality of the stimulated Raman scattering pulses can be improved.     

Effects of sidelobes of focused flat-topped laser beams on vacuum electron acceleration

Using three-dimensional test particle simulations, we investigated electrons accelerated by a focused flat-top laser beam at different intensities and flatness levels of the beam profile before focusing in vacuum. The results show that the presence of sidelobes around the main focal spot of the focused flat-top laser beam influences the optimum (as far as electron acceleration is concerned) initial momentum (and incident angle) of electrons for acceleration. The difference of initial conditions between laser beams with and without sidelobes becomes evident when the laser field is strong enough (a₀>10, corresponding to intensities I>1×10²⁰ W/cm² for the laser wavelength λ=1 μm, where a₀ is a dimensionless parameter measuring laser intensity). The difference becomes more pronounced at increasing a₀. Because of the presence of sidelobes, there exist three typical CAS (capture and acceleration scenario) channels when a₀≥30 (corresponding to I>1×10²¹ W/cm² for λ=1 μm). The energy spread of the outgoing electrons is also discussed in detail. PACS 41.75.Jv; 42.60.Jf; 42.25.Fx     

AOM fourfold pass for efficient Q-switching and stable high peak power laser pulses

We report on a scheme for efficient acousto-optical Q-switching. A flash lamp pumped Nd:YAG oscillator with an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) fourfold pass configuration is presented. The setup combines two important advantages: enhancement of the diffraction efficiency by additional AOM passes and a compact oscillator design in spite of an extension of the optical path length. A flash lamp pumped oscillator with an average output power of 7 W and a beam quality of M² = 1.2 is developed. The system operates with a 100 Hz repetition rate for the flash lamps. In each pumping pulse a pulse train of 1 up to 40 Q-switched laser pulses is generated. The pulse duration is from 15 to 120 ns. In comparison to a former setup (AOM double pass) the AOM fourfold pass configuration allows single pulses with energy above 20 mJ and a pulse peak power of more than 1 MW. In addition, the beam profile is improved due to a better separation of the incident and diffracted beam caused by the AOM. The laser is dedicated as master oscillator in a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system where pulse peak powers in the MW range should be achieved.     

Electron dynamics characteristics in high-intensity laser fields

This paper addresses the conditions under which the vacuum laser acceleration scheme CAS (capture and acceleration scenario), newly proposed by the authors (see, e.g., P.X. Wang et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 2253 (2001)), can be observed. Specifically, the laser intensity threshold (a₀)_th and the range of the electron incident momentum for the CAS scheme to emerge are examined. We found that (a₀)_th is critically dependent on the laser beam width w₀. At kw₀=60, (a₀)_th=8, which is an intensity obtainable using present laser systems. The required energy of the incident electron is in the range 5–15 MeV. This study is of significance in designing an experimental setup to test CAS and helpful in understanding the basic physics of CAS. Received: 4 March 2002 / Revised version: 25 March 2002 / Published online: 8 May 2002     

Plasma-mediated ablation of brain tissue with picosecond laser pulses

Plasma-mediated ablations of brain tissue have been performed using picosecond laser pulses obtained from a Nd:YLF oscillator/regenerative amplifier system. The laser pulses had a pulse duration of 35 ps at a wavelength of 1.053 µm. The pulse energy varied from 90 µJ to 550 µJ at a repetition rate of 400 Hz. The energy density at the ablation threshold was measured to be 20 J/cm². Comparisons have been made to 19 ps laser pulses at 1.68 µm and 2.92 µm from an OPG/OPA system and to microsecond pulse trains at 2.94 µm from a free running Er:YAG laser. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were performed to judge the depth and the quality of the ablated cavities. No thermal damage was induced by either of the picosecond laser systems. The Er:YAG laser, on the other hand, showed 20 µm wide lateral damage zones due to the longer pulse durations and the higher pulse energies.