神光Ⅲ激光装置直接驱动内爆靶产生的连续谱X光源

激光驱动的内爆靶通过轫致辐射过程可以产生覆盖1—100 keV能区的小尺寸、短脉冲和高亮度的光滑连续谱X光源,可用于高密度等离子体的点投影照相和吸收谱诊断等.本文对30—180 k J输出能量的神光Ⅲ激光装置直接驱动氘氚冷冻靶产生的连续谱X光源辐射特性进行了模拟研究,为优化内爆光源提供物理基础.采用了美国OMEGA激光装置和美国国家点火装置(NIF)使用的定标率来给出不同驱动能量时的靶参数和激光脉冲参数.研究发现,内爆靶丸在停滞阶段瞬时的密度和温度剧增可以产生尺寸约100μm、发光时间约150 ps的X光脉冲;X光辐射主要产生于被压缩的氘氚冰壳层内侧、而不是中心的高温气体热斑区;等离子体的自吸收可以显著降低1—3 keV的较低能区的X光发射,但对更高能区没有影响;X光辐射主要集中在30 keV的较低能区,氘氚聚变反应可以增强30 keV的硬X光辐射、但对30 keV的较软的X光辐射没有明显贡献.     

High-peak-power operation of a Q-switched Tm3+-doped silica fiber laser operating near 2 microm

A peak output power of greater than 4.1 kW and a pulse duration at FWHM of 150 ns have been obtained in a Q-switched Tm3+-doped silica fiber laser in the wavelength region near 2 microm when the laser was pumped with a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.319 microm. An acousto-optic modulator was used as a Q-switching element and operated at repetition rates of as much as 30 kHz. A core diameter of 17 microm was used to increase the laser gain volume, permitting high-pump-power absorption and an output of high pulse energy and peak power. Stimulated Brillouin scattering was directly observed in the output pulse, and as much as 10 orders of stimulated Brillouin scattering was recorded. This is the first report to the authors' knowledge of high-peak-power operation of a Tm3+-fiber laser.     

Electron acceleration in an ultraintense-laser-illuminated capillary

An ultraintense laser injected a 10 J of power at 1.053 microm in 0.5 ps into a glass capillary of 1 cm long and 60 microm in diameter and accelerated plasma electrons to 100 MeV. One- and two-dimensional particle codes describe wakefields with 10 GV/m gradient excited behind the laser pulse, which are guided by a plasma density channel far beyond the Rayleigh range. The blueshift of the laser spectrum supports that a plasma of 10(16) cm(-3) is inside the capillary. A bump at the high energy tail suggests the electron trapping in the wakefield.     

Measurements of restricted diffusion using an oscillating gradient spin-echo sequence

An oscillating gradient spin-echo (OGSE) pulse sequence was used to measure the apparent diffusion coefficient (D(app)) of water in the short diffusion time regime in the presence of restrictions. The diffusion coefficients of water in a simple water sample and a water and oil mixture were measured to be the same for different periods of the gradient oscillation, as expected when there are no restriction effects. The D(app) of water in the spaces between closely packed beads was also measured as a function of the gradient oscillation periods in the range 11 to 80 ms. The D(app) of water in restricted systems varies with the period of the gradient oscillation and the dispersion depends on the scale of the restriction. For a sample of packed beads of diameter 9.1 +/- 0.7 microm, the pore surface-to-volume ratio was estimated experimentally by this method to be 1.3 +/- 0.1 microm(-1), corresponding to a mean pore diameter of 6.4 +/- 0.7 microm. A Monte Carlo computer simulation of the NMR OGSE signal from the spins diffusing in a system of compartments was also implemented and the D(app) demonstrated similar behavior with gradient oscillation periods.     

辐射驱动内爆流线实验测量

内爆速度的测量是惯性约束聚变研究中的核心问题, 是判断聚变点火反应的关键物理量. 在神光II激光装置上, 利用KB显微镜配合时间分辨为10 ps的条纹相机, 对1600 J激光能量注入, 3倍频, 脉宽为1 ns黑腔辐射驱动CH靶球, 获得了清晰的辐射驱动内爆流线轨迹X射线图像. 通过流线轨迹图像给出了最大内爆速度为160 km/s. 利用Multi1D程序对内爆压缩流线和壳层速度变化进行了模拟, 实验数据和理论模拟较符合.     

辐射加热腔诊断孔堵口特性实验研究

研究辐射加热腔诊断孔堵口现象。实验采用波长为１．０５３μｍ、能量为３００－４００Ｊ、脉宽为－８００ｐｓ的高斯型激光脉冲，双束对打具有双源区的腔靶。在激光入射口及内腔口服两台亚千电子伏特Ｘ射线能谱仪监测源区与内爆区发射的Ｘ光谱。定性分析和讨论了堵口现象。     

Optical guidance of terrawatt laser pulses by the implosion phase of a fast Z-pinch discharge in a gas-filled capillary

A new method of optical guidance by the implosion phase of a fast Z-pinch discharge in a gas-filled capillary is proposed. An imploding plasma column has a concave electron-density profile in the radial direction, just before a stagnation phase driven by a converging current sheet and a shock wave. The feasibility of optical guidance of a high-intensity (>1 x 10(17) W/cm(2)) Ti:sapphire laser pulse by use of this method over a distance of 2 cm, corresponding to 12.5 times the Rayleigh length, has been experimentally demonstrated. The guiding-channel formation process was directly probed with a He-Ne laser beam. The electron density in the fully ionized channel was estimated to be 2.0 x 10(17) cm(-3) on the axis and 7.0 x 10(17) cm(-3) on the peaks of the channel edge, with a diameter of 70 mum, as indicated by the experimental results, which were corroborated by a magnetohydrodynamics simulation.     

神光系列激光装置内爆烧蚀压缩过程测量

间接驱动惯性约束聚变研究中,获得高内爆速度是实现点火,提升聚变增益的关键。通过对内爆烧蚀压缩过程的测量,能够获得内爆速度和剩余质量等内爆动力学重要的物理量,实现烧蚀层材料、厚度以及激光波形等参数的优化。近几年在神光系列装置上,演示了常规的应用狭缝成像的内爆烧蚀压缩过程测量技术,发展了基于球面弯晶成像的高分辨单能内爆烧蚀压缩过程测量技术。通过对球面弯晶成像系统设计的持续改进以及内爆烧蚀压缩过程测量技术的优化,结合实验室和系统原位标定结果,建立了高分辨的内爆压缩流线诊断技术,采用替代靶方式,实现内了爆速度不确定度2.1%的测量精度。     

On-line measurement of texture,thickness and plastic strain ratio using laser-ultrasound resonance spectroscopy

Laser-ultrasound resonance spectroscopy, a non-contact ultrasonic technique, was used to determine reliably and rapidly the crystallographic texture, the average plastic strain ratio, and the thickness of sheet metal on the production line. As with laser-ultrasonics, a short laser pulse is used to generate a wide-band pulse of ultrasound and a laser interferometer is used for its detection. In this paper, a large number of echoes are collected and analyzed together using Fourier techniques to measure the natural resonance frequencies in the thickness of the sheet. One longitudinal and two shear resonance frequencies were measured together with their harmonics. From these frequencies, two crystallographic orientation distribution coefficients, W(400) and W(420), are obtained, as well as a highly accurate measurement of the sheet thickness that is corrected for changes in ultrasonic velocity caused by texture variations. Using these coefficients, the average and in-plane twofold and fourfold variations of the plastic strain ratio, respectively r delta(2)r, and delta(4)r, can be evaluated. These parameters are indications of the formability of metals sheets, which is of industrial interest. Measurements on 1 mm thick, low carbon steel sheets have shown the following measurement accuracies: r to within +/-0.08, delta(2)r, and delta(4)r to within +/-0.1, and thickness to better than +/-1 microm. On-line tests at LTV Steel Company showed that the sensitivity of the apparatus is sufficient to detect systematic variations in texture along the length of similar production coils and that the on-line repeatability for r was of order +/-0.02.     

Self-focusing, channel formation, and high-energy ion generation in interaction of an intense short laser pulse with a He jet

Using interferometry, we investigate the dynamics of interaction of a relativistically intense 4-TW, 400-fs laser pulse with a He gas jet. We observe a stable plasma channel 1 mm long and less than 30 microm in diameter, with a radial gradient of electron density approximately 5 x 10(22) cm(-4) and with an on-axis electron density approximately ten times less than its maximum value of 8 x 10(19) cm(-3). A high radial velocity of the surrounding gas ionization of approximately 3.8 x 10(8) cm/s has been observed after the channel formation, and it is attributed to the fast ions expelled from the laser channel and propagating radially outward. We developed a kinetic model which describes the plasma channel formation and the subsequent ambient gas excitation and ionization. Comparing the model predictions with the interferometric data, we reconstructed the axial profile of laser channel and on-axis laser intensity. The estimated maximum energy of accelerated ions is about 500 keV, and the total energy of the fast ions is 5% of the laser pulse energy.     

High-energy quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillation in a 3-mm-thick periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 device

We have demonstrated high-energy quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillation in a 3-mm-thick periodically poled 5-mol. % MgO-doped LiNbO3 device with a 32.1-microm grating period and a 30-mm length. With a large-spot-size pump laser of 2.2-mm diameter, we obtained a total output pulse energy of 22 mJ for both the signal (wavelength 1.82 microm) and the idler (2.56 microm) waves at an input pump energy of 46 mJ.     

激光大气等离子体的电子密度空间分布特性研究

利用Nd∶YAG激光器产生的1.06 μm激光束(脉冲能量为500 mJ,脉冲宽度为10 ns, 重复频率30 Hz)聚焦击穿大气形成长约为8 cm、最大直径为5 cm的激光大气等离子体柱,用光谱测量的方法,分别沿平行于激光束方向和垂直于激光束方向探测该等离子体柱的空间分辨光谱,并由此反演得出电子密度空间分布特性。实验结果表明,激光大气等离子体中各种离子和电子呈橄榄形分布,沿激光束方向不对称,而垂直激光束方向对称分布,最大电子密度为1018 cm-3。文章还探讨了激光大气等离子体中处在不同状态的各种原子、分子和离子在空间的分布特性,为进一步揭示激光大气等离子体的微观空间分布规律提供了实验依据。     

Suppression of the ablation phase in wire array Z pinches using a tailored current prepulse

A new wire array configuration has been used to create thin shell-like implosions in a cylindrical array. The setup introduces a ~5 kA, ~25 ns current prepulse followed by a ~140 ns current-free interval before the application of the main (~1 MA) current pulse. The prepulse volumetrically heats the wires which expand to ~1 mm diameter leaving no dense wire core and without development of instabilities. The main current pulse then ionizes all the array mass resulting in suppression of the ablation phase, an accelerating implosion, and no trailing mass. Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth in the imploding plasma is inferred to be seeded by μm-scale perturbations on the surface of the wires. The absence of wire cores is found to be the critical factor in altering the implosion dynamics.     

Underwater implosion of glass spheres

Underwater implosion experiments were conducted with thin-wall glass spheres to determine the influence that structural failure has on the pressure pulse. Four experiments were conducted with glass spheres having an outside diameter of 7.62 cm, thickness of 0.762 mm, and an estimated buckling pressure of 7.57 MPa. The experiments were performed in a pressure vessel at a hydrostatic pressure of 6.996 MPa. The average peak pressure of the implosion pressure pulse was 26.1 MPa, measured at a radial distance of 10.16 cm from the sphere center. A computational fluid structure interaction model was developed to assess how the failure rate of the glass structure influences the pressure time history. The model employed a specified glass failure sequence that is uniform in time and space. It was found that for the conditions of the test, a glass failure rate of 275 m/s provided a reasonable representation of the test data. The test data and the model results show that the failure time history of the structure has a significant influence on an implosion pressure pulse. Computational prediction of an implosion pressure pulse needs to include the failure time history of the structure; otherwise it will overpredict the pressure time history.     

Imaging electron trajectories in a laser-wakefield cavity using betatron X-ray radiation

We demonstrate that betatron x-ray radiation accurately provides direct imaging of electrons trajectories accelerated in laser wakefields. Experimental far field x-ray beam profiles reveal that electrons can follow similar transverse trajectories with typical excursions of 1.5 microm+/-0.5 microm in the plane of laser polarization and 0.7 microm+/-0.2 microm in the plane perpendicular.     

Opacity measurements of a hot iron plasma using an x-ray laser

The temporal evolution of the opacity of an iron plasma at high temperature (30-350 eV) and high density (0.001-0.2 g cm-3) has been measured using a nickel-like silver x-ray laser at 13.9 nm. The hot dense iron plasma was created in a thin (50 nm) iron layer buried 80 nm below the surface in a plastic target that was heated using a separate 80 ps pulse of 6-9 J, focused to a 100 microm diameter spot. The experimental opacities are compared with opacities evaluated from plasma conditions predicted using a fluid and atomic physics code.     

激光间接驱动惯性约束聚变内爆物理实验研究

激光间接驱动惯性约束聚变利用辐射烧蚀驱动靶丸球形内爆,在减速阶段将内爆动能转化成热斑内能,同时压缩燃料,达到点火条件,实现聚变点火。根据目前认识,影响内爆压缩过程的主要因素包括内爆对称性、燃料熵增因子、内爆速度和混合。内爆物理实验研究的目的是发展对上述影响因素的实验表征方法,获取这些影响因素随靶设计参数的变化规律,建立相应的实验调控能力,最终达到不断提升内爆性能的目的。为此,在内爆对称性方面,开展了Bi球自发光实验,用于研究点火脉冲前2ns驱动不对称性;在内爆速度方面,开展了球面弯晶单能流线实验,测量得到内爆速度和剩余质量随时间的变化;在混合方面,开展了内壳层示踪涂层内爆混合实验,测量得到环形发光图像。为考察综合内爆性能,在神光Ⅱ和神光Ⅲ原型装置上开展了DT内爆实验,获得了中子产额随初始靶参数的变化规律。     

Dynamics of mass transport and magnetic fields in low-wire-number-array Z pinches

The dynamics of mass transport were observed in a wire array implosion with multiframe laser probing. Plasma bubbles arise at breaks in the wires. Interferometry shows that the leading edge of the bubbles brings material to the axis of the array. The speed of this material was measured to be > or =3 x 10(7) cm/s during the wire array implosion. A shock was observed during the collision of the bubbles with the precursor. The Faraday effect indicates current flowing in breaks on the wires. The current switches from the imploding mass to the on-axis plasma column at the beginning of the x-ray pulse.     

单层丝阵负载Z箍缩内爆辐射特性研究

在电流3—4MA的Angara-5-1脉冲装置上进行了单层钨丝阵Z箍缩实验,利用具有坪响应的X射线功率谱仪获得X射线功率,利用X射线纳秒分幅相机获得等离子体内爆辐射区图像.在丝阵直径相同时,实验得到较细的丝直径使得内爆较早,收缩比较大;较大的丝间隙使得内爆早期丝间等离子体不能有效的融合,而是较孤立的等离子体簇向内箍缩;较大的丝直径和丝间隙导致不稳定性波长较大.在丝阵直径不同,丝直径相当时,实验得到较大的丝阵直径内爆启动较早,具有较大的内爆速度,但等离子体在内爆过程中较分散.另外,较大的丝直径和丝阵直径使X射线辐射脉冲时间较宽.