High-energy, spatially flat-top green pump laser by beam homogenization for petawatt scale Ti:sapphire laser systems

We have demonstrated that we can homogenize the spatial profile of a high-energy green laser pulse used for pumping a petawatt scale Ti:sapphire amplifier. The second harmonic of a high-energy, large aperture Nd:glass laser system generates laser emission at a green wavelength with 75 J single pulse energy. Using a diffractive optical element for beam homogenization, we have obtained a highly spatially uniform flat-top second harmonic profile.     

Simple electro-optic technique to generate temporally flat-top laser pulses

A simple technique is presented to generate temporally flat-top shaped laser pulses using electro-optic modulator (Pockels cell). It involves splitting of input laser pulse into two halves of equal intensity and then stacking together with appropriate optical delay to get a temporally flat-top laser pulse. It also allows generation of other pulse shapes by varying the relative intensity, delay, and phase between two halves of the input laser pulse. Temporally flat-top laser pulses of duration ~ 9 ns have been generated using ~ 7 ns duration incident laser pulses from a flash lamp pumped Q-switched Nd:glass laser oscillator. The rise and fall-time of the shaped pulse is limited by speed of electro-optic switch (Pockels cell), which is ~ 2 ns in the present case.     

Optical pulse compression of ultrashort laser pulses in a multi-hollow-core fiber

By numerical simulations and analysis, we proposed a fiber with multi-hollow-core structure for optical pulse compression of high energy ultrashort laser pulses. In this scheme, different parts of a high-energy flat-top pulse are coupled into different hollow cores of such fiber and each of the cores functions as an independent traditional hollow-core fiber compressor. After the multi-hollow-core fiber, the output beams are collimated and compressed to few-cycle level. Then they can be focused to ultra-high intensity. This method can easily be scaled to compressing pulses of large beam size with high energy without limit in principle.     

飞秒时间分辨实验中相关函数和时间零点的确定

结合飞秒激光在研究分子激发态弛豫动力学中的应用,介绍了几种飞秒时间分辨实验中确定泵浦激光脉冲与探测激光脉冲的相关函数和时间零点的方法.对于波长在可见波段的泵浦和探测激光脉冲,我们可以利用非线性光学的技术手段,探测泵浦光与探测光的和频光的强度随二者间的时间延迟的变化来确定相关函数和时间零点;对于波长在紫外甚至更短的波段的泵浦和探测激光脉冲,由于单脉冲能量比较低,目前还很难利用技术手段来测定泵浦激光与探测激光的相关函数及时间零点,可以利用某些原子气体(如Xe)或某些具有短寿命态的分子作平行实验进行间接测量.     

Method for single-shot measurement of the carrier envelope phase of a few-cycle laser pulse

The interference between different harmonics of a few-cycle optical pulse in the region of the spectral overlap is sensitive to the phase of the optical carrier inside the pulse envelope. Near-surface third-harmonic generation from Si(001) combined with second-harmonic generation in a 10-mum -thick beta-barium borate crystal produces sufficiently strong harmonic emission for single-shot measurement. We propose using this technique to measure the carrier envelope phase of high-energy 5-fs pulses.     

直线成形方法在基于SDD探测器的TXRF仪能谱测量中的应用研究

因全反射X射线荧光仪中入射X射线与全反射X射线形成驻波,导致样品被激发产生的特征X射线成周期变化,且在驻波峰区探测器产生的核脉冲重叠严重,有必要提高后续分析电路的重叠核脉冲幅度准确提取能力,进一步提升全反射X射线荧光仪的性能。由于SDD探测器产生的核脉冲下降沿依衰减系数τ_rc呈指数规律衰减,依据衰减补偿原则,建立直线成形方法并推导应用于数字化核脉冲的递归公式。实验发现：在ADC转换器的取样周期为T下,当k≥T/τ_rc时直线成形后的核脉冲顶部才能形成一条直线;在k=T/τ_rc时上升沿最短,重叠核脉冲分辨能力亦最好。直线成形后的核脉冲上升沿及平顶分布与上升时间参数最小时的梯形成形结果相同但前者的平顶更为光滑;由于直线成形后的核脉冲不存在下降沿,使得其宽度更窄,有利于分离相距更近的重叠核脉冲。通过拟合直线成形后的核脉冲分布规律,确定了直线成形方法可准确提取幅度值的最窄重叠核脉冲间隔;且直线成形方法对不同幅度核脉冲的放大倍数一致,证实直线成形方法不会改变谱仪的能量线性。直线成形方法能可靠应用的前提是准确定位核脉冲的起始位置,为此建立起冲击成形递归公式,验证发现冲击成形后的核脉冲仅在其起始位置出现幅度约等于核脉冲幅度的冲击响应,利用阈值判别就能准确定位所有核脉冲起始位置。最后在FPGA内实现上述算法,并进行10组比对实验,实验结果显示直线成形方法在堆积平台与和峰压制能力、峰背比和能量分辨率三个方面均优于梯形成形与模拟式能谱测量系统,证实直线成形方法能极大地提升全反射X射线荧光仪的性能。     

Coherent hard x rays from attosecond pulse train-assisted harmonic generation

High-order harmonic generation from atomic systems is considered in the crossed fields of a relativistically strong infrared laser and a weak attosecond pulse train of soft x rays. Due to one-photon ionization by the x-ray pulse, the ionized electron obtains a starting momentum that compensates the relativistic drift, which is induced by the laser magnetic field, and allows the electron to efficiently emit harmonic radiation upon recombination with the atomic core in the relativistic regime. This way, short pulses of coherent hard x rays of up to 40 keV energy can be generated.     

Optical second harmonic generation induced by picosecond terahertz pulses in centrosymmetric antiferromagnet NiO

Optical second harmonic generation at the photon energy of 2?ω = 2eV in the model centrosymmetric antiferromagnet NiO irradiated with picosecond terahertz pulses (0.4–2.5 THz) at room temperature is detected. The analysis of experimental results shows that induced optical second harmonic generation at the moment of the impact of a terahertz pulse arises through the electric dipole mechanism of the interaction of the electric field of a pump pulse with the electron subsystem of NiO. Temporal changes in optical second harmonic generation during 7 ps after the action of the pulse are also of an electric dipole origin and are determined by the effects of propagation of the terahertz pulse in a NiO platelet. Coherent oscillations of spins at the antiferromagnetic resonance frequency induced by the magnetic component of the terahertz pulse induce a relatively weak modulation of magnetic dipole optical second harmonic generation.     

Generation of 90-nJ pulses with a 4-MHz repetition-rate Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:Al(2)O(3) laser operating with net positive and negative intracavity dispersion

We demonstrate the generation of high-energy pulses by using a low-repetition-rate Kerr-lens mode-locked laser. Repetition rates as low as 4 MHz were achieved with a long, multiple-pass cavity and a semiconductor saturable Bragg reflector. The laser generated pulses of 55-fs duration with a pulse energy of 48 nJ when it was mode locked in the net negative dispersion regime. Mode locking in the positive dispersion regime reduces instabilities and enables pulses to have durations of 80 fs and energies as high as 90 nJ. This is, to our knowledge, the highest pulse energy and the lowest repetition rate ever generated directly from a femtosecond laser resonator without cavity dumping.     

Route to attosecond nonlinear spectroscopy

We demonstrate generation of coherent microjoule-scale, low-order harmonic supercontinua in the deep and vacuum ultraviolet (4-9 eV), resulting from the nonlinear transformations of near-single-cycle laser pulses in a gas cell. We show theoretically that their formation is connected to a novel nonlinear regime, holding promise for the generation of powerful deep-UV and vacuum ultraviolet subfemtosecond pulses. Our work opens the route to pump-probe spectroscopy of subfemtosecond-scale valence-shell phenomena in atoms, molecules, and condensed matter.     

Flat-top phase-matched high-order harmonics in gas-filled cell

Phase-matched high-order harmonic generation in Ar gas-filled cell is investigated experimentally. We obtain phase-matched 27th order harmonic driven by a commercially available solid-state femtosecond laser system at 0.55 m J/pulse energy level and 1-kHz repetition rate. Moreover, we find that the spatial distribution of intensity of high-order harmonics is flat-top profile other than a Gaussian one under the condition of optimized conversion efficiency in the static gas cell.     

High-order harmonics generation by few-cycle and multi-cycle femtosecond laser pulses

This paper investigates experimentally high-order harmonic generation(HHG) of neon gas with 5-fs and 25-fs driving laser pulses.It has been demonstrated that the cutoff energy of the harmonic extreme ultraviolet photons is extended to 131 eV and the HHG spectrum near the cutoff region becomes continuum as the driving laser pulse duration is 5 fs;whereas much lower cutoff photon energy and discrete harmonic spectrum near the cutoff region are presented as the laser pulse duration is 25 fs.The results can be explained by the fact that neutral atoms can be exposed to more intense laser field before they are depleted by ionization because of the extremely short rising time of the few-cycle pulse.The 5-fs driving laser pulse paves the way of generation of coherent x-ray in the water window and single attosecond pulse.     

激光脉冲在气体中产生的离化波前的演化及其对光脉冲传播的影响

利用带离化子程序的一维粒子模拟程序，对光脉冲与离化波前的相互作用进行了模拟研究，讨论了在原子多度电离的情况下光脉冲与离化波前的相互作用关系.研究表明，由于原子各级离化势的不连续性使得离化波前在空间上出现平台区；离化过程导致激光频率发生蓝移，这个蓝移又对脉冲形状产生调制，使脉冲前沿呈阶跃型增长；阶跃型的光脉冲包络使离化波前的平台区变短，直至整个离化波前分为几个不同梯度的区域.还讨论了不同元素和不同密度的气体中产生的离化波前的特点.同时分析了光脉冲频率随传播距离的关系，指出由于光脉冲宽度的增加，将导致出射的光 关键词： 激光等离子体 光电离 离化波前 激光频率上转换     

Bright spatially coherent wavelength-tunable deep-UV laser source using an Ar-filled photonic crystal fiber

We report on the spectral broadening of ~1 μJ 30 fs pulses propagating in an Ar-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. In contrast with supercontinuum generation in a solid-core photonic crystal fiber, the absence of Raman and unique pressure-controlled dispersion results in efficient emission of dispersive waves in the deep-UV region. The UV light emerges in the single-lobed fundamental mode and is tunable from 200 to 320 nm by varying the pulse energy and gas pressure. The setup is extremely simple, involving <1 m of a gas-filled photonic crystal fiber, and the UV signal is stable and bright, with experimental IR to deep-UV conversion efficiencies as high as 8%. The source is of immediate interest in applications demanding high spatial coherence, such as laser lithography or confocal microscopy.     

Controlling continuum harmonic generation with attosecond pulses

Photo-ionization and high-order harmonic generation (HOHG) in molecular systems under the combined action of infrared femtosecond (fs) and UV attosecond (as) intense laser pulses are investigated numerically for a one-dimensional non-Born–Oppenheimer H⁺ ₂ ion. It is shown that such a coherent control scheme of fs–as ionization leads to significant enhancement of HOHG, with efficiencies exceeding the one obtained from a single fs pulse by several orders of magnitude. The basic mechanism for this enhancement is established as enhanced ionization and control of the recollision of a high-energy non-zero-velocity ionized electron, as compared to tunneling ionization models where the ionized electron has initial zero velocity. The combined superposition of fs–as pulses results in broad HOHG spectra with a large continuum near the cutoff, thus providing a new source for synthesizing new X-ray (vacuum ultraviolet) as pulses. PACS 33.60.-q; 33.80.-b     

Efficient generation of third harmonic radiation in air filaments: A revisit

In this paper we revisit the third harmonic generation from a femtosecond laser filament in air and its significant enhancement (~ 100 times) with a intercepting pump pulse, which has been reported very recently. The enhanced third harmonic is studied as a function of the pulse polarization, time delay between the pump and signal pulses, laser pulse energy, etc. We provide an explanation for the enhancement of third harmonic based on a quenching of interference effects present near filamentation threshold. Simulations based on a two-color propagation code reproduce well the experimental observations and confirm our interpretation.     

利用两束同色圆偏振激光场产生水窗区间阿秒脉冲

数值研究了氦原子在两束同色圆偏激光场下发射高次谐波以及阿秒脉冲的特点.计算结果表明,当适当调节两束激光场的波长,相位以及时间延迟时,不仅高次谐波谱的平台区域能得到很大的扩展,而且谐波的强度也有较大的增强,形成了一个500 e V的超长平台区.最后,通过适当的叠加谐波平台上的谐波,可获得一系列脉宽为35 as左右的水窗区间阿秒脉冲.     

利用两束同色圆偏振激光场产生水窗区间阿秒脉冲

数值研究了氦原子在两束同色圆偏激光场下发射高次谐波以及阿秒脉冲的特点.计算结果表明,当适当调节两束激光场的波长,相位以及时间延迟时,不仅高次谐波谱的平台区域能得到很大的扩展,而且谐波的强度也有较大的增强,形成了一个500eV的超长平台区.最后,通过适当的叠加谐波平台上的谐波,可获得一系列脉宽为35as左右的水窗区间阿秒脉冲.     

9MeV,小于0.1mm微焦点X射线源验证实验

密度高、成像分辨率高、成像速度快的X射线数字成像检测需要高能微焦点大剂量X射线源,高品质电子源是实现这一X射线源的关键手段。基于中国工程物理研究院太赫兹自由电子激光的主加速器,验证了低发射度、低能散度的高亮度电子束实现高能微焦点的可行性,得到电子束半高全宽尺寸小于70μm的9 MeV微焦点,并初步开展成像实验,双丝像质计焦斑清晰分辨9D号丝,丝直径0.13 mm。     

Effects of Pulse Durations on High-order Harmonic Generation

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