Interaction of Short Laser Pulses in Wavelength Range from Infrared to X‐ray with Metals,Semiconductors, and Dielectrics

Laser‐matter interaction is defined by an electronic band structure of condensed matter and frequency ω_L of electromagnetic radiation. In the range of moderate fluences, the energy absorbed by electrons from radiation finally thermalizes in the ion thermal energy. The thermalization processes are different for optical as compared with X‐ray quanta and for metals relative to semiconductors and dielectrics, since the light absorption and electron‐electron, electron‐ion dynamics are sensitive to the electron population in a conduction band and the width of a forbidden gap. Although the thermalization processes are different, the final state is simply a heated matter. Laser heating creates powerful stresses in a target if duration of a laser pulse τ_L is short in acoustic time scale. Nucleation and material removal take place under such stresses. Such way of removal is called here the spallative ablation. Thus the spallative ablation is an ablation mechanism universally important for qualitatively different materials and quanta (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

飞秒激光脉冲在非线性光纤中的传播

研究了非线性光纤中自相位调制导致光脉冲频谱展宽的详细物理过程,以此为光纤中光孤子产生的物理过程作准备。     

强流电子束加载下Ta,Al,Cu的温度测量

利用六波长瞬态光学高温计测量了"神龙一号"加速器发射的高能电子束与靶材作用后靶受作用区的温度变化过程。获得了厚度为0.1~0.25mm的Ta,Al和Cu片靶与强流电子束作用后的温度变化过程,最高温度接近9000K,达到了温密物质区域。实验结果表明,利用"神龙一号"加速器发射的强流电子束与特定靶材作用可以获得可供观测的温密物质,而多波长瞬态光学高温计是测量这种温密物质的温度变化的有效手段。     

Equation‐of‐state studies of high‐energy‐density matter using intense ion beams at the Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research

This paper describes an experiment design based on numerical simulations to measure the equation‐of‐state properties of high‐energy‐density (HED) matter using intense particle beams. The simulations are performed using a 2D hydrodynamic computer code, BIG2, while the beam parameters are considered to match the Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research beam. This study has shown that in such experiments one can generate different phases of HED lead. Similar calculations are planned for other materials.     

空气中飞秒脉冲激光器互相关信号的理论研究

利用色散脉冲传播理论和空气折射率Ciddor公式,推导了空气中飞秒脉冲激光器的互相关函数;根据互相关函数结果表达式取决于激光器光源的光谱分布,建立了在空气中不同光程路径差及环境参量变化下,不同光谱分布的飞秒脉冲激光器的脉冲之间互相关模式的数值模型.结果表明:随着传播距离的增大,互相关模型具有稳定啁啾及线性加宽;环境参量的变化只引起互相关图案的移动,并不产生任何额外线性加宽或啁啾.     

Diagnose Parameters of Plasma Induced by Femtosecond Laser Pulse in Quartz and Glasses

Electron plasma induced by a focused femtosecond pulse (130 fs, 800 nm) in quartz, fused silica, K9 glass, and Soda Lime glass was investigated by pump-probe technology. Pump and probe shadow imaging and interferometric fringe imaging have been used to determine plasma density, relaxation time, and electron collision time in the conduction band. In these materials, the electron collision time is about several femtoseconds when the electron density is in the 10¹⁹cm⁻³ range. The electron relaxation processes are different: lifetime is about 170 fs in pure quartz and fused silica, and about 100 ps in K9 and Soda Lime glass. The modified electron band by doped ions is regarded to be responsible for the difference of decay time in these materials.     

激光烧蚀脉冲放电激发的土壤等离子体电子数密度和温度的研究

以激光烧蚀快脉冲放电激发土壤为例,研究了激光烧蚀快脉冲放电等离子体技术产生的土壤等离子体的电子数密度和温度。根据实验测得的Si原子和离子谱线的强度和萨哈玻尔兹曼方程,计算了等离子体的电子温度,并从分析Si I 250.69nm谱线的斯塔克展宽中导出了等离子体的电子数密度。与使用同样激光能量激发的激光等离子体相比,激光烧蚀快脉冲放电激发等离子体的电子数密度和温度都明显增加,与观察到的光谱信号强度是一致的。     

强流电子束加载下Ta，Al，Cu的温度测量

利用六波长瞬态光学高温计测量了神龙一号加速器发射的高能电子束与靶材作用后靶受作用区的温度变化过程。获得了厚度为0.1~0.25 mm的Ta,Al和Cu片靶与强流电子束作用后的温度变化过程,最高温度接近9000 K,达到了温密物质区域。实验结果表明,利用神龙一号加速器发射的强流电子束与特定靶材作用可以获得可供观测的温密物质,而多波长瞬态光学高温计是测量这种温密物质的温度变化的有效手段。     

飞秒强激光作用下Ar原子团簇离子能谱计算

研究了飞秒强激光与Ar原子团簇相互作用时的电离机制及库仑爆炸过程,建立了一个简化的模型计算相互作用产生的离子能谱,计算结果与实验结果较为吻合,可以较好地解释离子能谱高能端的主要特征。     

飞秒激光脉冲诱导透明介质的非线性吸收和折射率改变轮廓研究

实验研究了飞秒激光脉冲诱导熔融石英的非线性吸收特性,利用激光诱导自由电子等离子体浓度取决于多光子吸收系数和入射光强的关系;数值模拟了激光诱导折射率变化区域的大小,结合非线性吸收机理和飞秒激光脉冲与介质的相互作用,解释了飞秒激光脉冲超精细加工不受衍射极限的约束,可实现纳米级加工的机理结果表明,电介质的电离能越大,飞秒脉冲诱导的折射率变化区域就越小,但要求的激光脉冲能量也越大;为飞秒激光脉冲超精细加工的材料和激光参量选择提供了理论依据.     

超短强激光辐照Ar喷气靶的X射线发射

利用带差分抽运系统的高效高分辨率软Ｘ射线大面积透射光栅光谱仪,对超短强激光脉冲辐照下氩气体靶的软Ｘ射线发射特性进行了光谱诊断。测量了氩气１２ｎｍ￣３５ｎｍ范围内的Ｘ射线发射光谱,并观察到Ｘ射线发射强度随喷气气压的增加而增加。     

Development of picosecond time‐resolved X‐ray absorption spectroscopy by high‐repetition‐rate laser pump/X‐ray probe at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility

A new setup and commissioning of transient X‐ray absorption spectroscopy are described, based on the high‐repetition‐rate laser pump/X‐ray probe method, at the 1W2B wiggler beamline at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. A high‐repetition‐rate and high‐power laser is incorporated into the setup with in‐house‐built avalanche photodiodes as detectors. A simple acquisition scheme was applied to obtain laser‐on and laser‐off signals simultaneously. The capability of picosecond transient X‐ray absorption spectroscopy measurement was demonstrated for a photo‐induced spin‐crossover iron complex in 6 mM solution with 155 kHz repetition rate.     

Modeling of Nonthermal Solid‐to‐Solid Phase Transition in Diamond Irradiated with Femtosecond x‐ray FEL Pulse

In this contribution we review in detail our recently developed hybrid model able to trace simultaneously nonequilibrium electron kinetics, evolution of an electronic structure, and eventually nonthermal phase transition in solids irradiated with femtosecond free‐electron laser pulses. Diamond irradiated with an ultrashort intense x‐ray pulse serves as an example to show how an irradiated material undergoes an ultrafast phase transition on sub‐picosecond timescales. The transition of diamond into graphite is induced by an excitation of electrons from the valence band into the conduction band, which, in turn, induces a rapid change of the interatomic potential. Our theoretical model incorporates: a Monte‐Carlo method for tracing high‐energy electrons and K‐shell holes in diamond; a temperature equation for the valence‐band and low‐energy conduction‐band electrons; a tight binding method for calculation of the evolving electronic structure of the material and potential energy surfaces; and molecular dynamics propagating atomic trajectories. This unified approach predicts the damage threshold of diamond in a good agreement with experimentally measured values. It reveals a multi‐step nature of nonthermal phase transition being an interplay between electronic excitation, changes of the band structure, and atomic reordering. An effect of pulse parameters, such as photon energy and temporal pulse shape, on the phase transition is discussed in detail. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ionization dynamics of dense matter generated by intense ultrashort X‐ray pulses

We investigate a pump‐probe X‐ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) experiment that might be carried out at a free electron laser facility to study warm‐to‐hot states of dense matter. Ultrashort and intense X‐ray pulses with different energies (1,560–1,830 eV) heat a 1 µm thick Al target isochorically and create homogeneous and uncompressed warm‐to‐hot states of dense matter. A second pulse with variable delay probes this heated state via XRTS. The X‐ray laser–target interaction is modelled within radiation‐hydrodynamic simulations applying the HELIOS‐CR code. The HELIOS‐CR results qualitatively agree with Monte‐Carlo simulations, where the laser pulse absorption is simulated based on a uniform random sequence of events. The electron feature in the simultaneously observed X‐ray scattering spectrum is a function of the degree of ionization and the target temperature. Therefore, the temporal evolution of the plasmon peak measures the ionization dynamics on ultra‐short time scales. The XRTS spectrum is calculated based on the Chihara formula utilizing the Born‐Mermin approximation for the free electron dynamic structure factor. The proposed experiment will reveal important details of the ionization dynamics on ultra‐short time scales as well as of the relaxation on ps time scales.     

Two‐Photon Imaging of a Cellular Line Using Organic Fluorescent Nanoparticles Synthesized by Laser Ablation

A comparative study of the optical properties of organic fluorescent nanoparticles fabricated by laser ablation (NPs‐LA), reprecipitation (NPs‐RP), and microemulsion (NPs‐ME) methods is presented. These nanoparticles contain a fluorene‐based p‐conjugated molecule (BT2). Distinctive electronic transitions are observed in samples due to the specific way in which the molecule BT2 is assembled in each type of nanoparticles; for instance, transitions involved in absorption and emission spectra of NPs‐LA result in blueshifting with respect to the molecular solution of BT2, whereas redshifting is observed in NPs‐RP and NPs‐ME. Further, the results show that under infrared excitation, the aqueous suspensions of NPs‐LA exhibit the highest fluorescence induced by two‐photon absorption (≈790 GM at 740 nm), as well as the best photostability, compared with aqueous suspensions of NPs‐RP and NPs‐ME. The nanoparticles synthetized by the three aforementioned methods are employed as exogenous agents for the visualization of human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) using confocal and two‐photon microscopy. Under similar experimental conditions, it is found that microscopy images of the best quality are obtained with NPs‐LA. These results show that laser ablation is a suitable technique for the fabrication of organic fluorescent nanoparticles used as contrast agents for in vitro fluorescence microscopy.     

Autocorrelation Method to Detect Frequency Shift of a Laser Diode by Short Pulse Irradiation

A new method to investigate fast frequency modulation of a laser diode by applying optical pulse irradiation is presented. The self-delayed heterodyne technique and an autocorrelation method are used to detect beat in the heterodyne signal due to frequency shift by the irradiation. Autocorrelation of the beat signal is suggested to be calculated via its spectrum.     

Modeling of Nanoplasmas Created from Finite Systems by Ultrafast Intense X‐ray Pulses

In this review we discuss various simulation methods for modeling nanoplasmas created from finite‐size samples after their irradiation with femtosecond, intense X‐ray pulses. Depending on the sample composition and its size, either a particle method or a transport method can be applied. Also, the observables of interest influence the choice of the simulation method. The current status of dedicated methods developed by the CFEL Theory Division at DESY in Hamburg and their possible extensions are presented together with some application examples. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Anomalies in the Absorption and Reflection of a High-Power Ultrashort Laser Pulse by a Plasma with a Solid-State Density

The patterns of absorption and reflection of an ultrashort laser pulse by a plasma with a solid-state density, which are realized in the mode of the normal skin effect, are studied. It is shown that a decrease in low-power pulse duration shorter than the period corresponding to the fundamental frequency of radiation leads to an increase in the absorption coefficient. If the pulse power is so high as to provide electron heating during a time shorter than the reciprocal fundamental frequency, nonlinear suppression of absorption takes place and the spectrum of the reflected radiation contains odd harmonics of the fundamental frequency.     

采用激光诱导击穿光谱技术探测等离子体温度

阐述了激光诱导击穿技术的基本原理,研究了激光诱导击穿光谱技术在探测等离子体温度方面的应用,并进行了实验研究。在等离子体达到局部热平衡时,通过探测Cu的等离子体特征谱线相对强度的方法,达到用激光诱导击穿光谱技术探测等离子体温度的目的。实验结果表明,该方法方便、快捷,具有一定的实际应用价值。