Observation of laser satellites in a plasma produced by a femtosecond laser pulse

Laser satellites are detected in the emission spectra of magnesium and aluminum plasmas produced by femtosecond laser pulses. This is made possible by the realization of picosecond time resolution in a high-luminosity x-ray spectrograph with a spherically curved mica crystal. The temporal characteristics of these newly recorded spectral lines show unequivocally that they are formed as a result of nonlinear processes. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 7, 454–459 (10 October 1997)     

Vacuum heating of large atomic clusters by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse

The analytic approach of vacuum (Brunel) heating mechanism is generalized to the case of large atomic clusters irradiated by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse. The hydrodynamic cluster expansion is taken into account in this approach. Simple universal expressions are obtained for the absorbed laser energy by a cluster and for the radius of an expanding cluster. The absorption of laser energy and the cluster expansion are determined by only one dimensionless field parameter.     

X-ray spectroscopic observations of a superdense plasma in nanoparticles irradiated by superintense femtosecond laser radiation

The interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with SiO₂ aerogel targets has been analyzed by x-ray spectroscopic methods. The use of an aerogel target with transparent grains makes it possible to considerably reduce the requirements on laser-pulse contrasts for which heating occurs without the formation of a preplasma. A nanoplasma with a density sevenfold higher than the solid-state density has been detected.     

Ar plasma waveguide produced by a low-intensity femtosecond laser

Using the interaction of a low-intensity femtosecond laser pulse (30 fs, 6 × 10¹⁵ Wcm^? 2) with argon cluster jet produced from a slit nozzle, we experimentally probe the formation of a uniform plasma waveguide by the interferogram analysis. The results about evolution of plasma channel demonstrate that it is feasible to produce the plasma waveguide for an fs laser pulse of low-intensity. It takes tens of nanoseconds to form a plasma waveguide. The simulation by one-dimensional Gaussian plasma hydrodynamic expansion model indicates that the temperature of plasma channel is not high under this condition. Thus it takes tens of nanoseconds to form a plasma waveguide.     

Recombination processes in atomic clusters irradiated by superintense femtosecond laser pulses

Various mechanisms of recombination of electrons with multiply charged atomic ions in atomic clusters irradiated by superintense femtosecond laser pulses are discussed. All of the recombination mechanisms are shown to take a time considerably longer than the laser pulse duration and, hence, they can develop only in a homogeneous, fairly rarefied cluster plasma after pulse termination. All autoionization states of multiply charged ions in a dense cluster plasma have been found to be destroyed by the Holtsmark electric field.     

Ultraviolet conical emission produced by high-power femtosecond laser pulse in transparent media

In this work, supercontinuum conical emission (SC CE) accompanying the filamentation of powerful ultrashort laser pulse in BK₇ glass and fused silica is studied. The SC CE is controlled by the laser power density and the sample thickness, and the minimum SC CE cut-off wavelength is about 309?nm in the BK₇ glass and 237?nm in the fused silica. The angular distributions of the SC CE in the wavelength range less than 510?nm are measured by using a new method, and it cannot be explained by the Cerenkov emission theory but the unabridged X-Waves solution theory. Meanwhile numerical simulations of the propagation of femtosecond laser pulse in sample are performed to provide theoretical support to our results.     

Dynamics of ablation plasma induced by a femtosecond laser pulse in electric fields

Direct observations of ablation plasma dynamics in electric field is presented. A time-resolved spatial profile of the ablation plasma induced by femtosecond laser ablation (fsLA) with high fluence is visualized using a planar-laser-induced fluorescence (P-LIF) method. The external electric field is produced by installing a mesh electrode at 6 mm from a Samarium solid target. The Sm ion plasma created by the fsLA showed collective motion regardless of the external electric field, until they reached close to the electrode. When the accelerating and decelerating field was applied, the ions almost disappeared behind the electrode from the field of view. The observations are understood utilizing a SIMION simulation with a conceivable potential gradient caused by Debye shield effect, which is that the ablation plasma keeps the same potential as the target voltage and follows electric potential gradient near the mesh electrode. It is also revealed that this effect degrades time-of-flight resolution at high fluence irradiation. This work gives a new direction for further developments of a fsLA time-of-flight spectrometer.     

Short pulse scattering from a laser produced plasma

Experiments are reported on 1.06m scattering from a laser produced plasma. Generally in such experiments scattering is observed on the shock wave front at 90° from the incident beam. In our set-up the plasma is expanding in a Fabry-Perot resonator and we note a strong emission at 1.06m.     

空气中飞秒激光自聚焦等离子体通道的电导特性

 通过电学探测法,采用不同焦距的聚焦透镜,在不同激光能量、不同极性外加电压的条件下,对大气中的飞秒激光自聚焦等离子体电离通道特性进行了实验研究。发现激光脉冲经不同焦距的聚焦透镜作用后均存在较长的电离通道,通道的等效电阻率有所变化,通常电阻率的最大值出现在透镜的几何焦点附近,并且焦距越长,此电阻率的局部峰值点离几何焦点位置越近。在外加不同极性电压时,自由电子受到所加静电场作用力、洛仑兹力以及有质动力的共同作用。焦点前,通道电流变化不明显,加正向电压产生的电流略微大于加负向电压时的电流;焦点后则是加负向电压产生的电流大于加正向电压时的电流。     

空气中飞秒激光自聚焦等离子体通道的电导特性

通过电学探测法,采用不同焦距的聚焦透镜,在不同激光能量、不同极性外加电压的条件下,对大气中的飞秒激光自聚焦等离子体电离通道特性进行了实验研究。发现激光脉冲经不同焦距的聚焦透镜作用后均存在较长的电离通道,通道的等效电阻率有所变化,通常电阻率的最大值出现在透镜的几何焦点附近,并且焦距越长,此电阻率的局部峰值点离几何焦点位置越近。在外加不同极性电压时,自由电子受到所加静电场作用力、洛仑兹力以及有质动力的共同作用。焦点前,通道电流变化不明显,加正向电压产生的电流略微大于加负向电压时的电流;焦点后则是加负向电压产生的电流大于加正向电压时的电流。     

Spectral attenuation of a 400-nm laser pulse propagating through a plasma filament induced by an intense femtosecond laser pulse

The spectral attenuation of a 400-nm probe laser propagating through a femtosecond plasma in air is studied. Defocusing effect of the low-density plasma is an obvious effect by examining the far-field patterns of the 400-nm pulse.Besides, the energy of 400-nm pulse drops after interaction with the plasma, which is found to be another effect leading to the attenuation. To reveal the physical origin behind the energy loss, we measure fluorescence emissions of the interaction area. The fluorescence is hardly detected with the weak 400-nm laser pulse, and the line spectra from the plasma filament induced by the 800-nm pump pulse are clearly shown. However, when the 400-nm pulse propagates through the plasma filament, the fluorescence at 391 nm from the first negative band system of N_2~+ is enhanced, while that from the second positive band of neutral N_2 at 337 nm remains constant. Efficient near-resonant absorption of the 400-nm pulse by the first negative band system occurs inside the plasma, which results in the enhanced fluorescence. Furthermore, the spectral attenuation of the 400-nm probe laser is measured as a function of the pump–probe time delay as well as the pump-pulse energy.     

飞秒激光烧蚀硅表面产生等离子体的发射光谱研究

对中心波长为800 nm,脉宽为100 fs的激光脉冲烧蚀空气中硅(111)产生的等离子体发射光谱进行了时间和空间分辨研究. 结果表明,在等离子体羽膨胀初期(小于50 ns时间范围内),等离子体发射光谱主要由连续光谱构成,此后连续光谱强度逐渐减弱,线状光谱开始占主导地位;在羽体膨胀过程中离子谱线的存在时间短于原子谱线的存在时间. 由时间分辨发射光谱发现在羽体膨胀过程中等离子体辐射波长存在红移现象,波长红移量随时间演化呈二次指数衰减. 最后给出等离子体发射光谱谱线强度的时空演化规律. 关键词： 飞秒激光 脉冲激光烧蚀 等离子体 发射光谱     

Generation of superintense femtosecond pulses by the Cr:forsterite laser system

A repetitively pulsed chromium-forsterite laser system is created. High-power femtosecond light pulses are generated at the fundamental (1.24 μm) and second-harmonic (0.62 μm) wavelengths. Theoretical analysis is performed to optimize the output pulse energy. Laser pulses with a duration of 110 fs, an energy of 1 mJ, and a repetition rate of 1–50 Hz are generated. The intensity of the focused beam is greater than 10¹⁶ W/cm². High-efficiency radiation conversion into the second harmonic is used to increase the energy contrast of the generated pulses. Original Text ? Astro, Ltd., 2006.     

Mechanisms for second harmonic generation in the interaction of a superintense ultrashort laser pulse with cluster plasma

The effects of the interaction of an intense femtosecond laser pulse with large atomic clusters are considered. The pulse intensity is of the order of 10¹⁸ W cm^?2. New effects appear when the magnetic component of the Lorentz force is taken into account. The second harmonic of laser radiation is generated. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency is proportional to the square of the number of atoms in a cluster and the square of the laser radiation intensity. The resonance increase in the SHG efficiency at the Mie frequencies (both at the second harmonic frequency and fundamental frequency) proved to be insignificant because of the fast passage through the resonance during cluster expansion. The mechanisms of the expansion and accumulation of energy by electrons and ions in the cluster are discussed in detail. The energy accumulation by electrons mainly occurs due to stimulated inverse bremsstrahlung upon elastic reflection of the electrons from the cluster surface. The equations describing the cluster expansion take into account both the hydrodynamic pressure of heated electrons and the Coulomb explosion of the ionized cluster caused by outer shell ionization. It is assumed that both inner shell and outer shell ionization is described by the over barrier mechanism. It is shown that atomic clusters are more attractive for the generation of even harmonics than compared to solid and gas targets.     

Electron Weibel instability of plasma with thermal anisotropy

The general pattern of Weibel instability attributed to thermal anisotropic distribution in the electron component is obtained using the technique of discrete simulation of self-consistent radiationless plasma. The dependences of the initial medium anisotropy of the key instability parameters (the characteristic period and the maximum magnetic field energy) are investigated.     

X-ray spectroscopy diagnostic of a plasma produced by femtosecond laser pulses irradiating a cluster target

The parameters of a plasma produced upon the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with cluster targets are measured by the methods of X-ray spectroscopy. The dependence of the plasma parameters on the initial properties of a cluster target (the design of a supersonic nozzle, the average size of clusters, the spatial inhomogeneity) and the laser pulse properties (its duration and contrast) is studied. The plasma diagnostics is performed using the model of formation of emission spectra, which was proposed earlier and includes a number of fitting parameters, which provide good agreement with experimental spectra. The systematic experimental studies performed by us showed that our model of cluster heating by ultrashort pulses is indeed a physical model, and the fitting parameters represent the average values of plasma parameters in the corresponding space-time regions.     

Features of femtosecond laser pulse reflection from a sharp boundary of relativistic laser plasma

The features of femtosecond laser pulse reflection from a plasma target of near-critical density were analytically and numerically studied in a wide range of laser pulse intensities and durations. Based on analytical calculations, it is shown that the pulse reflectance at a constant intensity decreases with decreasing pulse duration. Based of numerical simulation results, it is shown that, as a superintense femtosecond laser pulse is incident on a plasma layer with a concentration close to the critical one, a quasi-periodic electron-density structure is formed in the plasma bulk, which can both increase and decrease the the laser pulse reflectance.     

超强激光脉冲作用下的Au等离子体L-X射线辐射测量

基于SILEX-Ⅰ激光器,利用单光子计数型电荷耦合器件,在超强超短脉冲激光与高纯度Au靶相互作用中,通过改变入射激光的能量,测量了不同激光功率密度下的Au等离子体L-X射线发射谱。实验结果表明:在超强超短脉冲激光作用下,Au等离子体L-X射线发射过程中由于高速电子存在,会诱发很强的热辐射和轫致辐射,并且Au等离子体特征L-X射线发射强度、热辐射和轫致辐射随激光功率密度增加而增强。     

超强激光脉冲作用下的Au等离子体L-X射线辐射测量

基于SILEX-Ⅰ激光器,利用单光子计数型电荷耦合器件,在超强超短脉冲激光与高纯度Au靶相互作用中,通过改变入射激光的能量,测量了不同激光功率密度下的Au等离子体L-X射线发射谱。实验结果表明:在超强超短脉冲激光作用下,Au等离子体L-X射线发射过程中由于高速电子存在,会诱发很强的热辐射和轫致辐射,并且Au等离子体特征L-X射线发射强度、热辐射和轫致辐射随激光功率密度增加而增强。