X-ray emission from plasmas produced by Nd-laser on Fe targets

Summary We studied the X-ray emission from laser plasmas produced by irradiating thick solid Fe targets with 1.064 μm Nd-laser light at intensity up to 1.2·10¹³ W/cm² with 3 and 20 ns pulses. Measurements include X-ray signal dependence on energy and focusing of laser light; X-ray pin-hole pictures of the plasma; time duration of X-ray emission.     

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.     

Variations in the parameters of the erosion lead plasma with distance from the laser target

The main parameters of the erosion lead plasma (the atomic density, the densities of electrons and single-and double-charged ions, the pressure, the mean free path, and the degree of ionization) at distances 1 and 7 mm from the laser target are investigated using emission spectroscopy. The plasma was produced by using a repetitive neodymium laser with a peak intensity of (3–5) × 10⁸ W/cm², wavelength of 1.06 μm, pulse duration of 20 ns, and repetition rate of 12 Hz. Original Russian Text ? A.K. Shuaibov, M.P. Chuchman, 2006, published in Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoĭ Fiziki, 2006, Vol. 76, No. 11, pp. 61–65.     

Experimental study of X-ray generation in laser-produced plasmas based onK-shell time-resolved spectroscopy

Summary Soft-X-ray generation in aluminium plasmas produced by Nd nano-second laser pulses is investigated analysing time-resolved spectra ofK-shell line emission. Time histories of line emission and electron temperature as well as the time-integrated X-ray yield were studied as a function of laser pulse duration and target position along the laser beam propagation axis. The experimental results suggest that X-ray emission is influenced by self-focusing of laser light in the plasma. Presently at Laboratoire pour l'Utilisations des Lasers Intenses, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.     

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.     

Scaling of x-ray emission and ion velocity in laser produced Cu plasmas

The x-ray emission from slab targets of copper irradiated by Nd:glass laser (1.054 μm, 5 and 15 ns) at intensities between 10¹² and 10¹¹W/cm² has been studied. The x-ray emissions were monitored with the help of high quantum efficiency x-ray silicon photo diodes and vacuum photo diodes, all covered with aluminium filters of different thickness. The x-ray intensity vs the laser intensity has a scaling factor of (1.2–1.92). The relative x-ray conversion efficiency follows an empirical relationship which is in close agreement with the one reported by Babonneau et al. The ion velocities were monitored using Langmuir probes placed at different angles and radial distances from the target position. The variation of the ion velocity with the laser intensity follows a scaling of the form Φ ^β where β ∼0.22 which is in good agreement with the reported scaling factor values. The results on the x-ray emission from Cu plasma are reported.     

X-ray observations of tungsten wire array Z-pinch implosions on QiangGuang-1 facility

Z-pinch experiments with two arrays consisting, respectively, of 32 4-μm- and 6-μm-diameter tungsten wires have been carried out on QiangGuang-1 facility with a current rising up to 1.5MA in 80ns. At early time of implosion, x-ray framing images show that the initial emission comes from the central part of arrays, and double clear emission rings, drifting to the anode and the cathode at 5×10⁶cm/s and 2.4×10⁷cm/s respectively, are often produced near the electrodes. Later, in a 4-μm-diameter tungsten wire array, filamentation caused by ohmic heating is prominent, and more than ten filaments have been observed. A radial inward shift of arrays starts at about 30\,ns earlier than the occurrence of the x-ray peak power for both kinds of arrays, and the shrinkage rate of emission region is as high as 1.7×10⁷cm/s in a 4-μm-diameter tungsten wire array, which is two times higher than that in a 6-μm one. Emission from precursor plasmas is observed in implosion of 6-μm-diameter tungsten wire arrays, but not in implosion of a 4-μm-diameter tungsten wire array. Whereas, in a 4-μm-diameter tungsten wire array, the soft x-ray emission shows the growth of m=1 instability in the plasma column, which is caused by current. The reasons for the discrepancy between implosions of 4-μm- and 6-μm-diameter tungsten wire arrays are explained.     

Resonant upconversion of λ=1.06 μm radiation in rubidium vapors

The influence of the laser-pulse length of the vuv-radiation emission of a laserproduced plasma has been investigated between 30 and 80 nm. The plasma was produced by focussing the beam of a Nd: YAG/glass laser system (λ=1064 nm,E≈300 mJ) on an uranium target. The laser pulse duration was varied between 11 and 60 ns full width at half maximum (FWHM) while keeping the laser pulse energy constant. A wavelength dependent correlation between laser-pulse length and the time duration of the vuv-radiation emission of the plasma was observed. The time duration of the vuv-radiation emitted by the laserproduced plasma was in the same order (15–50 ns FWHM), as the laser pulse length. With increased wavelengths of observation or increased laser-pulse length longer vuv-radiation emission was found.     

The role of microwaves in the enhancement of laser-induced plasma emission

We studied experimentally the effect of microwaves (MWs) on the enhancement of plasma emission achieved by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). A laser plasma was generated on a calcium oxide pellet by a Nd:YAG laser (5 mJ, 532 nm, 8 ns) in reduced-pressure argon surrounding gas. A MW radiation (400 W) was injected into the laser plasma via a loop antenna placed immediately above the laser plasma to enhance the plasma emission. The results confirmed that when the electromagnetic field was introduced into the laser plasma region by the MWs, the lifetime of the plasma was extended from 50 to 500 µs, similar to the MW duration. Furthermore, the plasma temperature and electron density increased to approximately 10900 K and 1.5×10¹⁸ cm^-3, respectively and the size of the plasma emission was extended to 15 mm in diameter. As a result, the emission intensity of Ca lines obtained using LIBS with MWs was enhanced by approximately 200 times compared to the case of LIBS without MWs.     

Generation of THz Radiation from Laser Beam Filamentation in a Magnetized Plasma

The terahertz (THz) frequency radiation production as a result of nonlinear interaction of high intense laser beam with low density ripple in a magnetized plasma has been studied. If the appropriate phase matching conditions are satisfied and the frequency of the ripple is appropriate then this difference frequency can be brought in the THz range. Self focusing (filamentation) of a circularly polarized beam propagating along the direction of static magnetic field in plasma is first investigated within extended‐paraxial ray approximation. The beam gets focused when the initial power of the laser beam is greater than its critical power. Resulting localized beam couples with the pre‐existing density ripple to produce a nonlinear current driving the THz radiation. By changing the strength of the magnetic field, one can enhance or suppress the THz emission. The expressions for the laser beam width parameter, the electric field vector of the THz wave have been obtained. For typical laser beam and plasma parameters with the incident laser intensity ≈ 10¹⁴ W/cm², laser beam radius (r₀) = 50 μm, laser frequency (ω₀) = 1.8848 × 10¹⁴rad/s, electron plasma (low density rippled) wave frequency (ω₀) = 1.2848 × 10¹⁴ rad/s, plasma density (n₀) = 5.025 × 10¹⁷cm^–3, normalized ripple density amplitude (μ)=0.1, the produced THz emission can be at the level of Giga watt (GW) in power (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A comparative study of the ionic keV X-ray line emission from plasma produced by the femtosecond,picosecond and nanosecond duration laser pulses

We report here an experimental study of the ionic keV X-ray line emission from magnesium plasma produced by laser pulses of three widely different pulse durations (FWHM) of 45 fs, 25 ps and 3 ns, at a constant laser fluence of ∼1.5 × 10⁴ J cm^− 2. It is observed that the X-ray yield of the resonance lines from the higher ionization states such as H- and He-like ions decreases on decreasing the laser pulse duration, even though the peak laser intensities of 3.5 × 10¹⁷ W cm^− 2 for the 45 fs pulses and 6.2 × 10¹⁴ W cm^− 2 for the 25 ps pulses are much higher than 5 × 10¹² W cm^− 2 for the 3 ns laser pulse. The results were explained in terms of the ionization equilibrium time for different ionization states in the heated plasma. The study can be useful to make optimum choice of the laser pulse duration to produce short pulse intense X-ray line emission from the plasma and to get the knowledge of the degree of ionization in the plasma.     

Capillary discharge soft X-ray laslng in Ne-like Ar pumped by long current pulses

A capillary discharge soft X-ray laser operating at 46.9 nm on the transition 3p-3s (J = 0-1) of the Ne-like Ar has been realized by exciting the active medium with a long half-cycle duration current pulse of 140 ns. The current is produced by discharging a 10 nF water dielectric capacitor, initially charged to voltages lower than 200 kV by a six stage Marx generator, through a 15-cm long capillary channels. The laser amplification has been obtained by properly adjusting all the other experimental parameters. Utilizing a 3-mm in diameter Al₂O₃ capillary channel initially filled with 0.3 torr of Ar pressure, a laser beam, which has a 4-mrad divergence and a time duration of 1.3 ns, is characterized by a gain of 0.6±0.1 cm^-1. The stability of the plasma compression followed by the laser emission is verified. Received 13 December 2001     

Optical absorption in early stage low temperature laser produced plasma

We describe a new technique to measure the UV/visible absorption spectrum of the ablated material during the laser pulse. The technique utilizes the continuum emission from one laser produced plasma as a light source to measure the absorption properties of a second laser produced plasma which is formed on a semi-transparent target with an array of 40 μm holes. A 6 ns, 1064 nm laser was used to ablate a Ag target and the plasma absorption was measured in the range 450–625 nm for a laser fluence of 1 J cm⁻². The total absorption cross-section is (0.5–1.5)×10⁻¹⁷ cm² in the range 450–540 nm. By comparing the measured absorption with a calculation using the plasma spectroscopy code FLYCHK it can be concluded that, in the wavelength region examined here, the absorption is mainly due to bound-bound transitions.     

Interaction of a high-power laser beam with low-density porous media

We have experimentally investigated the processes of laser light absorption and energy transfer in porous targets made of “agar-agar” (C₁₄H₁₈O₇) with an average density of 1–4 mg/cm³ illuminated by the focused beam of a neodymium laser with an intensity of 10¹⁴ W/cm² within a pulse of duration 2.5 ns. Many important scientific and technical problems, e.g., inertial-confinement thermonuclear fusion, the creation of lasers in the x-ray regime, and the modeling of astrophysical phenomena under laboratory conditions, can be successfully addressed by using low-density porous media as components of such targets. In our experiments with porous targets of variable density and thickness we used optical and x-ray diagnostic methods, which ensured that our measurements were made with high temporal and spatial resolution. We show that a region forms within the porous target consisting of a dense high-temperature plasma which effectively absorbs the laser radiation. Energy is transferred from the absorption region to the surrounding layer of porous material at up to 2×10⁷ cm/s. Experimental data are in good agreement with the predictions of our theoretical model, which takes into account the specific features of absorption of laser radiation in a porous material and is based on representing the energy transfer within the material as a hydrothermal wave. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 903–918 (March 1997)     

Analysis of characteristic X-ray generation induced by laser plasma electrons accelerated by an electric field

The results of experiments devoted to the study of spectral, spatial, and time characteristics of a spectrally bright point x-ray source based on a vacuum diode with a laser-plasma cathode and a titanium needle anode with a photon energy approximately equal to 4.5 keV are presented. The experimental results revealed a considerable difference between the electron emission from laser plasma in a strong electric field and the explosive electron emission and demonstrated the effectiveness of laser plasma as an electron source. The optimization of the laser radiation power density, the accelerating voltage, and the interelectrode spacing made it possible to create a point x-ray source whose spectral brightness exceeds available sources in the class of small-size pulse x-ray instruments (tubes with explosive cathodes). It has been proved experimentally that the maximum contrast of the characteristic lines of the anode material is attained in the case of an optimal choice of accelerating voltage. The x-ray source has the following parameters: (1) spectral brightness of the K-lines of titanium of the order of 10²¹ photons/cm² s sr keV; (2) emitting region size of 250 mm; and (3) laser pulse duration less than 20 ns.     

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)     

金等离子体M带谱强度的定量测量

在"神光II"多束高功率激光装置上利用列阵透镜匀滑钕玻璃波长0.53μm的强激光幅照平面金(Au)靶时产生X射线,本文给出了X射线绝对转换效率ξx。研究了多束倍频激光叠加驱动靶形成X射线背景光源辐射金M壳层1.8—3.1Kev带谱的特性,获得了不同激光功率密度及不同角度驱动靶面等几种条件下X射线能谱的定量测量结果和能谱分布。     

激光烧蚀Al靶产生的等离子体中辐射粒子的速度及激波

在低真空条件下(5Pa),通过测量脉冲激光烧蚀平面Al靶产生的等离子体辐射谱的时间分辨特征,得到辐射粒子速度的空间分布.在激光脉冲宽度为10ns,烧蚀斑直径为200μm,靶面上功率密度分别为1.91×10¹⁰,5.10×10¹⁰和7.64×10¹⁰W/cm²时,测得辐射粒子Al的速度均在10⁶cm/s量级,且随着靶面径向距离的增大而近似呈指数衰减.在距靶面的相同距离处,激光功率密度的增大反而使速度减小.利用激波模型(shockwave model)较好地解释了实验结果,并得出激波的波面基本为柱对称 关键词： 激光等离子体 平面Al靶 粒子速度分布 激波     

Emission characteristics of a lead erosion laser plasma

The spectra and dynamics of the line emission of a lead erosion laser plasma at a distance of 1 mm from the target are investigated. The plasma is ignited in a vacuum (P=3–12 Pa) with a pulse-periodic neody-mium laser (τ=20 ns, f=12 Hz, W=(1–2)×10⁹ W/cm², and λ=1.06 µm). The data obtained are used to analyze the emission dynamics and the mechanism of formation of the laser plume.     

Plasma plume induced during laser ablation of graphite

The plasma plume induced during ArF laser ablation of a graphite target is studied. Velocities of the plasma expansion front are determined by the optical time of flight method. Mass center velocities of the emitting atoms and ions are constant and amount to 1.7×10⁴ and 3.8×10⁴ m s⁻¹, respectively. Higher velocities of ions result probably from their acceleration in electrostatic field created by electron emission prior to ion emission. The emission spectroscopy of the plasma plume is used to determine the electron densities and temperatures at various distances from the target. The electron density is determined from the Stark broadening of the Ca II and Ca I lines. It reaches a maximum of ∼9.5×10²³ m⁻³ 30 ns from the beginning of the laser pulse at the distance of 1.2 mm from the target and next decreases to ∼1.2×10²² m⁻³ at the distance of 7.6 mm from the target. The electron temperature is determined from the ratio of intensities of ionic and atomic lines. Close to the target the electron temperature of ∼30 kK is found but it decreases quickly to 11.5 kK 4 mm from the target.