Electron gas compression and Coulomb explosion in the surface layer of a conductor heated by femtosecond laser pulse

The hypothesis is put forward on the basis of experimental data that strong inhomogeneous heating of the skin layer of conducting materials by a femtosecond pulse gives rise to a double electrical layer that is formed of a “surface” layer of positive ions and a thin (about 1 nm) “subsurface” layer of a superdense (10²³–10²⁵ cm^?3) degenerate electron gas. The double layer breaks within one picosecond through the Coulomb explosion.     

Formation of nanocavities in the surface layer of an aluminum target irradiated by a femtosecond laser pulse

It has been revealed experimentally that nanocavities remain inside a surface layer of aluminum after action of a femtosecond laser pulse. This result is in agreement with numerical simulation. A detailed picture of melting, formation of expansion and compression waves, and bubble nucleation in the stretched melt has been reconstructed through atomistic simulation. It has been shown that the bubbles do not fully collapse but remain as frozen disk-shaped nanocavities upon recrystallization of the melt. The formation of a porous metal with small voids is very important for understanding the physics of laser exposure and may have significant applications.     

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)     

Electron dynamics and prompt ablation of aluminum surface excited by intense femtosecond laser pulse

Thin aluminum film homogeneously heated by intense IR femtosecond laser pulses exhibits on the excitation timescale consequent fluence-dependent rise and drop of the IR-pump self-reflectivity, followed by its final saturation at higher fluences F > 0.3 J/cm². This prompt optical dynamics correlates with the initial monotonic increase in the accompanying laser-induced electron emission, which is succeeded by its non-linear (three-photon) increase for F > 0.3 J/cm². The underlying electronic dynamics is related to the initial saturation of IR resonant interband transitions in this material, followed by its strong instantaneous electronic heating via intraband transitions during the pump pulse resulting in thermionic emission. Above the threshold fluence of 0.3 J/cm², the surface electronic heating is balanced during the pump pulse by simultaneous cooling via intense plasma removal (prompt ablation). The relationship between the deposited volume energy density in the film and its prompt electronic temperature derived from the self-reflection measurements using a Drude model, demonstrates a kind of electron “liquid–vapor” phase transition, driven by strong cubic optical non-linearity of the photo-excited aluminum.     

Weibel instability in plasma produced by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse

The Weibel instability increment is analytically derived for plasma produced at the barrier-suppression ionization of atoms and atomic ions by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse. The cases of linear and circular polarization are considered. Relativistic effects are discussed. It is found that the instability increment is larger for the circular polarization than for the linear polarization. This increment can attain the plasma frequency. Barrier-suppression ionization decreases the increment compared with the case of tunneling ionization. Relativistic effects also decrease the value of the increment. Estimates of the produced maximum quasistatic magnetic field are given.     

Self-focusing of a focused femtosecond laser pulse in air

The regularities of self-focusing and filamentation of spatially focused ultra-short laser radiation in air are theoretically considered. The relationship between beam focusing sharpness and effective characteristics of the filamentation zone is investigated. The formation of ‘narrow’ and ‘wide’ light filaments compared to that of collimated radiation filamentation, upon high-power focused laser pulse propagation, is established.     

Formation of amorphous sapphire by a femtosecond laser pulse induced micro-explosion

We report on structural characterization of void-structures created by a micro-explosion at the locus of a tightly focused femtosecond laser pulse inside the crystalline phase of Al₂O₃ (R3c space group). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM), micro-X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and Raman scattering revealed a presence of strongly structurally modified amorphous regions around the void-structures. We discuss issues of achieving the required resolution for structural characterization and assignment of newly formed phases of nano-crystallites by TEM, XRD, and Raman scattering from micro-volumes of modified materials enclosed inside the bulk of the host phase.     

Expansion of matter heated by an ultrashort laser pulse

Recent experiments have utilizied high-power subpicosecond laser pulses to effect the ultrafast heating of a condensed material to temperatures far above the critical temperature. Using optical diagnostics it was established that a complicated density profile with sharp gradients, differing substantially from an ordinary rarefaction wave, forms in the expanding heated matter. The present letter is devoted to the analysis of the expansion of matter under the conditions of the experiments reported by D. von der Linde, K. Sokolowski-Tinten, and J. Bialkowski, Appl. Surf. Science 109/110, 1 (1996); K. Sokolowski-Tinten, J. Bialkowski, A. Cavalleri et al., Proc. Soc. Photo-Opt. Instum. Eng. 3343, 46 (1998); and, K. Sokolowski-Tinten, J. Bialkowski, A. Cavalleri et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 224 (1998). It is shown that if the unloading adiabat passes through the two-phase region, a thin liquid shell filled with low-density two-phase matter forms in the expanding material. The shell moves with a constant velocity. The velocity in the two-phase material is a linear function of the coordinate (flow with uniform deformation), and the density is independent of the coordinate and decreases with time as t ⁻¹. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 4, 284–289 (25 February 1999)     

多脉冲序列飞秒钛宝石激光的啁啾脉冲放大

在数太瓦钛宝石啁啾脉冲放大系统中（极光Ⅱ升级装置）,对多脉冲序列的放大过程进行了详细的实验研究,获得了多脉冲序列的放大输出.每一个放大脉冲串中包含有19个独立的飞秒单脉冲,其相邻间隔为14.8 ns,对应的重复频率为67.5 MHz.脉冲串的总能量约为122 mJ,各单脉冲能量从20 mJ指数衰减至0.5 mJ,脉宽约为60fs,对应的峰值功率约为10¹¹—10¹⁰W.这种脉冲序列在产生长寿命激光等离子体、激光微加工等方面有重要应用前景.     

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.     

On a magnetic confinement of femtosecond laser pulse plasmas

Perspectives of magnetic confinement for the increase of life times of laser plasmas generated by femtosecond laser pulses are considered. Possibilities that are provided by miniature magnetic cusp configurations with magnetic fields of moderate intensities (of order of Teslas) are investigated. The construction of micro-traps with permanent magnets, making it possible to increase neutron yield, seems to be very simple and possible for most modern “table top" laser experiments.     

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.     

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.     

Ultrafast semiconductor-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide induced by a femtosecond laser pulse

A model is proposed for a photoinduced Peierls-type semiconductor-metal phase transition that makes it possible to determine the time dependence of the bandgap width in the electronic spectrum of vanadium dioxide subjected to a light field and the dependence of the time at which a photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition occurs on the laser pulse duration. The theoretical results obtained are consistent with experimental data on the illumination of a VO₂ film with an intense laser pulse.     

Electron and phonon relaxation in metal films perturbed by a femtosecond laser pulse

A theoretical investigation of the electron and phonon time-dependent distributions in an Ag film subjected to a femtosecond laser pulse has been carried out. A system of two coupled time-dependent Boltzmann equations, describing electron and phonon dynamics, has been numerically solved. In the electron Boltzmann equation, electron–electron and electron–phonon collision integrals are considered together with a source term for laser perturbation. In the phonon Boltzmann equation, only electron–phonon collisions are considered, neglecting laser perturbation and phonon–phonon collisions. Screening of the interactions has been accounted for in both the electron–electron and the electron–phonon collisions. The results show the simultaneous electron and phonon time-dependent distributions from the initial non-equilibrium behaviour up to the establishment of a new final equilibrium condition. PACS 72.10.-d; 71.10.Ca; 63.20.Kr     

Refractive index measurement by spectrally resolved interferometry using a femtosecond pulse laser

We describe a measurement method of refractive indices by way of spectrally resolved interferometry using a femtosecond pulse laser. The method is dispersion insensitive and requires no prior precise knowledge of the geometrical thickness of the specimen. Not only the group but also the phase refractive index can be determined over the wide spectral range covered by the optical comb of the femtosecond pulse laser in use.     

Photoelectron imaging on time-dependent molecular alignment created by a femtosecond laser pulse

Rotational wave packet revivals on an excited electronic state have been measured by femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging for the first time. The first full revival at 82 ps of S1 (n,pi*) pyrazine was clearly observed in the time dependencies of the photoelectron intensity and the photoelectron angular distribution (PAD). The PAD, measured for laser aligned pyrazine, clearly reflects the different characters of pi* and 3s molecular orbitals.     

Sub-micron ablation of metallic thin film by femtosecond pulse laser

The ability to machine very small features in a material has a wide range of applications in industry. We ablated holes into thin film of 100 nm thickness made from various metals by femtosecond pulsed laser ablation. Using a Ti:Sapphire laser which supplies a laser pulse of 150 fs duration at central spectrum wavelength of 400 nm, we have produced a series sub-micron holes, whose diameters are less than 200 nm with a focused laser spot of 1.7 μm. We found that the material damage threshold has a great influence on the quality of the produced features. Experimental results shows that the heat-affected zone and the degree of being affected reduce with the increase of threshold value.