Characteristics of a multi-keV monochromatic point x-ray source based on vacuum diode with laser-produced plasma as cathode

Temporal, spatial and spectral characteristics of a multi-keV monochromatic point x-ray source based on vacuum diode with laser-produced plasma as cathode are presented. Electrons from a laser-produced aluminium plasma were accelerated towards a conical point tip titanium anode to generate K-shell x-ray radiation. Approximately 10₁₀ photons/pulse were generated in x-ray pulses of ∼18 to ∼28 ns duration from a source of ∼300 μm diameter, athυ = 4.51 keV (K _α emission of titanium), with a brightness of ∼10²⁰ photons/cm²/s/sr. This was sufficient to record single-shot x-ray radiographs of physical objects on a DEF-5 x-ray film kept at a distance of up to ∼10 cm.     

Monochromatic X-Ray Sources Based on Emitters Controlled by Laser Radiation

The results of study of frequency-tuned monochromatic x-ray source are reported. The source was developed on the basis of a vacuum diode with a laser-plasma cathode. The source proposed is particularly promising, if the range of x-ray energy higher than 5 keV is of interest. The source features a spectral brightness higher than 10¹⁹ photons/(cm²·s·sr·keV) and an x-ray pulse duration no larger than 10^?8 s. An electromagnetic model of such a cathode is proposed and evaluated in order to assess the feasibility of an x-ray source with a laser-plasma cathode of higher performance. The possibility of using a ferroelectric electron emitter is discussed.     

Laser-produced plasma helium-like titanium Kα x-ray source and its application to Rayleighben-Taylor instability study

Several experiments are performed on the ShenGuang-II laser facility to investigate an x-ray source and test radiography concepts. X-ray lines emitted from laser-produced plasmas are the most practical means of generating these high intensity sources. By using a time-integrated space-resolved keV spectroscope and pinhole camera, potential helium-like titanium Kα x-ray backlighting (radiography) line source is studied as a function of laser wavelength, ratio of pre-pulse intensity to main pulse intensity, and laser intensity (from 7.25 to ～11.3× 10¹⁵ W/cm²⁾. One-dimensional radiography using a grid consisting of 5 μm Au wires on 16 μm period and the pinhole-assisted point projection is tested. The measurements show that the size of the helium-like titanium Kα source from a simple foil target is larger than 100 μm, and relative x-ray line emission conversion efficiency ξ_x from the incident laser light energy to helium-like titanium K-shell spectrum increases significantly with pre-pulse intensity increasing, increases rapidly with laser wavelength decreasing, and increases moderately with main laser intensity increasing. It is also found that a gold gird foils can reach an imaging resolution better than 5-μm featured with high contrast. It is further demonstrated that the pinhole-assisted point projection at such a level will be a novel two-dimensional imaging diagnostic technique for inertial confinement fusion experiments.     

Photo-emission studies from Zn cathodes under plasma phase

In this paper, we report investigations of the electron emission from pure Zn cathodes irradiated by UV laser pulses of 23 ns (full-width at half-maximum) at a wavelength of 248 nm (5 eV). The metal cathodes were tested in a vacuum photodiode chamber at 10^?5 Pa. They were irradiated at normal incidence and the anode–cathode distance was set at 3 mm. The maximum applied accelerating voltage was 18 kV, limited by the electrical breakdown of the photodiode gap. Under the above experimental conditions, a maximum applied electric field of 6 MV/m resulted. In the saturation regime, the measured quantum efficiency value increased with the accelerating voltage due to the plasma formation. The highest output current was achieved with 14 mJ laser energy, 18 kV accelerating voltage and its value was 12 A, corresponding to a global quantum efficiency (GQE) approximately of 1×10^?4. The temporal quantum efficiency was 1.0×10^?4 at the laser pulse onset time and 1.4×10^?4 at the pulse tail. We calculated the target temperature at the maximum laser energy. Its value allowed us to obtain output pulses of the same laser temporal profile. Tests performed with a lower laser photon energy (4.02 eV) demonstrated a GQE of two orders of magnitude lower.     

Characteristics of a plasma detector for tea CO2 laser pulse measurements

Measurement of the e.m.f. generated by the electron emission from laser-produced solid target plasmas shows the evolution of the laser pulse. Using this phenomenon, a “plasma detector” is constructed. The feasibility of the plasma detector is demonstrated for a long TEA CO₂ laser pulse (100 mJ, 60ns). Good time resolution is obtained by using an anode coated with ceramics. The linearity of response with the incident laser intensity for the 10⁹–10¹⁰ W/cm² range is confirmed. The relation of the output voltage to the incident laser intensity is analyzed according to the isothermal rarefaction model. This theoretical analysis and experimental results suggest that there exists an optimum separation between the anode and the cathode.     

Generating a low-energy high-current electron beam in a gun having a plasma anode

Research has been done on major physical processes governing the scope for generating magnetized low-energy high-current electron beams in a plasma-filled system. Conditions are considered for efficient excitation of the explosive electron emission at a large-area cathode at low accelerating voltages, together with the trends in beam formation in the nonstationary double layer formed between the cathode and anode plasmas, as well as the beam transport to the collector in the inhomogeneous guiding plasma. It is found that a gun having a plasma anode enables one to generate wide-aperture electron beams of microsecond duration having a mean electron energy of 10–20 keV and an energy density of up to 20 J/cm² or more, which goes with homogeneity sufficient for technological purposes.High-Current Electronics Institute, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 100–114, March, 1994.     

Low energy ion beams by laser interaction

We developed an ion accelerator with a double accelerating gap system supplied by two power generators of different polarity. The ions were generated by laser ion source technique. The laser plasma induced by an excimer KrF laser, freely expanded before the action of accelerating fields. After the first gap action, the ions were again accelerated by a second gap. The total acceleration can imprint a maximum ion energy up to 160 keV per charge state. We analysed the extracted charge from a Cu target as a function of the accelerating voltage at laser energy of 9, 11 and 17 mJ deposited on a spot of 0.005 cm². The peak of current density was 3.9 and 5.3 mA for the lower and medium laser energy at 60 kV. At the highest laser energy, the maximum output current was 11.7 mA with an accelerating voltage of 50 kV. The maximum ion dose was estimated to be 10¹² ions/cm². Under the condition of 60 kV accelerating voltage and 5.3 mA output current the normalized emittance of the beam measured by pepper pot method was 0.22 π mm mrad.     

X-ray generation in low-voltage vacuum discharges

The dynamics of x-ray emission from a low-voltage laser-induced discharge was studied with the aid of a picosecond x-ray streak camera. Directed x-ray emission in the spectral range from 100 eV to 10 keV in the form of point sources and thin layers with lifetimes ranging from 30 ps to 1 ns was observed in a low-voltage vacuum discharge (U=150 V) initiated by a picosecond laser beam. X-ray emission from a discharge was detected with a time delay (1–20 ns) relative to ignition by the laser beam in order to prevent the radiation of the laser plasma from entering the detector. Detection of directed x-ray emission in a low-voltage vacuum discharge is demonstrated. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 9, 622–627 (10 May 1998)     

80 A/cm2 electron beams from metal targets irradiated by KrCl and XeCl excimer lasers

Due to the growing demand for high-current and long-duration electron-beam devices, laser electron sources were investigated in our laboratory. Experiments on electron-beam generation and propagation from aluminium and copper targets illuminated by XeCl (308 nm) and KrCl (222 nm) excimer lasers, were carried out under plasma ignition due to laser irradiation. This plasma supplied a spontaneous accelerating electric field of about 370 kV/m without an external accelerating voltage. By applying the modified one-dimensional Poisson equation, we computed the expected current and we also estimated the plasma concentration during the accelerating process. At 40 kV of accelerating voltage, an output current pulse of about 80 A/cm² was detected from an Al target irradiated by the shorter wavelength laser.On leave from Institute of General Physics, Moscow, Russia     

稀土离子Ho+,Ce+,La+与H2碰撞的单电子俘获截面测量

在复旦大学加速器实验室的３０ｋｅＶ同位素分离器上，使用新近建立的一套用于单价离子与气体分子碰撞的单电子俘获截面测量装置，测量了５—３０ｋｅＶ Ho⁺,Ce⁺,La⁺与H₂碰撞的单电子俘获截面．实验发现中空型离子源的阳极电压的变化对于稀土离子的亚稳态比例有一定影响，同时造成了单电子俘获截面的很大变化，而阳极电压对Ａｒ⁺的影响很小．还对实验结果进行了分析 关键词：     

Shunting effect in explosive electron emission

An explanation is given to the results of an experiment on studying the explosive electron emission in a wire-cathode diode where a strongly nonuniform energy deposition into the wire material was observed using an X pinch as a radiation source for projection x-ray imaging. The specific input energy, contrary to the well-known observations, was not a maximum at the wire end, i.e., in the region of the strongest electric field, and the wire explosion occurred in the bulk, distant from the end. This is accounted for by the contribution of the wire side surface to explosive electron emission and by the gas desorption from the wire intensely heated by a current of density 10⁸ A/cm². Thus, the space between anode and cathode (wire end) is bridged by two plasmas: one generated due to the explosive electron emission from the wire side surface and the other produced from the desorbed gas.     

Short wavelength X-ray emission generated by highly excited cluster beams

X-ray radiation is studied for large clusters consisting of 10⁷–10¹⁰ atoms and irradiated by an intense laser pulse with an intensity ranged from (10¹⁴ up to 10¹⁸ W/cm²). The model is developed for such a laser plasma that includes the radiative transitions and the processes of excitation and quenching of multicharged ions of this plasma by electron impact. Due to interaction of a radiating multicharged ion with a surrounding plasma, spectral lines of emission are broaden and neighboring spectral lines are overlapped. As a result, the spectrum of radiation of multicharged ions is transformed into a continuous spectral band. The model under consideration includes important plasma processes including dielectronic recombination, spontaneous radiation, excitation, quenching and ionization of multicharged ions by electron impact. On the basis of the model developed the X-ray spectrum and spectral power are evaluated. In the range of laser intensities under consideration a laser plasma formed contains multicharged ions with charges Z = 26?36 that corresponds to the 3d-electron shell in the xenon case.     

Hot electrons produced from long scale-length laser-produced droplet plasmas

Microplasmas produced from 15 μm methanol droplets irradiated by 100 fs laser pulses in the intensity range 10¹⁴–10¹⁶ W cm^?2 are investigated via measurements of the hot electron temperature and x-ray yields under different conditions of intensity, polarization state, and plasma scale-length. The scale length of the drop-let plasma is increased with an intentional prepulse that is 10 ns ahead of the main pulse. Hot electron temperatures up to 48 keV have been measured at intensities of 2.5 × 10¹⁵W cm^?2 and the scaling of temperature as a function of intensity is determined for a long scale-length droplet plasma. The polarization and ellipticity dependence of the hard x-ray yield from the microdroplet plasmas are used to probe the shape of the droplet after irradiation by a prepulse.     

X-ray emission from short-pulse laser plasmas

Highly intense picosecond and subpicosecond laser pulses interacting with solids can create hot and dense plasmas which emit x-ray pulses in a broad spectral range from 100 eV up to MeV. The duration of these x-ray pulses depends on the transient behaviour of the relaxation and recombination mechanisms, as well as on the lifetime of energetic electrons produced via nonlinear processes in the plasma. This paper reports experiments using a 1.5-ps laser pulse with high constrast ratio (up to 10¹⁰) and intensities up to 10¹⁸ W cm^-2 irradiating solid targets. Both the line spectrum characteristics of a magnesium plasma, recorded using crystal spectrometers with high spectral resolution, and kinetic calculations have allowed the deduction of plasma parameters in the process of plasma evolution. In addition, hard x-ray pulses from a tantalum plasma were measured and their scaling was explained as bremsstrahlung emission from energetic electrons. Absolute dose values of x-ray pulses are given.     

Ultrashort electron beam and volume high-current discharge in air under the atmospheric pressure

Conditions are studied under which an electron beam and a volume discharge with a subnanosecond rise time of a voltage pulse are produced in air under atmospheric pressure. It is shown that the electron beam appears in a gas-filled diode at the front of the voltage pulse in ∼0.5 ns, has a half-intensity duration of ≤0.4 ns and an average electron energy of ∼0.6 of the voltage across the gas-filled diode, and terminates when the voltage across the gap reaches its maximum value. The electron beam with an average electron energy of 60 to 80 keV and a current amplitude of ≥70 A is obtained. It is assumed that the electron beam is formed from electrons produced in the gap due to gas ionization by fast electrons when the intensity of the field between the front of the expanding plasma cloud and the anode reaches its critical value. A nanosecond volume discharge with a specific power input of ≥400 MW/cm³, a density of the discharge current at the anode of up to 3 kA/cm², and specific energy deposition of ∼1 J/cm³ over 3 to 5 ns is created.     

X-Rays emission by high-intensity pulsed lasers irradiating thin foils at PALS laboratory

X-rays and forward ion emission from laser-generated plasma in the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration regime of different targets with 10-μm thickness, irradiated at Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) laboratory at about 10¹⁶ W/cm² intensity, employing a 1,315 nm-wavelength laser with a 300-ps pulse duration, are investigated. The photon and ion emissions were mainly measured using Silicon Carbide (SiC) detectors in time-of-flight configuration and X-ray streak camera imaging. The results show that the maximum proton acceleration value and the X-ray emission yield growth are proportional to the atomic number of the irradiated targets. The X-ray emission is not isotropic, with energies increasing from 1 keV for light atomic targets to about 2.5 keV for heavy atomic targets. The laser focal position significantly influences the X-ray emission from light and heavy irradiated targets, indicating the possible induction of self-focusing effects when the laser beam is focalized in front of the light target surface and of electron density enhancement for focalization inside the target.     

反铁电陶瓷的强电子发射特性研究

采用掺镧锆锡钛酸铅反铁电陶瓷作为阴极材料,研究了脉冲电压激励下陶瓷的电子发射特性.当激励电压为800V、抽取电压为0V时,得到1.27A/cm²的发射电流密度;当抽取电压增加到4kV时,获得1700A/cm²的发射电流密度.分析了发射电流随抽取电压的变化关系,讨论了反铁电陶瓷强电子发射的内在机理.结果表明：掺镧锆锡钛酸铅反铁电陶瓷能够在较低的激励电压(400V)下实现电子发射,发射电流远大于按照Child-Langmuir定律计算出的电流,三接点附近局域反铁电—铁电相变产生初始电子发射,初始电子电离中性粒子形成等离子体,增强了电子发射. 关键词： 铁电阴极 反铁电体 电子发射     

Generation of a submillisecond electron beam with a high-density current in a plasma-emitter diode under the conditions of open plasma boundary emission

The generation of a 250-μs-wide electron beam in a plasma-emitter diode is studied experimentally. A plasma was produced by a pulsed arc discharge in hydrogen. The electron beam is extracted from a circular emission hole 3.8 mm in diameter under open plasma boundary conditions. The beam accelerated in the diode gap enters into a drift space in the absence of an external magnetic field through a hole 4.1 mm in diameter made in the anode. The influence of electron current deposition at the edge of the anode hole on the beam’s maximum attainable current, above which the diode gap breaks down, is studied for different accelerating voltages and diode gaps. The role of processes occurring on the surface of the electrodes is shown. For an accelerating voltage of 32 kV, a mean emission current density of 130 A/cm² is achieved. The respective mean strength of the electric field in the acceleration gap is 140 kV/cm. Using the POISSON-2 software package, the numerical simulation of the diode performance is carried out and the shape of steady plasma emission boundaries in the cathode and anode holes is calculated. The influence of the density of the ion current from the anode plasma surface on the maximum attainable current of the electron beam is demonstrated.     

Recombination emissions and spectral blueshift of pump radiation from ultrafast laser induced plasma in a planar water microjet

We report spectroscopic investigations of an ultrafast laser induced plasma generated in a planar water microjet. Plasma recombination emissions along with the spectral blueshift and broadening of the pump laser pulse contribute to the total emission. The laser pulses are of 100 fs duration, and the incident intensity is around 10¹⁵ W/cm². The dominant mechanisms leading to plasma formation are optical tunnel ionization and collisional ionization. Spectrally resolved polarization measurements show that the high frequency region of the emission is unpolarized whereas the low frequency region is polarized. Results indicate that at lower input intensities the emission arises mainly from plasma recombinations, which is accompanied by a weak blueshift of the incident laser pulse. At higher input intensities strong recombination emissions are seen, along with a broadening and asymmetric spectral blueshift of the pump laser pulse. From the nature of the blueshifted laser pulse it is possible to deduce whether the rate of change of free electron density is a constant or variable within the pulse lifetime. Two input laser intensity regimes, in which collisional and tunnel ionizations are dominant respectively, have been thus identified.     

Radiation effects and pulsed laser deposition of titanium by Nd:Yag laser

A study of Ti laser irradiation and thin film deposition produced by an Nd:Yag pulsed laser is presented. The laser pulse, 9?ns width, has a power density of the order of 10¹⁰?W/cm². The titanium etching rate is of the order of 1?µg/pulse, it increases with the laser fluence and shows a threshold value at about 30?J/cm² laser fluence. The angular distribution of ejected atoms (neutrals and ions) is peaked along the normal of the target surface. At high fluence, the fractional ionization of the plasma produced by the laser is of the order of 10%. Time-of-flight measurements demonstrate that the titanium ions, at high laser fluence, may reach kinetic energies of about 1?keV. Obtained results can be employed to produce energetic titanium ions, to produce coverage of thin films of titanium and to realize high adherent titanium-substrate interfaces. The obtained results can be employed to produce energetic titanium ions, to produce a coverage of thin titanium films on polymers, and to realize highly adherent titanium–substrate interfaces.