Characterization of the 46.9-nm soft X-ray laser beam from a capillary discharge

Intense lasing had been obtained from argon plasma in the soft X-ray region from a capillary discharge plasma system. Different diagnostics have been used to characterize the lasing properties by recording the temporal, spatial, and spectral profiles of the emission. The divergence measurement indicates that the soft X-ray laser beam has good directionality with a divergence of 3.5 mrad. The spectrum of the laser beam measured using a transmission grating showed intense lasing line at 46.9 nm. Diffraction orders as high as 10th orders were observed. The temporal profile recorded with a vacuum diode showed a distinct laser peak with a pulse width ~1.2 ns (FWHM). In addition, the coherence of the X-ray laser beam was also confirmed from the high-contrast interference fringes (visibility ~85 %) recorded using double slits.     

类氖锗X射线激光光学特性研究

本工作测量了类氖锗3s-3p X射线激光的23.2nm和23.6nm两条强激光跃迁线水平方向和垂直方向的空间分布,当靶长20mm时,X射线激光水平方向束发散角约为12mrad,主束指向偏离线状等离子体轴线约8mrad;垂直方向束发散角约为22mrad,本工作还采用钼/硅多层膜平面反射镜,对X射线激光进行正反射,获得了X射线激光双程放大的光学特性。 关键词：     

Collimated soft X-rays from the plasma focus

Highly anisotropic soft X-ray emission with a quantum energy of approximately 1 keV has been observed at a plasma focus device. Typical beam divergence is 50 mrad as confirmed by different experimental methods.     

毛细管放电69.8nm激光强度空间分布特性研究

报道了毛细管放电69.8 nm软X射线激光的光强分布特性. 实验中所用毛细管长度为35 cm, 放电主脉冲电流幅值为11.5 kA, 放电初始气压为14-16 Pa. 测得的光斑强度分布由两部分构成, 在中心有一个占光强绝大部分的主峰, 其发散角约为0.4 mrad, 边缘还有两个小的离轴峰, 峰-峰发散角约为1.5 mrad. 理论上采用几何光学近似的方法对其光强分布进行计算, 光斑如此小的发散角主峰的出现, 可能主要是由于毛细管放电过程中电子密度在轴心处具有轻微凹陷造成的.     

Investigation of a highly saturated soft X-ray amplification in a capillary discharge plasma waveguide

The characterization of the laser beam intensity distribution of a highly saturated 46.9-nm soft X-ray laser excited by capillary discharges is reported. The laser produces a total output energy of 300 J/pulse by amplification in plasma channels having lengths up to 0.45 m. A regime of laser amplification, which is almost free from the effect of the refraction defocusing, is experimentally determined. This regime produces a soft X-ray laser beam with an intense sub-milliradiant component. In the longer active medium the laser intensity distribution reaches the divergence of 0.6 mrad, which approaches the limit of diffraction. A comparison of the experimental results with the simulations performed with a ray-tracing code shows that the small divergence of the beam could be attributed to the effect of a weak index waveguiding of the laser beam through the long plasma channels. PACS 42.55.Vc; 42.60.Jf     

Development of a full spatial coherent X-ray laser at 13.9 nm

We have succeeded in developing a laser-pumped X-ray laser with full spatial coherence at 13.9 nm. The X-ray laser beam with a very small divergence of 0.2 mrad was generated from double target experiments, where a seeding light from the first laser medium was amplified in the second laser medium. The observed divergence was close to the diffraction limit value within a factor of two. The seeding light was amplified in the second medium without refraction influence and the gain coefficient was 7.9 cm^-1. From the measurement of visibility, it was found that the spatial coherent length was longer than the beam diameter. PACS 41.50+h; 42.55.Vc     

类氖锗的X射线激光增益及其传输特性研究

在神光(10¹²W)装置上,用1.06μm激光加热片状锗靶,用袖珍式掠入射光栅谱仪测量了类氖锗离子的3S—3P激光跃迁线的增益系数和X射线激光的传输特性,得到的结果为:波长为19.638,23.224,23.627,24.743和28.643nm的5条激光跃迁线的增益系数分别为3.06,3.99,3.72,2.36和4.59cm^-1;当等离子体长度为18mm时,相应的X射线激光的发散角约为12mrad,发射X射线激光的等离子体厚度约为200μm,X射线激光峰值强 关键词：     

Comparative studies of eye-safe intracavity and extracavity optical parametric oscillators with an unstable telescopic cavity

We have experimentally studied the lasing characteristics of an eye-safe optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with an unstable telescopic cavity when it is placed inside (intracavity OPO) and outside (extracavity OPO) the plane-parallel cavity of a pulsed, nearly single-mode KGW:Nd pump laser. We used a KTP crystal as the nonlinear medium for the OPO. We have shown that the intracavity OPO has the higher lasing efficiency. We have observed that the distribution of nonlinear losses introduced by the intracavity OPO, nonuniform over the cavity cross section, leads to an increase in the diameter and divergence of the radiation beam from the pump laser and a dependence of its temporal lasing dynamics on the transverse beam coordinate. We propose a physical model qualitatively explaining the spatial and temporal lasing dynamics of a radiation source with an intracavity OPO. Both OPO versions generate beams of radiation with about the same divergence. When the KGW:Nd laser has an electrical pumping energy of 7.3 J and a cavity length of 77 cm, the intracavity OPO and the extracavity OPO emit pulses with energies of 14.5 mJ and 12.0 mJ and duration 18 nsec and 13 nsec respectively. The divergence of the eye-safe radiation (λ = 1.578 μm) at 86.5% of the total pulse energy is no greater than 5.5 mrad for an OPO output beam diameter of = 2 mm. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 535–543, July–August, 2006.     

Role of the wall ablation in the operation of a 46.9 nmAr capillary discharge soft x‐ray laser

A capillary discharge pumped soft x‐ray laser operating at 46.9 nm on the 3p–3s transition of the Ne‐like Ar has been realized by pumping the active medium with a relatively slow current pulse (dI/dt ≈ 6 · 10¹¹ A/s). In order to study the role of the ablation in the production of the laser effect, the intensity of the amplified 46.9 nm line has been investigated using the same pumping current pulses in the plastic (polyacetal) and ceramic (Al₂O₃). We showed that the ablation of the capillary walls is unfavorable both for the compression and stability of the plasma and consequently for the soft x‐ray laser production. The amplification and lasing effects are observed only in the ceramic channel. The measurements of the line intensity at 46.9 nm showed the lasing with a gain‐length product of ≈ 9, a laser pulse energy of ≈ 5 μJ, a pulse duration of 1.3 ns and a beam divergence of ≈ 3.5 mrad. In addition, effect of the scaling of the time of lasing with the initial plasma diameter was demonstrated experimentally and compared with a one‐dimensional MHD model.     

Performance of a 80 W copper vapor laser with “alignment free” unstable CAT-EYE resonator and other configurations using intra-cavity apertures

Performance of a kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (KE-CVL) with various stable/unstable “alignment free” CAT-EYE resonator configurations are presented here in this paper. The laser used in the experiment was a 45 mm bore (∼2 l discharge volume) kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser developed in our laboratory and capable of generating maximum power of ∼80 W (at ∼9.8 kHz). The efficiency of the laser was ∼1.4% and beam divergence of ∼3.5 mrad in a plane-plane standard multimode cavity. For the first time performance of unstable CAT-EYE resonator is demonstrated with a CVL/KE-CVL. On using unstable CAT-EYE resonator the divergence of the laser beam reduced to ∼0.22 mrad (∼20-fold reduction as compared to conventional plane-plane cavity), ∼40 W output power and with excellent misalignment tolerance. The laser output power was found to be within ∼5% drift/decline with misalignment angle of about 4 mrad between the mirrors. This is a significant improvement in comparison to standard conventional unstable resonator (M ∼ 50) CVL where ∼0.5 mrad divergence is achieved with power drift/decline of about 45% at ∼4 mrad misalignment angle.Off-axis unstable CAT-EYE unstable resonator was also demonstrated for the first time with further reduction in beam divergence to ∼0.13 mrad and with output power of ∼28 W. The misalignment tolerance was found to be highest in case of off-axis unstable CAT-EYE resonator with decline/drift in laser power of only ∼10% for misalignment angle as high as ∼8 mrad. Performance with intra-cavity apertures in plane-plane type CAT-EYE resonator for transverse mode control is also presented for the first time in CVLs. It is observed that the laser beam divergence reduces significantly to 1.25 mrad (a factor of 2) on using an aperture of ∼3.5 mm at the CAT-EYE reflector as compared to its normal (R = F = d) configuration without aperture. In case of stable CAT-EYE resonator the average beam divergence reduces from 8 mrad to 4 mrad (factor of 2) on using intra-cavity aperture of about 3 mm. It was also observed that high misalignment tolerance was retained on using intra-cavity apertures in almost all the CAT-EYE resonators. Use of intra-cavity mesh was also demonstrated for the first time with stable CAT-EYE resonator for improving the beam focus-ability. Average beam divergence was reduced by a factor of 2.5 (from 8 mrad to 3 mrad) on using intra-cavity mesh. These new configurations in CAT-EYE resonators in KE-CVLs are found to be effective in improving and controlling the laser beam divergence significantly with additional characteristic of high misalignment tolerance.     

Review of collisional excitation neon-like and nickel-like soft X-ray lasers pumped by multiple infrared laser pulses at the Institute of Laser Engineering,Osaka University

We report on the soft X-ray laser developments performed at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University especially for the collisional excitation X-ray lasers at wavelengths between 25 nm and 4 nm. The performance of neon-like and nickel-like ion X-ray lasing pumped by a train of short laser pulses has been investigated. We have also demonstrated double pass amplification using a soft X-ray multi-layer mirror at wavelengths of 19.6 nm and 7.9 nm. Based on these results and experimental technique, two targets were placed in series to double the gain length. Two opposing laser beams irradiated the double targets with a suitable time difference for quasi-traveling wave pumping. The double target amplification was successfully demonstrated with two beam irradiation for Ag, Nd, Yb, Hf and Ta lasing. The estimated absolute photon flux from the saturated amplification Ag X-ray laser was ∼300 μJ. Based on the experimental results, we also discuss the applications of an X-ray laser as a super-high brightness soft X-ray source.     

Intensity distribution of a capillary-discharge 46.9 nm soft X-ray laser

We realize a Ne-like Ar 46.9 nm soft X-ray laser pumped by a capillary discharge. The study of the laserpulse-intensity distribution is important for applications of soft X-ray lasers. The intensity distribution demonstrates the gain distribution, plasma radius, and axial plasma density that contribute to the study of the laser-pulse formation. To measure the intensity in different positions of the X-ray laser spot, we moved transversally an X-ray diode (XRD) assembled with a slit. We obtain the onedimensional intensity distribution. We find a laser divergence (FWHM) of 4.0 mrad. According to the gain-guided model, we calculate the intensity distribution. The measured divergence of 4.0 mrad roughly corresponds to a plasma radius a approximately equal to 230–250 μm and on-axis electron density n _e ≈ 8.0?10¹⁸ ?9.0?10¹⁸ cm ^?3. The results of calculations indicate that the divergence of the intensity distribution increases when the plasma radius decreases and the on-axis electron density increases.     

低泵浦能量类氖锗等离子体软X射线激光实验

提出并采用具有一定时间间隔的双束脉冲加热锗薄膜靶方法，在泵浦激光能量１００Ｊ，靶长１０ｍｍ的实验条件下，观察到波长１９．６１ｎｍ和２３．６３ｎｍ两条类氖锗３ｓ－３ｐ激光跃迁线。１９．６１ｎｍ（Ｊ＝０－１）的激光跃迁线发射强度较２３．６３ｎｍ（Ｊ＝２－１）激光线的强度大，其发散角较后者小。     

Intense ion beams for inertial confinement fusion

Intense beams of light and heavy ions are being studied as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) drivers for high yield and energy. Heavy and light ions have common interests in beam transport, targets, and alternative accelerators. Self-pinched transport is being jointly studied. This article reviews the development of intense ion beams for ICF. Light-ion drivers are highlighted because they are compact, modular, efficient and low cost. Issues facing light ions are: (1) decreasing beam divergence; (2) increasing beam brightness; and (3) demonstrating self-pinched transport. Applied-B ion diodes are favored because of efficiency, beam brightness, perceived scalability, achievable focal intensity, and multistage capability. A light-ion concept addressing these issues uses: (1) an injector divergence of ⩽24 mrad at 9 MeV; (2) two-stage acceleration to reduce divergence to ⩽12 mrad at 35 MeV; and (3) self-pinched transport accepting divergences up to 12 mrad. Substantial progress in ion-driven target physics and repetitive ion diode technology is also presented. Z-pinch drivers are being pursued as the shortest pulsed power path to target physics experiments and high-yield fusion. However, light ions remain the pulsed power ICF driver of choice for high-yield fusion energy applications that require driver standoff and repetitive operation     

类Ne钛X射线激光输出特性实验

 在星光激光装置上, 使用X射线多层膜反射镜、铝滤片及X射线CCD探测器组成高灵敏度空间分辨探测系统, 对用预脉冲技术产生的类Ne钛单线 (J=0-1, 3p-3s跃迁)软X射线激光输出特性进行了测量。由实验得到了类Ne钛X 射线激光束近场与距靶端32mm处(准远场)强度的空间分布, 给出了该激光束在近场强度最大区域的空间尺度(FWHM)约为72μm×31μm, 以及在垂直靶面与平行靶面方向的束发散角分别约为4mrad与9mrad。     

Highly coherent injection-seeded 13.2 nm tabletop soft x-ray laser

We report a dramatic improvement of the spatial coherence and beam divergence (0.66 mrad) of a 13.2 nm wavelength Ni-like Cd tabletop laser by injection seeding the soft x-ray laser amplifier with high-harmonics pulses generated in a Ne gas jet. This phase coherent laser is an attractive light source for at-wavelength interferometry of extreme ultraviolet lithography optics and other applications.     

LD激光束准直整形模块的研制

SDL-5400型号GaAlAs LD激光器产生的是单模高斯光束,在相互垂直方向上光束发散角不相等,且存在像散。为得到共腰的圆形光斑,由复参数q和ABCD定律,设计出两相互垂直的柱面透镜和棱镜对准直整形模块,通过CCD标定方法,得到经准直整形后的LD激光束在弧矢方向上的远场发散角为0.53mrad,子午方向为0.64mrad。     

准单色近平行光束的X射线源

针对准单色近平行光束X射线背光成像诊断需求,提出了一种用球面弯晶进行X射线衍射选单从而获取准直光束的新方案.在神光Ⅱ装置上,设计了基于球面弯晶X射线衍射选单准直光束系统,完成了该系统的安装、调试和实验应用,获得了准单色(10~(-3)△λ/λ10~(-2))、小发散角(2 mrad)和大辐照匀斑(直径φ500 m)的X射线光源.同时基于衍射光学和球面镜成像理论,研究了不同布拉格角对球面弯晶X射线衍射光束发散角及其像散差的影响.结果表明,布拉格角会影响球面弯晶X射线衍射光束的发散角.用控制布拉格角范围的方法有望获得发散角优于1 mrad的近平行光束X射线光源.这种准单色、极小发散度和均匀角分布的X射线光源可应用于高分辨X射线成像诊断.     

冷却储存环主环磁铁的准直测量

采用激光跟踪仪及配套带软件Insight对兰州重离子加速器冷却储存环主环磁铁进行了安装和准直。首先建立全局坐标系，用来确定从源体到实验环各子系统的理论原点的位置；而各个子系统又分别以各自的理论原点为基础建立局部坐标系，用来安装定位本系统内的各个元件；对各个子系统中的每一个元件还采用了元件坐标系。准直测量时，先在每块磁铁上焊接8个测量基准；然后对磁铁上的基准进行测量，以确定其在元件坐标系中的位置；再架设激光跟踪仪，测量主环控制网点，恢复主环局部坐标系，根据元件在主环局部坐标系中的位置及理论坐标，计算出相关的变换参数；转入元件坐标系，采用激光跟踪仪及Insight 软件显示实时测量坐标及其与理论值之差，其精度达到0.15 mm。     

猫眼效应中离焦量对激光回波发散角的影响

平行光束或者激光束在光轴方向上照射焦平面成像系统时会产生猫眼效应,焦平面探测器安装的正交性与离焦量直接影响猫眼回波的光学特性,进而影响基于猫眼效应的探测系统的性能。针对猫眼效应中离焦量与后向反射光束发散角之间关系,利用物理光学进行分析,建立理论模型,对焦距为0.18 m的焦平面探测成像系统进行数值计算得到:在离焦量为0.16 mm时,发散角最小（0.019 mrad）。搭建实验系统,测试离焦量与猫眼回波发散角,测得离焦量在0.15 mm附近存在最小的发散角为0.025 mrad,与计算结果0.019 mrad基本吻合。研究表明:1） 负离焦对发散角的影响大于正离焦;2） 猫眼回波发散角基本上随着离焦量绝对值的增加而变大,但是变化曲线并不关于零离焦量点对称,而是在某个正离焦处存在一个最小发散角。