Trends in ultrashort and ultrahigh power laser pulses based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

Since the proof-of-principle demonstration of optical parametric amplification to efficiently amplify chirped laser pulses in 1992,optical parametric chirped pulse amplification(OPCPA)became the most promising method for the amplification of broadband optical pulses.In the meantime,we are witnessing an exciting progress in the development of powerful and ultrashort pulse laser systems that employ chirped pulse parametric amplifiers.The output power and pulse duration of these systems have ranged from a few gigawatts to hundreds of terawatts with a potential of tens of petawatts power level.Meanwhile,the output pulse duration based on optical parametric amplification has entered the range of fewoptical-cycle field.In this paper,we overview the basic principles,trends in development,and current state of the ultrashort and laser systems based on OPCPA,respectively.     

Developments in laser wakefield accelerators:From single-stage to two-stage

Laser wakefield accelerators(LWFAs)are compact accelerators which can produce femtosecond high-energy electron beams on a much smaller scale than the conventional radiofrequency accelerators.It is attributed to their high acceleration gradient which is about 3 orders of magnitude larger than the traditional ones.The past decade has witnessed the major breakthroughs and progress in developing the laser wakfield accelerators.To achieve the LWFAs suitable for applications,more and more attention has been paid to optimize the LWFAs for high-quality electron beams.A single-staged LWFA does not favor generating controllable electron beams beyond 1 Ge V since electron injection and acceleration are coupled and cannot be independently controlled.Staged LWFAs provide a promising route to overcome this disadvantage by decoupling injection from acceleration and thus the electron-beam quality as well as the stability can be greatly improved.This paper provides an overview of the physical conceptions of the LWFA,as well as the major breakthroughs and progress in developing LWFAs from single-stage to two-stage LWFAs.     

高品质激光尾波场电子加速器

激光尾波场电子加速的加速梯度相比于传统直线加速器高了3—4个量级,对于小型化粒子加速器与辐射源的研制具有重要的意义,成为当今国内外的研究热点.台式化辐射源应用需求的提高,特别是自由电子激光装置的快速发展,对电子束流品质提出了更高的要求,激光尾波场电子加速的束流品质和稳定性是目前实现新型辐射源的首要障碍.本文归纳整理了中国科学院上海光学精密机械研究所电子加速研究团队十年来在研制台式化激光尾波场电子加速器过程中采取的方案和取得的进展.例如率先提出了注入级和加速级分离的级联加速方案,通过实验获得了GeV量级的电子束能量;基于级联加速方式利用能量啁啾控制,实验获得世界最高品质的电子束流;通过优化激光系统稳定性和特殊的气体喷流结构,获得稳定的高品质电子束流输出等.这一系列实验结果有利于进一步推进激光尾波场电子加速器的应用.     

基于强激光辐照固体锡靶产生极紫外光源的实验研究

建立了一套利用高功率YAG激光器辐照固体锡靶产生高转换效率极紫外光 (extreme ultraviolet) 源的实验装置.利用建立的实验装置开展了极紫外光源的强度和转换效率与抽运激光强度关系的实验研究，发现极紫外光源的转换效率随抽运激光强度的变化具有饱和效应.实验发现：当抽运激光能量达到250mJ时，极紫外光源的转换效率最高，波长为13.5nm处0.27nm带宽范围内的极紫外光源的能量转换效率为1.6%，此时对应的激光强度为1.8×10¹¹W/cm². 关键词： 极紫外光 转换效率     

High-Conversion-Efficiency and Broadband Tunable Femtosecond Noncollinear Optical Parametric Amplifier

We build a compact high-conversion-efficiency and broadband tunable noncollinear optical parametric amplifier （OPA） in the infra-red （IR） pumped by a femtosecond Ti：sapphire CPA laser. The OPA consists of an internal seed of white-light continuum generator （WLG） and two noncollinear optical parametric amplifiers. The tunable wavelength range is from 1.2μm to 2.4μm for both signal and idle pulses. The total OPA efficiency in the last OPA stage reaches about 40% in a wider tunable spectral range （from 1.3μm to 1.7μm for signal pulse, from 1.5μm to 2.0 μm for idle pulse respectively）.     

Coulomb expansion of deuterated methane clusters irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse

The simulations of three-dimensional particle dynamics show that when irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse, the deuterated methane cluster expands and the majority of deuterons overrun the more slowly expanding carbon ions, resulting in the creation of two separated subelusters. The enhanced deuteron kinetic energy and a narrow peak around the energy maximum in the deuteron energy distribution make a considerable contribution to the efficiency of nuclear fusion compared with the ease of homonuelear deuterium clusters. With the intense laser irradiation, the nuclear fusion yield increases with the increase of the cluster size, so that deuterated heteronuelear clusters with larger sizes are required to achieve a greater neutron yield.     

基于自衍射效应的自参考光谱干涉方法的研究

研究一种基于非线性透明光学介质中的自衍射和自参考光谱干涉的新方法来进行飞秒激光脉冲测量. 实验中, 基于此新方法设计一种简单装置, 对800 nm 中心波长, 约40 fs 近无啁啾飞秒激光脉冲进行测量, 并与自参考光谱相干电场重建法测量结果进行比较, 得到了一致的结果. 此新方法与相应的装置结构简单, 可以对深紫外到中红外光谱范围的飞秒脉冲进行测量. 关键词： 飞秒激光脉冲 自参考光谱干涉 自衍射 脉冲测量     

双色激光场中激光强度和脉宽对线性多原子分子离子电离的影响

 利用强激光场电离和离解分子来研究分子激发态的波包结构是强场物理的重要研究方向。利用短时指数传播子对称分割法和快速傅里叶变换技术，数值求解了一维含时Schr-dinger方程，探讨了双色激光场中激光的基波和谐波强度之间的不同配比以及脉宽对线性多原子分子离子电离的影响。理论计算结果表明：基波和谐波的相对相位为π时，尽管随着激光的基波和谐波强度之间配比的变化，电离几率随原子间距变化的趋势基本保持不变，但在一定的激光基波强度下（1.2×10¹³~1.2×10¹⁵ W/cm²)，激光基波强度的变化可以明显改变电离几率随原子间距变化的趋势。另外，激光脉冲的持续作用可以增强分子的电离，取原子个数为5，基频光波长为800 nm，基波与谐波的强度配比为4，频率配比为2，当其作用时间达到75 fs时，电离基本接近饱和。采用外静电场电离模型能够合理地解释这些现象。     

飞秒激光脉冲在正色散固体材料中的自压缩

实验研究了正色散固体介质中的激光脉冲自压缩现象,证明了无需任何外加色散补偿情况下，固体透明介质中的自聚焦传输过程可使高功率飞秒激光脉冲实现时域脉冲压缩，并详细研究了输出脉冲的时域和频域特性随入射脉冲强度的演化规律.实验结果表明脉冲自压缩量随入射脉冲强度的增加呈递增趋势，然而当入射光强增大到足以引起超连续谱及锥形辐射产生时，脉冲时域形状会发生分裂.此外还发现发散光束入射情况下同样可以观察到脉冲自压缩现象. 关键词： 超短激光脉冲 脉冲压缩 非线性传输