High-order harmonic generation: A coherent ultrashort emission in the XUV range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salieres, Pascal; Hergott, Jean-Francois; Le Deroff, Laurent; Merdji, Hamed; Carre, Bertrand; Auguste, Thierry; Monot, Pascal; D'Oliveira, Pascal; Joyeux, Denis; Phalippou, Daniel

2000-01-01

We review the recent progress in theoretical and experimental understanding of harmonic generation by intense laser pulses. We present investigations on the spatial and temporal coherence properties of the harmonic emission, showing that they can be controlled. Finally, we give some examples of current applications of this XUV source, in particular in the diagnostic of dense plasmas

Multi-Chromatic Ultrashort Pulse Filamentation and Bulk Modification in Dielectrics

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-05

AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0194 Multi- Chromatic Ultrashort Pulse Filamentation and Bulk Modification in Dielectrics Jeremy Gulley KENNESAW STATE...Jan 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Multi- chromatic Ultrashort Pulse Filamentation and Bulk Modification in Dielectrics 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT...in, and modification of, dielectric solids by multi- chromatic ultrashort laser pulses. It was a theoretical effort to develop models of multi

Acousto-optic replication of ultrashort laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Yushkov, Konstantin B.; Molchanov, Vladimir Ya.; Ovchinnikov, Andrey V.; Chefonov, Oleg V.

2017-10-01

Precisely controlled sequences of ultrashort laser pulses are required in various scientific and engineering applications. We developed a phase-only acousto-optic pulse shaping method for replication of ultrashort laser pulses in a TW laser system. A sequence of several Fourier-transform-limited pulses is generated from a single femtosecond laser pulse by means of applying a piecewise linear phase modulation over the whole emission spectrum. Analysis demonstrates that the main factor which limits maximum delay between the pulse replicas is spectral resolution of the acousto-optic dispersive delay line used for pulse shaping. In experiments with a Cr:forsterite laser system, we obtained delays from 0.3 to 3.5 ps between two replicas of 190 fs transform-limited pulses at the central wavelength of laser emission, 1230 nm.

Probing ultrafast changes of spin and charge density profiles with resonant XUV magnetic reflectivity at the free-electron laser FERMI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Gutt

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We report the results of resonant magnetic XUV reflectivity experiments performed at the XUV free-electron laser FERMI. Circularly polarized XUV light with the photon energy tuned to the Fe M2,3 edge is used to measure resonant magnetic reflectivities and the corresponding Q-resolved asymmetry of a Permalloy/Ta/Permalloy trilayer film. The asymmetry exhibits ultrafast changes on 240 fs time scales upon pumping with ultrashort IR laser pulses. Depending on the value of the wavevector transfer Qz, we observe both decreasing and increasing values of the asymmetry parameter, which is attributed to ultrafast changes in the vertical spin and charge density profiles of the trilayer film.

Structure modifications in silikon irradiated by ultra-short pulses of XUV free electron laser

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pelka, J. B.; Andrejczuk, A.; Reniewicz, H.; Schell, N.; Krzywinski, J.; Sobierajski, R.; Wawro, A.; Zytkiewicz, Z. R.; Klinger, D.; Juha, Libor

2004-01-01

Roč. 382, - (2004), s. 264-270 ISSN 0925-8388 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1P04LA235; GA MŠk LN00A100 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : XUV ablation * free electron laser Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.562, year: 2004

Laser system using ultra-short laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Dantus, Marcos [Okemos, MI; Lozovoy, Vadim V [Okemos, MI; Comstock, Matthew [Milford, MI

2009-10-27

A laser system using ultrashort laser pulses is provided. In another aspect of the present invention, the system includes a laser, pulse shaper and detection device. A further aspect of the present invention employs a femtosecond laser and binary pulse shaping (BPS). Still another aspect of the present invention uses a laser beam pulse, a pulse shaper and a SHG crystal.

High Intensity Femtosecond XUV Pulse Interactions with Atomic Clusters: Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ditmire, Todd [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Center for High Energy Density Science

2016-10-12

We propose to expand our recent studies on the interactions of intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) femtosecond pulses with atomic and molecular clusters. The work described follows directly from work performed under BES support for the past grant period. During this period we upgraded the THOR laser at UT Austin by replacing the regenerative amplifier with optical parametric amplification (OPA) using BBO crystals. This increased the contrast of the laser, the total laser energy to ~1.2 J , and decreased the pulse width to below 30 fs. We built a new all reflective XUV harmonic beam line into expanded lab space. This enabled an increase influence by a factor of 25 and an increase in the intensity by a factor of 50. The goal of the program proposed in this renewal is to extend this class of experiments to available higher XUV intensity and a greater range of wavelengths. In particular we plan to perform experiments to confirm our hypothesis about the origin of the high charge states in these exploding clusters, an effect which we ascribe to plasma continuum lowering (ionization potential depression) in a cluster nano-­plasma. To do this we will perform experiments in which XUV pulses of carefully chosen wavelength irradiate clusters composed of only low-Z atoms and clusters with a mixture of this low-­Z atom with higher Z atoms. The latter clusters will exhibit higher electron densities and will serve to lower the ionization potential further than in the clusters composed only of low Z atoms. This should have a significant effect on the charge states produced in the exploding cluster. We will also explore the transition of explosions in these XUV irradiated clusters from hydrodynamic expansion to Coulomb explosion. The work proposed here will explore clusters of a wider range of constituents, including clusters from solids. Experiments on clusters from solids will be enabled by development we performed during the past grant period in which we constructed and

Laser pulses for coherent xuv Raman excitation

Science.gov (United States)

Greenman, Loren; Koch, Christiane P.; Whaley, K. Birgitta

2015-07-01

We combine multichannel electronic structure theory with quantum optimal control to derive femtosecond-time-scale Raman pulse sequences that coherently populate a valence excited state. For a neon atom, Raman target populations of up to 13% are obtained. Superpositions of the ground and valence Raman states with a controllable relative phase are found to be reachable with up to 4.5% population and arbitrary phase control facilitated by the pump pulse carrier-envelope phase. Analysis of the optimized pulse structure reveals a sequential mechanism in which the valence excitation is reached via a fast (femtosecond) population transfer through an intermediate resonance state in the continuum rather than avoiding intermediate-state population with simultaneous or counterintuitive (stimulated Raman adiabatic passage) pulse sequences. Our results open a route to coupling valence excitations and core-hole excitations in molecules and aggregates that locally address specific atoms and represent an initial step towards realization of multidimensional spectroscopy in the xuv and x-ray regimes.

Controlling Plasma Channels through Ultrashort Laser Pulse Filamentation

Science.gov (United States)

Ionin, Andrey; Seleznev, Leonid; Sunchugasheva, Elena

2013-09-01

A review of studies fulfilled at the Lebedev Institute in collaboration with the Moscow State University and Institute of Atmospheric Optics in Tomsk on influence of various characteristics of ultrashort laser pulse on plasma channels formed under its filamentation is presented. Filamentation of high-power laser pulses with wavefront controlled by a deformable mirror, with cross-sections spatially formed by various diaphragms and with different wavelengths was experimentally and numerically studied. An application of plasma channels formed due to filamentation of ultrashort laser pulse including a train of such pulses for triggering and guiding long electric discharges is discussed. The research was supported by RFBR Grants 11-02-12061-ofi-m and 11-02-01100, and EOARD Grant 097007 through ISTC Project 4073 P

Spectral coherent combination of ultrashort pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ursescu, D.; Banici, R.; Ionel, L.; Rusen, L.; Sandel, S.; Blanaru, C.

2010-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. The coherent beam combination was chosen in several laser systems, including ELI, as a solution to increase the final attainable intensity. However, the coherent beam combination it is also a difficult technique while it has to combine coherently in space and in time several beams amplified in different laser chains. That means in particular that the beams should be in phase in every point of the amplified beam so the spatial beam profiling techniques have to be mastered with high accuracy for all the combined beams. Here it is proposed an alternative coherent beam combination than the use of identical ultrashort pulses. The idea is to spectrally combine laser pulses with complementary spectra. Collinear and non-collinear approaches have been modelled. Ongoing experimental development, including the demonstration of the rephasing for two spectrally complementary ultrashort pulses will be presented. Acknowledgements. The research leading to these results has received funding from the EC's Seventh Framework Programme (LASERLAB-EUROPE, grant agreement no. 228334).

Mid-infrared beam splitter for ultrashort pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Somma, Carmine; Reimann, Klaus; Woerner, Michael; Kiel, Thomas; Busch, Kurt; Braun, Andreas; Matalla, Mathias; Ickert, Karina; Krüger, Olaf

2017-08-01

A design is presented for a beam splitter suitable for ultrashort pulses in the mid-infrared and terahertz spectral range consisting of a structured metal layer on a diamond substrate. Both the theory and experiment show that this beam splitter does not distort the temporal pulse shape.

Improved ultrashort pulse-retrieval algorithm for frequency-resolved optical gating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeLong, K.W.; Trebino, R.

1994-01-01

We report on significant improvements in the pulse-retrieval algorithm used to reconstruct the amplitude and the phase of ultrashort optical pulses from the experimental frequency-resolved optical gating trace data in the polarization-gate geometry. These improvements involve the use of an intensity constraint, an overcorrection technique, and a multidimensional minimization scheme. While the previously published, basic algorithm converged for most common ultrashort pulses, it failed to retrieve pulses with significant intensity substructure. The improved composite algorithm successfully converges for such pulses. It can now retrieve essentially all pulses of practical interest. We present examples of complex waveforms that were retrieved by the improved algorithm

Post-filament self-trapping of ultrashort laser pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitrofanov, A V; Voronin, A A; Sidorov-Biryukov, D A; Andriukaitis, G; Flöry, T; Pugžlys, A; Fedotov, A B; Mikhailova, J M; Panchenko, V Ya; Baltuška, A; Zheltikov, A M

2014-08-15

Laser filamentation is understood to be self-channeling of intense ultrashort laser pulses achieved when the self-focusing because of the Kerr nonlinearity is balanced by ionization-induced defocusing. Here, we show that, right behind the ionized region of a laser filament, ultrashort laser pulses can couple into a much longer light channel, where a stable self-guiding spatial mode is sustained by the saturable self-focusing nonlinearity. In the limiting regime of negligibly low ionization, this post-filamentation beam dynamics converges to a large-scale beam self-trapping scenario known since the pioneering work on saturable self-focusing nonlinearities.

Emission and electron transitions in an atom interacting with an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matveev, V.I.

2003-01-01

Electron transitions and emission of an atom interacting with a spatially inhomogeneous ultrashort electromagnetic pulse are considered. The excitation and ionization probabilities are obtained as well as the spectra and cross sections of the reemission of such a pulse by atoms. By way of an example, one- and two-electron inelastic processes accompanying the interaction of ultrashort pulses with hydrogen- and helium-like atoms are considered. The developed technique makes it possible to take into account exactly the spatial nonuniformity of the ultrashort pulse field and photon momenta in the course of reemission

Metal processing with ultrashort laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Paul S.; Felt, M. D.; Komashko, Aleksey M.; Perry, Michael D.; Rubenchik, Alexander M.; Stuart, Brent C.

2000-08-01

Femtosecond laser ablation has been shown to produce well-defined cuts and holes in metals with minimal heat effect to the remaining material. Ultrashort laser pulse processing shows promise as an important technique for materials processing. We will discuss the physical effects associated with processing based experimental and modeling results. Intense ultra-short laser pulse (USLP) generates high pressures and temperatures in a subsurface layer during the pulse, which can strongly modify the absorption. We carried out simulations of USLP absorption versus material and pulse parameters. The ablation rate as function of the laser parameters has been estimated. Since every laser pulse removes only a small amount of material, a practical laser processing system must have high repetition rate. We will demonstrate that planar ablation is unstable and the initially smooth crater bottom develops a corrugated pattern after many tens of shots. The corrugation growth rate, angle of incidence and the polarization of laser electric field dependence will be discussed. In the nonlinear stage, the formation of coherent structures with scales much larger than the laser wavelength was observed. Also, there appears to be a threshold fluence above which a narrow, nearly perfectly circular channel forms after a few hundred shots. Subsequent shots deepen this channel without significantly increasing its diameter. The role of light absorption in the hole walls will be discussed.

Ultrashort laser pulses and electromagnetic pulse generation in air and on dielectric surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sprangle, P.; Penano, J.R.; Hafizi, B.; Kapetanakos, C.A.

2004-01-01

Intense, ultrashort laser pulses propagating in the atmosphere have been observed to emit sub-THz electromagnetic pulses (EMPS). The purpose of this paper is to analyze EMP generation from the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with air and with dielectric surfaces and to determine the efficiency of conversion of laser energy to EMP energy. In our self-consistent model the laser pulse partially ionizes the medium, forms a plasma filament, and through the ponderomotive forces associated with the laser pulse, drives plasma currents which are the source of the EMP. The propagating laser pulse evolves under the influence of diffraction, Kerr focusing, plasma defocusing, and energy depletion due to electron collisions and ionization. Collective effects and recombination processes are also included in the model. The duration of the EMP in air, at a fixed point, is found to be a few hundred femtoseconds, i.e., on the order of the laser pulse duration plus the electron collision time. For steady state laser pulse propagation the flux of EMP energy is nonradiative and axially directed. Radiative EMP energy is present only for nonsteady state or transient laser pulse propagation. The analysis also considers the generation of EMP on the surface of a dielectric on which an ultrashort laser pulse is incident. For typical laser parameters, the power and energy conversion efficiency from laser radiation to EMP radiation in both air and from dielectric surfaces is found to be extremely small, -8 . Results of full-scale, self-consistent, numerical simulations of atmospheric and dielectric surface EMP generation are presented. A recent experiment on atmospheric EMP generation is also simulated

Formation of plasma channels in air under filamentation of focused ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionin, A A; Seleznev, L V; Sunchugasheva, E S

2015-01-01

The formation of plasma channels in air under filamentation of focused ultrashort laser pulses was experimentally and theoretically studied together with theoreticians of the Moscow State University and the Institute of Atmospheric Optics. The influence of various characteristics of ultrashort laser pulses on these plasma channels is discussed. Plasma channels formed under filamentation of focused laser beams with a wavefront distorted by spherical aberration (introduced by adaptive optics) and by astigmatism, with cross-section spatially formed by various diaphragms and with different UV and IR wavelengths, were experimentally and numerically studied. The influence of plasma channels created by a filament of a focused UV or IR femtosecond laser pulse (λ = 248 nm or 740 nm) on characteristics of other plasma channels formed by a femtosecond pulse at the same wavelength following the first one with varied nanosecond time delay was also experimentally studied. An application of plasma channels formed due to the filamentation of focused UV ultrashort laser pulses including a train of such pulses and a combination of ultrashort and long (∼100 ns) laser pulses for triggering and guiding long (∼1 m) electric discharges is discussed. (topical review)

Generation of high harmonics and attosecond pulses with ultrashort ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2014-07-11

Jul 11, 2014 ... Two aspects of ultrashort pulse filaments are specifically discussed: (i) numerical simulation results on pulse self-compression by filamentation in a gas cell filled with noble gas. Measurements of high harmonics generated by the pulse extracted from the filament allows for the detection of intensity spikes ...

Thin film surface processing by ultrashort laser pulses (USLP)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scorticati, D.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Romer, G.R.B.E.; Huis in 't Veld, A.J.; Workum, M.J.; Theelen, M.J.; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

In this work, we studied the feasibility of surface texturing of thin molybdenum layers on a borosilicate glass substrate with Ultra-Short Laser Pulses (USLP). Large areas of regular diffraction gratings were produced consisting of Laserinduced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). A short pulsed

Theoretical models for ultrashort electromagnetic pulse propagation in nonlinear metamaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen, Shuangchun; Xiang, Yuanjiang; Dai, Xiaoyu; Tang, Zhixiang; Su, Wenhua; Fan, Dianyuan

2007-01-01

A metamaterial (MM) differs from an ordinary optical material mainly in that it has a dispersive magnetic permeability and offers greatly enhanced design freedom to alter the linear and nonlinear properties. This makes it possible for us to control the propagation of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses at will. Here we report on generic features of ultrashort electromagnetic pulse propagation and demonstrate the controllability of both the linear and nonlinear parameters of models for pulse propagation in MMs. First, we derive a generalized system of coupled three-dimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equations (NLSEs) suitable for few-cycle pulse propagation in a MM with both nonlinear electric polarization and nonlinear magnetization. The coupled equations recover previous models for pulse propagation in both ordinary material and a MM under the same conditions. Second, by using the coupled NLSEs in the Drude dispersive model as an example, we identify the respective roles of the dispersive electric permittivity and magnetic permeability in ultrashort pulse propagation and disclose some additional features of pulse propagation in MMs. It is shown that, for linear propagation, the sign and magnitude of space-time focusing can be controlled through adjusting the linear dispersive permittivity and permeability. For nonlinear propagation, the linear dispersive permittivity and permeability are incorporated into the nonlinear magnetization and nonlinear polarization, respectively, resulting in controllable magnetic and electric self-steepening effects and higher-order dispersively nonlinear terms in the propagation models

Quenching H2 autoionization interferences with ultrashort xuv laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González-Castrillo, Alberto; Palacios, Alicia; Martín, Fernando; Bachau, Henri

2012-01-01

In contrast with atomic photoionization or molecular direct photoionization, in the autoionization region, electron and proton kinetic-energy differential probabilities resulting from a short pulse cannot be reconstructed by the incoherent superposition of those resulting from long pulses.

Steering population transfer of the Na2 molecule by an ultrashort pulse train

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Dong-Hua; Wang, Shuo; Zhan, Wei-Shen; Tao, Hong-Cai; Wang, Si-Qi

2018-05-01

We theoretically investigate the complete population transfer among quantum states of the Na2 molecule using ultrashort pulse trains using the time-dependent wave packet method. The population accumulation of the target state can be steered by controlling the laser parameters, such as the variable pulse pairs, the different pulse widths, the time delays and the repetition period between two contiguous pulses; in particular, the pulse pairs and the pulse widths have a great effect on the population transfer. The calculations show that the ultrashort pulse train is a feasible solution, which can steer the population transfer from the initial state to the target state efficiently with lower peak intensities.

Multi-photon ionization of the H+2 molecule by an xuv laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Secor, Ethan; Guan Xiaoxu; Bartschat, Klaus; Schneider, Barry I

2012-01-01

We present theoretical predictions for one-, two-, and three-photon ionization of H + 2 by an xuv laser pulse. The results were obtained by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in prolate spheroidal coordinates. Good agreement is obtained with results from a time-independent perturbative model.

New methods of generation of ultrashort laser pulses for ranging

Science.gov (United States)

Jelinkova, Helena; Hamal, Karel; Kubecek, V.; Prochazka, Ivan

1993-01-01

To reach the millimeter satellite laser ranging accuracy, the goal for nineties, new laser ranging techniques have to be applied. To increase the laser ranging precision, the application of the ultrashort laser pulses in connection with the new signal detection and processing techniques, is inevitable. The two wavelength laser ranging is one of the ways to measure the atmospheric dispersion to improve the existing atmospheric correction models and hence, to increase the overall system ranging accuracy to the desired value. We are presenting a review of several nonstandard techniques of ultrashort laser pulses generation, which may be utilized for laser ranging: compression of the nanosecond pulses using stimulated Brillouin and Raman backscattering; compression of the mode-locked pulses using Raman backscattering; passive mode-locking technique with nonlinear mirror; and passive mode-locking technique with the negative feedback.

Study of laser pulses propagation through an ultrashort pulse amplifying systems for the development of an Offner temporal stretcher

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordeiro, Thiago da Silva

2009-01-01

The study of laser pulses propagation through an ultrashort pulses amplifying system containing dispersive and spectral modifying media was performed. The study emphasis was the development of an ultrashort pulse stretcher to replace the one inside a hybrid Ti:Sapphire/Cr:LiSAF CPA system operating at the Center for Lasers and Applications at IPEN/CNEN-SP. A spherical aberration free Offner stretcher was theoretically studied, aiming to obtain a stretching ratio larger than the one available in our system. The influence of the phase components in the amplified pulse final duration was also studied, and the bandwidth limiting elements of the system in operation were mapped, with the purpose of determining the conditions under which a new stretcher should be implemented. Based on the actual measurements, computing routines were implemented in order to determine the consequences of an ultrashort pulse travelling through a bandwidth limiting component. (author)

Magnetic Field Effect on Ultrashort Two-dimensional Optical Pulse Propagation in Silicon Nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Konobeeva, N. N.; Evdokimov, R. A.; Belonenko, M. B.

2018-05-01

The paper deals with the magnetic field effect which provides a stable propagation of ultrashort pulses in silicon nanotubes from the viewpoint of their waveform. The equation is derived for the electromagnetic field observed in silicon nanotubes with a glance to the magnetic field for two-dimensional optical pulses. The analysis is given to the dependence between the waveform of ultrashort optical pulses and the magnetic flux passing through the cross-sectional area of the nanotube.

Nonlinear shaping of a two-dimensional ultrashort ionizing pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sergeev, A.; Vanin, E.; Stenflo, L.; Anderson, D.; Lisak, M.; Quiroga-Teixeiro, M.L.

1992-01-01

A theoretical description of ultrashort ionizing wave pulses is presented by means of two different models where the ionization rate increases or decreases, respectively, as a function of the electric field amplitude. We show that the pulse evolves either into a horse-shoe or a horn-type structure in the time-space domain. In some parameter regions the intensity of the pulse can also increase. (au)

Long Wavelength Electromagnetic Light Bullets Generated by a 10.6 micron CO2 Ultrashort Pulsed Source

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-29

AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0365 Long Wavelength Electromagnetic Light Bullets Generated by a 10.6 micron CO2 Ultrashort Pulsed Source Jerome Moloney...SUBTITLE "Long Wavelength Electromagnetic Light Bullets Generated by a 10.6 micron CO2 Ultrashort Pulsed Source 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA9550-15-1-0272 5b...Wavelength Electromagnetic Light Bullets Generated by a 10 µm CO2 Ultrashort Pulsed Source Grant/Contract Number AFOSR assigned control number. It must

Thin film surface processing by UltraShort Laser Pulses (USLP)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scorticati, D.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Huis in 't Veld, A.J.; Workum, M.; Theelen, M.J.; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

In this work, we studied the feasibility of surface texturing of thin molybdenum layers on a borosilicate glass substrate with Ultra-Short Laser Pulses (USLP). Large areas of regular diffraction gratings were produced consisting of Laserinduced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). A short pulsed

Applications of ultra-short pulsed laser ablation: thin films deposition and fs/ns dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teghil, R; De Bonis, A; Galasso, A; Santagata, A; Albano, G; Villani, P; Spera, D; Parisi, G P

2008-01-01

In this paper, we report a survey of two of the large number of possible practical applications of the laser ablation performed by an ultra-short pulse laser, namely pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and fs/ns dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (DP-LIBS). These applications differ from those using just longer pulsed lasers as a consequence of the distinctive characteristics of the plasma produced by ultra-short laser beams. The most important feature of this plasma is the large presence of particles with nanometric size which plays a fundamental role in both applications.

Optical and electrical properties of SnO2 thin films after ultra-short pulsed laser annealing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scorticati, D.; Illiberi, A.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Bor, T.; Ogieglo, W.; Klein Gunnewiek, M.; Lenferink, A.; Otto, C.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Grob, F.; Lange, D.F. de; Huis in 't Veld, A.J.

2013-01-01

Ultra-short pulsed laser sources, with pulse durations in the ps and fs regime, are commonly exploited for cold ablation. However, operating ultra-short pulsed laser sources at fluence levels well below the ablation threshold allows for fast and selective thermal processing. The latter is especially

New ultrafast X-ray sources and their applications. Coherent ultrashort X UV emission by harmonic generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salieres, P.; Le deroff, L.; Hergott, J.F.; Merdji, H.; Carre, B.

2000-01-01

By focusing an intense short-pulse laser into a rare gas jet, high-order harmonics of the laser frequency are generated. Considerable progress have been made in the last few years, with the observation of harmonic orders higher that 200, extending the emission down to 3 nm. Besides its fundamental interest, this XUV emission represents a new source with unique properties of coherence and ultrashort (femtosecond) duration. A growing number of applications are reported, ranging from atomic and molecular spectroscopy to solid-state and plasma physics. (authors)

Modeling ultrashort electromagnetic pulses with a generalized Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

Science.gov (United States)

Hofstrand, A.; Moloney, J. V.

2018-03-01

In this paper we derive a properly scaled model for the nonlinear propagation of intense, ultrashort, mid-infrared electromagnetic pulses (10-100 femtoseconds) through an arbitrary dispersive medium. The derivation results in a generalized Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (gKP) equation. In contrast to envelope-based models such as the Nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation, the gKP equation describes the dynamics of the field's actual carrier wave. It is important to resolve these dynamics when modeling ultrashort pulses. We proceed by giving an original proof of sufficient conditions on the initial pulse for a singularity to form in the field after a finite propagation distance. The model is then numerically simulated in 2D using a spectral-solver with initial data and physical parameters highlighting our theoretical results.

Inelastic processes in interaction of an atom with ultrashort pulse of an electromagnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matveev, V.I.; Gusarevich, E.S.; Pashev, I.N.

2005-01-01

Electron transitions occurring when a heavy relativistic atom interacts with a spatially inhomogeneous ultrashort electromagnetic pulse are considered. Transition probabilities are expressed in terms of the known inelastic atomic form factors. By way of example, the inelastic processes accompanying the interaction of ultrashort pulses with hydrogen-like atoms are considered. The probabilities of ionization and production of a bound-free electron-positron pair on a bare nucleus, which are accompanied by the formation of a hydrogen-like atom in the final state and a positron in the continuum, are calculated. The developed technique makes it possible to take into exact account magnetic interaction besides spatial inhomogeneity of an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse [ru

Measurement of Ultra-Short Solitary Electromagnetic Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Gescheidtova

2004-01-01

Full Text Available In connection with the events of the last few years and with the increased number of terrorist activities, the problem of identification and measurement of electromagnetic weapons or other systems impact occurred. Among these are also microwave sources, which can reach extensive peak power of up to Pmax = 100 MW. Solitary, in some cases several times repeated, impulses lasting from tp E <1, 60>ns, cause the destruction of semiconductor junctions. These days we can find scarcely no human activity, where semiconductor structures are not used. The problem of security support of the air traffic, transportation, computer nets, banks, national strategic data canter’s, and other applications crops up. Several types of system protection from the ultra-short electromagnetic pulses present itself, passive and active protection. The analysis of the possible measuring methods, convenient for the identification and measurement of the ultra-short solitary electromagnetic pulses in presented in this paper; some of the methods were chosen and used for practical measurement. This work is part of Research object MSM262200022 "Research of microelectronic systems".

Interaction of ultrashort pulses with molecules and solids: Physics ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2014-07-26

energy materials. Abstract. The interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with molecules and solids is an extremely complex area of science research encompassing the fields of physics, chemistry, and materials science. The physics ...

Amplification of UV ultrashort pulse laser in e-beam pumped KrF amplifier

CERN Document Server

Tang Xiu Zhang; Gong Kun; Ma Wei Yi; Shan Yu Sheng; Wang Nai Yan

2002-01-01

Experimental investigations were performed for amplification of ultrashort pulse laser with Heaven-I e-beam pumped KrF amplifier in CIAE. A 50 mJ, 420 fs UV ultrashort pulse was amplified to 2-3 J energy, 1.2 ps pulse duration, and 2TW laser power. Experimental technique such as synchronization were describe, some parameters such as nonlinear absorb coefficient were measured in experiment. As a result, it is possible to achieve ultra-strong UV laser with intensity higher than 10 sup 1 sup 9 W/cm sup 2 in recently years

Amplification of UV ultrashort pulse laser in e-beam pumped KrF amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Xiuzhang; Zhang Haifeng; Gong Kun; Ma Weiyi; Shan Yusheng; Wang Naiyan

2002-01-01

Experimental investigations were performed for amplification of ultrashort pulse laser with Heaven-I e-beam pumped KrF amplifier in CIAE. A 50 mJ, 420 fs UV ultrashort pulse was amplified to 2-3 J energy, 1.2 ps pulse duration, and 2TW laser power. Experimental technique such as synchronization were describe, some parameters such as nonlinear absorb coefficient were measured in experiment. As a result, it is possible to achieve ultra-strong UV laser with intensity higher than 10 19 W/cm 2 in recently years

Scattering of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses on metal clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astapenko, V. A.; Sakhno, S. V.

2016-01-01

We have calculated and analyzed the probability of ultrashort electromagnetic pulse (USP) scattering on small metal clusters in the frequency range of plasmon resonances during the field action. The main attention is devoted to dependence of the probability of scattering on the pulse duration for various detunings of the USP carrier frequency from the plasmon resonance frequency. Peculiarities of the USP scattering from plasmon resonances with various figures of merit are revealed.

Scattering of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses on metal clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Astapenko, V. A., E-mail: astval@mail.ru; Sakhno, S. V. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) (Russian Federation)

2016-12-15

We have calculated and analyzed the probability of ultrashort electromagnetic pulse (USP) scattering on small metal clusters in the frequency range of plasmon resonances during the field action. The main attention is devoted to dependence of the probability of scattering on the pulse duration for various detunings of the USP carrier frequency from the plasmon resonance frequency. Peculiarities of the USP scattering from plasmon resonances with various figures of merit are revealed.

Interaction of ultrashort laser pulses and silicon solar cells under short circuit conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mundus, M., E-mail: markus.mundus@ise.fraunhofer.de; Giesecke, J. A.; Fischer, P.; Hohl-Ebinger, J.; Warta, W. [Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110 Freiburg (Germany)

2015-02-28

Ultrashort pulse lasers are promising tools for numerous measurement purposes. Among other benefits their high peak powers allow for efficient generation of wavelengths in broad spectral ranges and at spectral powers that are orders of magnitude higher than in conventional light sources. Very recently this has been exploited for the establishment of sophisticated measurement facilities for electrical characterization of photovoltaic (PV) devices. As the high peak powers of ultrashort pulses promote nonlinear optical effects they might also give rise to nonlinear interactions with the devices under test that possibly manipulate the measurement outcome. In this paper, we present a comprehensive theoretical and experimental study of the nonlinearities affecting short circuit current (I{sub SC}) measurements of silicon (Si) solar cells. We derive a set of coupled differential equations describing the radiation-device interaction and discuss the nonlinearities incorporated in those. By a semi-analytical approach introducing a quasi-steady-state approximation and integrating a Green's function we solve the system of equations and obtain simulated I{sub SC} values. We validate the theoretical model by I{sub SC} ratios obtained from a double ring resonator setup capable for reproducible generation of various ultrashort pulse trains. Finally, we apply the model to conduct the most prominent comparison of I{sub SC} generated by ultrashort pulses versus continuous illumination. We conclude by the important finding that the nonlinearities induced by ultrashort pulses are negligible for the most common I{sub SC} measurements. However, we also find that more specialized measurements (e.g., of concentrating PV or Si-multijunction devices as well as highly localized electrical characterizations) will be biased by two-photon-absorption distorting the I{sub SC} measurement.

Scattering of an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse in a plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astapenko, V. A.

2011-01-01

An analytic approach is developed to describing how ultrashort electromagnetic pulses with a duration of one period or less at the carrier frequency are scattered in a plasma. Formulas are derived to calculate and analyze the angular and spectral probabilities of radiation scattering via two possible mechanisms-Compton and transition radiation channels-throughout the entire pulse. Numerical simulations were carried out for a Gaussian pulse. The effect of the phase of the carrier frequency relative to the pulse envelope on the scattering parameters is investigated.

Inelastic Processes in the Interaction of an Atom with an Ultrashort Electromagnetic Pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matveev, V.I.; Gusarevich, E.S.; Pashev, I.N.

2005-01-01

Electron transitions occurring during the interaction of a heavy relativistic atom with a spatially inhomogeneous ultrashort electromagnetic pulse are considered by solving the Dirac equation. The corresponding transition probabilities are expressed in terms of known inelastic atomic form factors, which are widely used in the theory of relativistic collisions between charged particles and atoms. By way of example, the inelastic processes accompanying the interaction of ultrashort pulses with hydrogen-like atoms are considered. The probabilities of ionization and production of a bound-free electron-positron pair on a bare nucleus, which are accompanied by the formation of a hydrogen-like atom in the final state and a positron in the continuum, are calculated. The developed technique makes it possible to take into account exactly not only the spatial inhomogeneity of an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse, but also the magnetic interaction

Propagation and spatiotemporal coupling characteristics of ultra-short Gaussian vortex pulse

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Jianye; Liu, Guodong; Zhang, Rongzhu

2018-05-01

Based on Collins diffraction integral formula, the propagation equation of ultra-short Gaussian vortex pulse beam has been derived. Using the equation, the intensity distribution variations of vortex pulse in the propagation process are calculated. Specially, the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics of ultra-short vortex beams are discussed in detail. The results show that some key parameters, such as transverse distance, transmission distance, pulse width and topological charge number will influence the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics significantly. With the increasing of transverse distance, the waveforms of the pulses distort obviously. And when transmission distance is far than 50 mm, the distribution curve of transverse intensity gradually changes into a Gaussian type. In addition, initial pulse width will affect the distribution of light field, however, when initial pulse width is larger than 3 fs, the spatiotemporal coupling effect will be insignificant. Topological charge number does not affect the time delay characteristics, since with the increasing of topological charge number, the waveform of the pulse distorts gradually but the time delay does not occur.

Resonant-enhanced above-threshold ionization of atoms by XUV short laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, V.D. [Departamento de Fisica, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina)], E-mail: vladimir@df.uba.ar; Macri, P.A. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas de Mar del Plata (IFIMAR), Departamento de Fisica, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CONICET, Funes 3350, 7600 Mar del Plata (Argentina); Arbo, D.G. [Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio, UBA-CONICET, CC 67 Suc 28 Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2009-01-15

Above-threshold ionization of atoms by XUV short laser pulses is investigated close to the resonant 1s-2p transitions. Both ab initio TDSE and a theoretical Coulomb-Volkov like theory are used to study the enhancement in the ionization probabilities. Our modified Coulomb-Volkov theory, fully accounting for the important 1s-2p transition is able to explain the spectrum as well as the total ionization cross sections.

An ultrastable Michelson interferometer for high-resolution spectroscopy in the XUV.

Science.gov (United States)

Corsi, C; Liontos, I; Cavalieri, S; Bellini, M; Venturi, G; Eramo, R

2015-02-23

We developed an ultra-stable and accurately-controllable Michelson interferometer to be used in a deeply unbalanced arm configuration for split-pulse XUV Ramsey-type spectroscopy with high-order laser harmonics. The implemented active and passive stabilization systems allow one to reach instabilities in the nanometer range over meters of relative optical path differences. Producing precisely delayed pairs of pump pulses will generate XUV harmonic pulses that may significantly improve the achievable spectral resolution and the precision of absolute frequency measurements in the XUV.

Analytic description of Raman-induced frequency shift in the case of non-soliton ultrashort pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bugay, Aleksandr N., E-mail: bugay_aleksandr@mail.ru [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie 6, 141980, Dubna, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Khalyapin, Vyacheslav A., E-mail: slavasxi@gmail.com [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, 236041 (Russian Federation); Kaliningrad State Technical University, Kaliningrad, 236000 (Russian Federation)

2017-01-30

Raman-induced frequency shift of ultrashort pulses have been studied extensively for the soliton propagation regime. Here we derive explicit analytic expressions for the evolution of Raman-induced frequency shift in much less studied case of non-soliton ultrashort pulses. Pulse spectra may belong to any region of group velocity dispersion including zero group dispersion point. The analysis is based on the moment method. Obtained expressions fit well to the numerical solution of the nonlinear wave equation. - Highlights: • Explicit analytic formulas for the evolution of Raman-induced frequency shift are derived in the case of non-soliton pulses. • Dynamics of non-soliton ultrashort pulses in the cases of positive and zero group dispersion is considered. • The deceleration and the saturation of Raman-induced frequency shift are analyzed. • The calculation relies on the moment method and fit well to the numerical solution of the nonlinear wave equation.

Analytic description of Raman-induced frequency shift in the case of non-soliton ultrashort pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bugay, Aleksandr N.; Khalyapin, Vyacheslav A.

2017-01-01

Raman-induced frequency shift of ultrashort pulses have been studied extensively for the soliton propagation regime. Here we derive explicit analytic expressions for the evolution of Raman-induced frequency shift in much less studied case of non-soliton ultrashort pulses. Pulse spectra may belong to any region of group velocity dispersion including zero group dispersion point. The analysis is based on the moment method. Obtained expressions fit well to the numerical solution of the nonlinear wave equation. - Highlights: • Explicit analytic formulas for the evolution of Raman-induced frequency shift are derived in the case of non-soliton pulses. • Dynamics of non-soliton ultrashort pulses in the cases of positive and zero group dispersion is considered. • The deceleration and the saturation of Raman-induced frequency shift are analyzed. • The calculation relies on the moment method and fit well to the numerical solution of the nonlinear wave equation.

Fragmentation dynamics of molecular hydrogen in strong ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudenko, A; Feuerstein, B; Zrost, K; Jesus, V L B de; Ergler, T; Dimopoulou, C; Schroeter, C D; Moshammer, R; Ullrich, J

2005-01-01

We present the results of a systematic experimental study of dissociation and Coulomb explosion of molecular hydrogen induced by intense ultrashort (7-25 fs) laser pulses. Using coincident recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy we can distinguish the contributions from dissociation and double ionization even if they result in the same kinetic energies of the fragments. The dynamics of all fragmentation channels drastically depends on the pulse duration, and for 7 fs pulses becomes extremely sensitive to the pulse shape

Prepulse suppression using a self-induced, ultrashort pulse plasma mirror

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gold, D.M.; Nathel, H.; Bolton, P.R.; White, W.E.; Van Woerkom, L.D.

1991-01-01

The plasma mirror is a self-induced, plasm-based optical element which can be inserted into existing experiments to reduce repulse energy without significant degradation of ultrashort pulse laser light. The authors have characteristics of the reflected pulse. The initial measurements indicate that the incident pulse reflects specularly from a high density, highly reflective plasma. The reflected pulse has a smoothed spatial profile and reduced pulsewidth. This paper outlines future work to characterize both the plasm mirror technique of repulse suppression and its reflected pulse

Inelastic processes and interference effects during the interaction of positronium with ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eseev, M. K., E-mail: m_eseev@mail.ru; Matveev, V. I., E-mail: matveev.victor@pomorsu.ru [Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University (Russian Federation)

2013-11-15

The excitation, breakup, and reradiation during the interaction of a positronium atom with ultrashort electromagnetic pulses are considered. The probabilities of inelastic processes and reradiation spectra have been obtained. The interference between the amplitudes of the photon emission by the electron and positron is shown to contribute noticeably to the reradiation spectra. The developed approach is applicable for describing the interaction of positronium with ultrashort pulses of attosecond or shorter duration.

Direct measurement of the pulse duration and frequency chirp of seeded XUV free electron laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Azima, Armin; Bödewadt, Jörn; Becker, Oliver; Düsterer, Stefan; Ekanayake, Nagitha; Ivanov, Rosen; Kazemi, Mehdi M.; Lamberto Lazzarino, Leslie; Lechner, Christoph; Maltezopoulos, Theophilos; Manschwetus, Bastian; Miltchev, Velizar; Müller, Jost; Plath, Tim; Przystawik, Andreas; Wieland, Marek; Assmann, Ralph; Hartl, Ingmar; Laarmann, Tim; Rossbach, Jörg; Wurth, Wilfried; Drescher, Markus

2018-01-01

We report on a direct time-domain measurement of the temporal properties of a seeded free-electron laser pulse in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. Utilizing the oscillating electromagnetic field of terahertz radiation, a single-shot THz streak-camera was applied for measuring the duration as well as spectral phase of the generated intense XUV pulses. The experiment was conducted at FLASH, the free electron laser user facility at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. In contrast to indirect methods, this approach directly resolves and visualizes the frequency chirp of a seeded free-electron laser (FEL) pulse. The reported diagnostic capability is a prerequisite to tailor amplitude, phase and frequency distributions of FEL beams on demand. In particular, it opens up a new window of opportunities for advanced coherent spectroscopic studies making use of the high degree of temporal coherence expected from a seeded FEL pulse.

Extending ultra-short pulse laser texturing over large area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mincuzzi, G., E-mail: girolamo.mincuzzi@alphanov.com; Gemini, L.; Faucon, M.; Kling, R.

2016-11-15

Highlights: • We carried out metal surface texturing (Ripples, micro grooves, Spikes) using a high power, high repetition rate, industrial, Ultra-short pulses laser. • Extremely Fast processing is shown (Laser Scan speed as high as 90 m/s) with a polygon scanner head. • Stainless steel surface blackening with Ultra-short pulses laser has been obtained with unprecedented scanspeed. • Full SEM surface characterization was carried out for all the different structures obtained. • Reflectance measurements were carried out to characterize surface reflectance. - Abstract: Surface texturing by Ultra-Short Pulses Laser (UPL) for industrial applications passes through the use of both fast beam scanning systems and high repetition rate, high average power P, UPL. Nevertheless unwanted thermal effects are expected when P exceeds some tens of W. An interesting strategy for a reliable heat management would consists in texturing with a low fluence values (slightly higher than the ablation threshold) and utilising a Polygon Scanner Heads delivering laser pulses with unrepeated speed. Here we show for the first time that with relatively low fluence it is possible over stainless steel, to obtain surface texturing by utilising a 2 MHz femtosecond laser jointly with a polygonal scanner head in a relatively low fluence regime (0.11 J cm{sup −2}). Different surface textures (Ripples, micro grooves and spikes) can be obtained varying the scan speed from 90 m s{sup −1} to 25 m s{sup −1}. In particular, spikes formation process has been shown and optimised at 25 m s{sup −1} and a full morphology characterization by SEM has been carried out. Reflectance measurements with integrating sphere are presented to compare reference surface with high scan rate textures. In the best case we show a black surface with reflectance value < 5%.

Theory and simulation of ultra-short pulse laser interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

More, R; Walling, R; Price, D; Guethlein, G; Stewart, R; Libby, S; Graziani, F; Levatin, J [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, CA (United States)

1998-03-01

This paper describes recent Livermore work aimed at building computational tools to describe ultra-short pulse laser plasmas. We discuss calculations of laser absorption, atomic data for high-charge ions, and a new idea for linear-response treatment of non-equilibrium phenomena near LTE. (author)

Absorption of Ultrashort Electromagnetic Pulses on Broadened Dipole Transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svita, S Yu; Astapenko, V A

2014-01-01

The study is devoted to the theoretical analysis of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses (USP) absorption on broadened dipole transitions. Calculations are made in the frame of perturbation theory with the use of the basic formula for energy absorbed during all time of the action of USP on dipole transition. Dependences of absorbed energy upon pulse duration and carrier frequency are obtained and analyzed for different types of spectral line shape and USP parameters

Hydrodynamic simulation of X-UV laser-produced plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fajardo, M.; Zeitoun, P.; Gauthier, J.C.

2004-01-01

With the construction of novel X-UV sources, such as V-UV FEL's (free-electron lasers), X-UV laser-matter interaction will become available at ultra-high intensities. But even table-top facilities such as X-UV lasers or High Harmonic Generation, are starting to reach intensities high enough to produce dense plasmas. X-UV laser-matter interaction is studied by a 1-dimensional hydrodynamic Lagrangian code with radiative transfer for a range of interesting X-UV sources. Heating is found to be very different for Z=12-14 elements having L-edges around the X-UV laser wavelength. Possible absorption mechanisms were investigated in order to explain this behaviour, and interaction with cold dense matter proved to be dominant. Plasma sensitivity to X-UV laser parameters such as energy, pulse duration, and wavelength was also studied, covering ranges of existing X-UV lasers. We found that X-UV laser-produced plasmas could be studied using table-top lasers, paving the way for future V-UV-FEL high intensity experiments. (authors)

Ultrashort-pulse laser excitation and damage of dielectric materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haahr-Lillevang, Lasse; Balling, Peter

2015-01-01

Ultrashort-pulse laser excitation of dielectrics is an intricate problem due to the strong coupling between the rapidly changing material properties and the light. In the present paper, details of a model based on a multiple-rate-equation description of the conduction band are provided. The model...

Ultrashort x-ray pulse generation by nonlinear Thomson scattering of a relativistic electron with an intense circularly polarized laser pulse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Liu

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The nonlinear Thomson scattering of a relativistic electron with an intense laser pulse is calculated numerically. The results show that an ultrashort x-ray pulse can be generated by an electron with an initial energy of 5 MeV propagating across a circularly polarized laser pulse with a duration of 8 femtosecond and an intensity of about 1.1×10^{21}  W/cm^{2}, when the detection direction is perpendicular to the propagation directions of both the electron and the laser beam. The optimal values of the carrier-envelop phase and the intensity of the laser pulse for the generation of a single ultrashort x-ray pulse are obtained and verified by our calculations of the radiation characteristics.

Scattering of an ultrashort electromagnetic radiation pulse by an atom in a broad spectral range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astapenko, V. A.

2011-01-01

The scattering of an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse by atomic particles is described using a consistent quantum-mechanical approach taking into account excitation of a target and nondipole electromagnetic interaction, which is valid in a broad spectral range. This approach is applied to the scattering of single- and few-cycle pulses by a multielectron atom and a hydrogen atom. Scattering spectra are obtained for ultrashort pulses of different durations. The relative contribution of “elastic” scattering of a single-cycle pulse by a hydrogen atom is studied in the high-frequency limit as a function of the carrier frequency and scattering angle.

Interference effects during the reradiation of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by polyatomic systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makarov, D. N.; Matveev, V. I., E-mail: mezon98@mail.ru [Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University (Russian Federation)

2013-11-15

A theory of the reradiation of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by arbitrary polyatomic systems of isolated complex atoms has been developed. The technique used allows the spatial inhomogeneity of the field of an ultrashort pulse and photon momenta in reradiation processes to be accurately taken into account. The angular distributions of the reradiation spectra have been obtained for an arbitrary number of atoms in the system. The processes of interference between the photon emission amplitudes are shown to give rise to characteristic “diffraction” maxima. We consider one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional rectangular lattices as examples as well as planar and cylindrical structures as models of planar nanosystems and nanotubes.

Control of the hyperbolic dispersion of dielectrics by an ultrashort laser pulse

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoqin; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Fengshou; Yao, Yugui

2018-01-01

An idea of controlling hyperbolic dispersion of dielectric materials by an ultrashort laser pulse is proposed. Taking the diamond as a concrete example and using time-dependent density functional theory calculations, we show that the permittivity tensor of the material can be effectively tuned by an ultrashort laser pulse, serving as a transient hyperbolic medium with wide working frequency window. With easily tunable laser parameters, the material can even be switched by reversal of both elliptic and hyperbolic for a particular light frequency. Our result points out a route toward transient hyperbolic materials, and it offers methods to achieve tunable hyperbolic dispersion with great potential for ultrafast device applications.

Optical soliton communication using ultra-short pulses

CERN Document Server

Sadegh Amiri, Iraj

2015-01-01

This brief analyzes the characteristics of a microring resonator (MRR) to perform communication using ultra-short soliton pulses. The raising of nonlinear refractive indices, coupling coefficients and radius of the single microring resonator leads to decrease in input power and round trips wherein the bifurcation occurs. As a result, bifurcation or chaos behaviors are seen at lower input power of 44 W, where the nonlinear refractive index is n2=3.2×10−20 m2/W. Using a decimal convertor system, these ultra-short signals can be converted into quantum information. Results show that multi solitons with FWHM and FSR of 10 pm and 600 pm can be generated respectively. The multi optical soliton with FWHM and FSR of 325 pm and 880 nm can be incorporated with a time division multiple access (TDMA) system wherein the transportation of quantum information is performed.

Generation of Attosecond Light Pulses from Gas and Solid State Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefanos Chatziathanasiou

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Real-time observation of ultrafast dynamics in the microcosm is a fundamental approach for understanding the internal evolution of physical, chemical and biological systems. Tools for tracing such dynamics are flashes of light with duration comparable to or shorter than the characteristic evolution times of the system under investigation. While femtosecond (fs pulses are successfully used to investigate vibrational dynamics in molecular systems, real time observation of electron motion in all states of matter requires temporal resolution in the attosecond (1 attosecond (asec = 10−18 s time scale. During the last decades, continuous efforts in ultra-short pulse engineering led to the development of table-top sources which can produce asec pulses. These pulses have been synthesized by using broadband coherent radiation in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV spectral region generated by the interaction of matter with intense fs pulses. Here, we will review asec pulses generated by the interaction of gas phase media and solid surfaces with intense fs IR laser fields. After a brief overview of the fundamental process underlying the XUV emission form these media, we will review the current technology, specifications and the ongoing developments of such asec sources.

Optical and electrical properties of SnO2 thin films after ultra-short pulsed laser annealing

OpenAIRE

Scorticati, D.; Illiberi, A.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Bor, T.; Ogieglo, W.; Klein Gunnewiek, M.; Lenferink, A.; Otto, C.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Grob, F.; Lange, D.F. de; Huis in 't Veld, A.J.

2013-01-01

Ultra-short pulsed laser sources, with pulse durations in the ps and fs regime, are commonly exploited for cold ablation. However, operating ultra-short pulsed laser sources at fluence levels well below the ablation threshold allows for fast and selective thermal processing. The latter is especially advantageous for the processing of thin films. A precise control of the heat affected zone, as small as tens of nanometers, depending on the material and laser conditions, can be achieved. It enab...

Black phosphorus saturable absorber for ultrashort pulse generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sotor, J., E-mail: jaroslaw.sotor@pwr.edu.pl; Sobon, G.; Abramski, K. M. [Laser and Fiber Electronics Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, Wroclaw 50-370 (Poland); Macherzynski, W.; Paletko, P. [Faculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wroclaw University of Technology, Janiszewskiego 11/17, Wroclaw 50-372 (Poland)

2015-08-03

Low-dimensional materials, due to their unique and versatile properties, are very interesting for numerous applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Recently rediscovered black phosphorus, with a graphite-like layered structure, can be effectively exfoliated up to the single atomic layer called phosphorene. Contrary to graphene, it possesses a direct band gap controllable by the number of stacked atomic layers. For those reasons, black phosphorus is now intensively investigated and can complement or replace graphene in various photonics and electronics applications. Here, we demonstrate that black phosphorus can serve as a broadband saturable absorber and can be used for ultrashort optical pulse generation. The mechanically exfoliated ∼300 nm thick layers of black phosphorus were transferred onto the fiber core, and under pulsed excitation at 1560 nm wavelength, its transmission increases by 4.6%. We have demonstrated that the saturable absorption of black phosphorus is polarization sensitive. The fabricated device was used to mode-lock an Er-doped fiber laser. The generated optical solitons with the 10.2 nm bandwidth and 272 fs duration were centered at 1550 nm. The obtained results unambiguously show that black phosphorus can be effectively used for ultrashort pulse generation with performances similar or even better than currently used graphene or carbon nanotubes. This application of black phosphorus proves its great potential to future practical use in photonics.

Printed organic smart devices characterized by ultra-short laser pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pastorelli, Francesco

Resume: In this study, we demonstrate that nonlinear optical microscopy is a promising technique to characterize organic printed electronics. Using ultrashort laser pulses we stimulate two-photon absorption in a roll coated polymer semiconductor and map the resulting two-photon induced...

XUV ionization of aligned molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelkensberg, F.; Siu, W.; Gademann, G. [FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); Rouzee, A.; Vrakking, M. J. J. [FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); Max-Born-Institut, Max-Born Strasse 2A, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Johnsson, P. [FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); Department of Physics, Lund University, Post Office Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Lucchini, M. [Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie CNR-IFN, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Lucchese, R. R. [Department of Chemistry, Texas A and M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3255 (United States)

2011-11-15

New extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) light sources such as high-order-harmonic generation (HHG) and free-electron lasers (FELs), combined with laser-induced alignment techniques, enable novel methods for making molecular movies based on measuring molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions. Experiments are presented where CO{sub 2} molecules were impulsively aligned using a near-infrared laser and ionized using femtosecond XUV pulses obtained by HHG. Measured electron angular distributions reveal contributions from four orbitals and the onset of the influence of the molecular structure.

XUV ionization of aligned molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelkensberg, F.; Siu, W.; Gademann, G.; Rouzee, A.; Vrakking, M. J. J.; Johnsson, P.; Lucchini, M.; Lucchese, R. R.

2011-01-01

New extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) light sources such as high-order-harmonic generation (HHG) and free-electron lasers (FELs), combined with laser-induced alignment techniques, enable novel methods for making molecular movies based on measuring molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions. Experiments are presented where CO 2 molecules were impulsively aligned using a near-infrared laser and ionized using femtosecond XUV pulses obtained by HHG. Measured electron angular distributions reveal contributions from four orbitals and the onset of the influence of the molecular structure.

Ultrashort hard x-ray pulses generated by 90 degrees Thomson scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chin, A.H.; Schoenlein, R.W.; Glover, T.E.

1997-01-01

Ultrashort x-ray pulses permit observation of fast structural dynamics in a variety of condensed matter systems. The authors have generated 300 femtosecond, 30 keV x-ray pulses by 90 degrees Thomson scattering between femtosecond laser pulses and relativistic electrons. The x-ray and laser pulses are synchronized on a femtosecond time scale, an important prerequisite for ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. Analysis of the x-ray beam properties also allows for electron bunch characterization on a femtosecond time scale

Nonlinear propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in transparent media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vincotte, A.

2006-10-01

We present different aspects of the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in transparent media. First, we derive the propagation equations starting from the Maxwell equations. We remind of the main physical phenomena undergone by ultrashort and powerful laser pulses. First self-focusing occurs, owing to the Kerr response of the medium. This self-focusing is stopped by plasma generation from the laser-induced ionization of the ambient atoms. The propagation of the wave generates a super-continuum through self-phase modulation. We recall the main results concerning the simple and multiple filamentation of an intense wave, induced by the beam inhomogeneities and which take place as soon as the beam power is above critical. In a second part, we investigate the influence of high-order nonlinearities on the propagation of the beam and especially on its filamentation pattern. To control the multi-filamentation process, we investigate in a third part the propagation of beams with special designs, namely; Gradient- and vortex-shaped beams. We justify the robustness of this latter kind of optical objects. Eventually, we investigate multi-filamentation patterns of femtosecond pulses in a fog tube and in cells of ethanol doped with coumarin, for different beam configurations. (author)

Superfocusing of an ultrashort plasmon pulse by a conducting cone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manuilovich, E S; Astapenko, V A [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Golovinskii, P A [Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Voronezh (Russian Federation)

2016-01-31

We have shown theoretically the possibility of controlling nanoscale superfocusing of plasmons in a metal conical tip by modulating the carrier frequency of the pulse. The propagation of an ultrashort plasmon pulse in a metal nanoneedle is simulated numerically. The calculation is based on an asymptotic analytical solution of Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic wave propagation in a conical conductor in the vicinity of its apex, obtained by the approximate separation of variables in spherical coordinates. The dependence the field superfocusing on the conductor material, pulse chirp and propagation length is studied. (nanooptics)

Magnetization reversal in ultrashort magnetic field pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, M.; Lopusnik, R.; Fassbender, J.; Hillebrands, B.

2000-01-01

We report the switching properties of a thin magnetic film subject to an ultrashort, laterally localized magnetic field pulse, obtained by numerical investigations. The magnetization distribution in the film is calculated on a grid assuming Stoner-like coherent rotation within the grid square size. Perpendicularly and in-plane magnetized films exhibit a magnetization reversal due to a 4 ps magnetic field pulse. Outside the central region the pulse duration is short compared to the precession period. In this area the evolution of the magnetization during the field pulse does not depend strongly on magnetic damping and/or pulse shape. However, the final magnetization distribution is affected by the magnetic damping. Although the pulse duration is short compared to the precession period, the time needed for the relaxation of the magnetization to the equilibrium state is rather large. The influence of the different magnetic anisotropy contributions and the magnetic damping parameter enters into the magnetization reversal process. Comparing the case of perpendicular anisotropy with different kinds of in-plane anisotropies, a principal difference is found due to the symmetry of the shape anisotropy with respect to the anisotropy in question

Ultrashort pulse laser processing of hard tissue, dental restoration materials, and biocompatibles

Science.gov (United States)

Yousif, A.; Strassl, M.; Beer, F.; Verhagen, L.; Wittschier, M.; Wintner, E.

2007-07-01

During the last few years, ultra-short laser pulses have proven their potential for application in medical tissue treatment in many ways. In hard tissue ablation, their aptitude for material ablation with negligible collateral damage provides many advantages. Especially teeth representing an anatomically and physiologically very special region with less blood circulation and lower healing rates than other tissues require most careful treatment. Hence, overheating of the pulp and induction of microcracks are some of the most problematic issues in dental preparation. Up till now it was shown by many authors that the application of picosecond or femtosecond pulses allows to perform ablation with very low damaging potential also fitting to the physiological requirements indicated. Beside the short interaction time with the irradiated matter, scanning of the ultra-short pulse trains turned out to be crucial for ablating cavities of the required quality. One main reason for this can be seen in the fact that during scanning the time period between two subsequent pulses incident on the same spot is so much extended that no heat accumulation effects occur and each pulse can be treated as a first one with respect to its local impact. Extension of this advantageous technique to biocompatible materials, i.e. in this case dental restoration materials and titanium plasma-sprayed implants, is just a matter of consequence. Recently published results on composites fit well with earlier data on dental hard tissue. In case of plaque which has to be removed from implants, it turns out that removal of at least the calcified version is harder than tissue removal. Therefore, besides ultra-short lasers, also Diode and Neodymium lasers, in cw and pulsed modes, have been studied with respect to plaque removal and sterilization. The temperature increase during laser exposure has been experimentally evaluated in parallel.

Signatures of collective electron dynamics in the angular distributions of electrons ejected during ultrashort laser pulse interactions with C+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lysaght, M A; Hutchinson, S; Van der Hart, H W

2009-01-01

We use the time-dependent R-matrix approach to investigate an ultrashort pump-probe scheme to observe collective electron dynamics in C + driven by the repulsion of two equivalent p electrons. By studying the two-dimensional momentum distributions of the ejected electron as a function of the time-delay between an ultrashort pump pulse and an ionizing ultrashort probe pulse it is possible to track the collective dynamics inside the C + ion in the time domain.

Alignment dependence in the breakup of the H2 molecule by an xuv laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan Xiaoxu; Bartschat, Klaus; Schneider, Barry I

2012-01-01

We present theoretical predictions for the angular distribution of the ejected electrons in two-photon double-ionization of H 2 by an xuv laser pulse. The results were obtained by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in prolate spheroidal coordinates. We find a strong dependence of the emission pattern on the relative orientation of the laser polarization vector and the molecular axis.

Plasma lenses for ultrashort multi-petawatt laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palastro, J. P.; Gordon, D.; Hafizi, B.; Johnson, L. A.; Peñano, J.; Hubbard, R. F.; Helle, M.; Kaganovich, D. [Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375-5346 (United States)

2015-12-15

An ideal plasma lens can provide the focusing power of a small f-number, solid-state focusing optic at a fraction of the diameter. An ideal plasma lens, however, relies on a steady-state, linear laser pulse-plasma interaction. Ultrashort multi-petawatt (MPW) pulses possess broad bandwidths and extreme intensities, and, as a result, their interaction with the plasma lens is neither steady state nor linear. Here, we examine nonlinear and time-dependent modifications to plasma lens focusing, and show that these result in chromatic and phase aberrations and amplitude distortion. We find that a plasma lens can provide enhanced focusing for 30 fs pulses with peak power up to ∼1 PW. The performance degrades through the MPW regime, until finally a focusing penalty is incurred at ∼10 PW.

Selective laser melting of hypereutectic Al-Si40-powder using ultra-short laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Ullsperger, T.; Matthäus, G.; Kaden, L.; Engelhardt, H.; Rettenmayr, M.; Risse, S.; Tünnermann, A.; Nolte, S.

2017-12-01

We investigate the use of ultra-short laser pulses for the selective melting of Al-Si40-powder to fabricate complex light-weight structures with wall sizes below 100 μ {m} combined with higher tensile strength and lower thermal expansion coefficient in comparison to standard Al-Si alloys. During the cooling process using conventional techniques, large primary silicon particles are formed which impairs the mechanical and thermal properties. We demonstrate that these limitations can be overcome using ultra-short laser pulses enabling the rapid heating and cooling in a non-thermal equilibrium process. We analyze the morphology characteristics and micro-structures of single tracks and thin-walled structures depending on pulse energy, repetition rate and scanning velocity utilizing pulses with a duration of 500 {fs} at a wavelength of 1030 {nm}. The possibility to specifically change and optimize the microstructure is shown.

Above-threshold ionization of atoms by resonant XUV laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, V D [Departamento de Fisica and IFIBA-CONICET, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Arbo, D G [Instituto de AstronomIa y Fisica del Espacio, FCEN-UBA CONICET, CC 67 Suc 28 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Macri, P A, E-mail: vladimir@df.uba.ar [Departamento de Fisica, FCEyN, Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas de Mar del Plata (IFIMAR), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata-CONICET, Funes 3350, 7600 Mar del Plata (Argentina)

2011-06-28

Above-threshold ionization of atoms by XUV short laser pulses with frequencies close to the resonant 1s-2p transition is investigated. We present a theory based on a variational expression using trial wavefunctions for the final and the initial states. For the former we use a Coulomb-Volkov wavefunction, and for the latter a close-coupling solution of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation considering a few bound states. The close-coupling Coulomb-Volkov theory, fully accounting for the important 1s-2p transition, explains the photoelectron spectrum as well as the total ionization cross sections for the resonant case. We also compare the partial wave populations and angular distributions given by the theory with the numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation.

Heat wave propagation in a thin film irradiated by ultra-short laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Jae Gwon; Kim, Cheol Jung; Lim, C. H.

2004-01-01

A thermal wave solution of a hyperbolic heat conduction equation in a thin film is developed on the basis of the Green's function formalism. Numerical computations are carried out to investigate the temperature response and the propagation of the thermal wave inside a thin film due to a heat pulse generated by ultra-short laser pulses with various laser pulse durations and thickness of the film

Fabrication of Nb/Pb structures through ultrashort pulsed laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gontad, Francisco; Lorusso, Antonella, E-mail: antonella.lorusso@le.infn.it; Perrone, Alessio [Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “E. De Giorgi,” Università del Salento and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Klini, Argyro; Fotakis, Costas [Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), 100 N. Plastira St., GR 70013 Heraklion, Crete (Greece); Broitman, Esteban [Thin Film Physics Division, IFM, Linköping University, 581-83 Linköping (Sweden)

2016-07-15

This work reports the fabrication of Nb/Pb structures with an application as photocathode devices. The use of relatively low energy densities for the ablation of Nb with ultrashort pulses favors the reduction of droplets during the growth of the film. However, the use of laser fluences in this ablation regime results in a consequent reduction in the average deposition rate. On the other hand, despite the low deposition rate, the films present a superior adherence to the substrate and an excellent coverage of the irregular substrate surface, avoiding the appearance of voids or discontinuities on the film surface. Moreover, the low energy densities used for the ablation favor the growth of nanocrystalline films with a similar crystalline structure to the bulk material. Therefore, the use of low ablation energy densities with ultrashort pulses for the deposition of the Nb thin films allows the growth of very adherent and nanocrystalline films with adequate properties for the fabrication of Nb/Pb structures to be included in superconducting radiofrequency cavities.

Ultrashort-pulse-train pump and dump excitation of a diatomic molecule

Science.gov (United States)

de Araujo, Luís E. E.

2010-09-01

An excitation scheme is proposed for transferring population between ground-vibrational levels of a molecule. The transfer is accomplished by pumping and dumping population with a pair of coherent ultrashort-pulse trains via a stationary state. By mismatching the teeth of the frequency combs associated with the pulse trains to the vibrational levels, high selectivity in the excitation, along with high transfer efficiency, is predicted. The pump-dump scheme does not suffer from spontaneous emission losses, it is insensitive to the pump-dump-train delay, and it requires only basic pulse shaping.

Ultrashort-pulse-train pump and dump excitation of a diatomic molecule

OpenAIRE

de Araujo, LEE

2010-01-01

An excitation scheme is proposed for transferring population between ground-vibrational levels of a molecule. The transfer is accomplished by pumping and dumping population with a pair of coherent ultrashort-pulse trains via a stationary state. By mismatching the teeth of the frequency combs associated with the pulse trains to the vibrational levels, high selectivity in the excitation, along with high transfer efficiency, is predicted. The pump-dump scheme does not suffer from spontaneous emi...

Correction of echo shift in reconstruction processing for ultra-short TE pulse sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takizawa, Masahiro; Ootsuka, Takehiro; Abe, Takayuki; Takahashi, Tetsuhiko

2010-01-01

An ultra-short echo time (TE) pulse sequence is composed of a radial sampling that acquires echo signals radially in the K-space and a half-echo acquisition that acquires only half of the echo signal. The shift in the position of the echo signal (echo shift) caused by the timing errors in the gradient magnetic field pulses affects the image quality in the radial sampling with the half-echo acquisition. To improve image quality, we have developed a signal correction algorithm that detects and eliminates this echo shift during reconstruction by performing a pre-scan within 10 seconds. The results showed that image quality is improved under oblique and/or off-centering conditions that frequently cause image distortion due to hardware error. In conclusion, we have developed a robust ultra-short TE pulse sequence that allows wide latitude in the scan parameters, including oblique and off-centering conditions. (author)

Propagation of three-dimensional bipolar ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in an inhomogeneous array of carbon nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Fedorov, Eduard G.; Zhukov, Alexander V.; Bouffanais, Roland; Timashkov, Alexander P.; Malomed, Boris A.; Leblond, Hervé; Mihalache, Dumitru; Rosanov, Nikolay N.; Belonenko, Mikhail B.

2018-04-01

We study the propagation of three-dimensional (3D) bipolar ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in an inhomogeneous array of semiconductor carbon nanotubes. The heterogeneity is represented by a planar region with an increased concentration of conduction electrons. The evolution of the electromagnetic field and electron concentration in the sample are governed by the Maxwell's equations and continuity equation. In particular, nonuniformity of the electromagnetic field along the axis of the nanotubes is taken into account. We demonstrate that depending on values of the parameters of the electromagnetic pulse approaching the region with the higher electron concentration, the pulse is either reflected from the region or passes it. Specifically, our simulations demonstrate that after interacting with the higher-concentration area, the pulse can propagate steadily, without significant spreading. The possibility of such ultrashort electromagnetic pulses propagating in arrays of carbon nanotubes over distances significantly exceeding characteristic dimensions of the pulses makes it possible to consider them as 3D solitons.

Desorption of H atoms from graphite (0001) using XUV free electron laser pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siemer, B.; Olsen, Thomas; Hoger, T.

2010-01-01

The desorption of neutral H atoms from graphite with femtosecond XUV pulses is reported. The velocity distribution of the atoms peaks at extremely low kinetic energies. A DFT-based electron scattering calculation traces this distribution to desorption out of specific adsorption sites on graphite......, and identifies the highest vibrational state in the adsorbate potential as a major source for the slow atoms. It is evident that multiple electron scattering processes are required for this desorption. A direct electronic excitation of a repulsive hydrogen-carbon bond seems not to be important....

Dynamics of interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with solid targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cang Yu; Wang Wei; Zhang Jie

2001-01-01

Using Saha equation, a simple model is proposed for the dynamics of interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and solid targets. An adiabatic expansion model is adopted to study the expansion phase after the heating phase. Temporal evolvement of the dynamics of the interaction is obtained, from which the electron temperature, density, ionization balances can be determined

Self-oscillations in cw solid-state ultrashort-pulse-generating lasers with mode locking by self-focusing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalashnikov, V L; Krimer, D O; Mejid, F; Poloiko, I G; Mikhailov, V P

1999-01-01

Steady-state and transient regimes of ultrashort pulse generation are studied for cw solid-state lasers with mode locking by self-focusing. It is shown that the control parameter, which governs the nature of lasing, is the relationship between self-phase-modulation and the saturation intensity of an efficient shutter, induced by the Kerr self-focusing. Numerical modelling based on mapping the parameters of a quasi-soliton ultrashort pulse, considered in the aberration-free approximation, yields results in good agreement with experiments. (control of laser radiation parameters)

Plasma discreteness effects in the presence of an intense, ultrashort laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savchenko, V.I.; Fisch, N.J.

1996-03-01

Discrete effects of the plasma irradiated by an ultrashort, intense laser pulse are investigated. Although, for most plasmas of interest, the damping of the laser pulse is due to collective plasma effects, in certain regimes the energy absorbed in the plasma microfields can be important. A scattering matrix is derived for an electron scattering off an ion in the presence of an intense laser field.

Plasma discreteness effects in the presence of an intense, ultrashort laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savchenko, V.I.; Fisch, N.J.

1996-03-01

Discrete effects of the plasma irradiated by an ultrashort, intense laser pulse are investigated. Although, for most plasmas of interest, the damping of the laser pulse is due to collective plasma effects, in certain regimes the energy absorbed in the plasma microfields can be important. A scattering matrix is derived for an electron scattering off an ion in the presence of an intense laser field

On the surface topography of ultrashort laser pulse treated steel surfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Obona, J. Vincenc; Ocelik, V.; Skolski, J. Z. P.; Mitko, V. S.; Romer, G. R. B. E.; in't Veld, A. J. Huis; De Hosson, J. Th M.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Huis in’t Veld, A.J.

2011-01-01

This paper concentrates on observations of the surface topography by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on alloyed and stainless steels samples treated by ultrashort laser pulses with duration of 210 fs and 6.7 ps. Globular-like and jet-like objects were found depending on the various levels of the

On the surface topography of ultrashort laser pulse treated steel surface

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vincenc Obona, J.; Ocelik, V.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Mitko, V.S.; Mitko, S.; Römer, Gerardus Richardus, Bernardus, Engelina; Huis in 't Veld, Bert; de Hosson, J.Th.M.

2011-01-01

This paper concentrates on observations of the surface topography by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on alloyed and stainless steels samples treated by ultrashort laser pulses with duration of 210 fs and 6.7 ps. Globular-like and jet-like objects were found depending on the various levels of the

Ultrashort-pulse measurement using noninstantaneous nonlinearities: Raman effects in frequency-resolved optical gating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeLong, K.W.; Ladera, C.L.; Trebino, R.; Kohler, B.; Wilson, K.R.

1995-01-01

Ultrashort-pulse-characterization techniques generally require instantaneously responding media. We show that this is not the case for frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG). We include, as an example, the noninstantaneous Raman response of fused silica, which can cause errors in the retrieved pulse width of as much as 8% for a 25-fs pulse in polarization-gate FROG. We present a modified pulse-retrieval algorithm that deconvolves such slow effects and use it to retrieve pulses of any width. In experiments with 45-fs pulses this algorithm achieved better convergence and yielded a shorter pulse than previous FROG algorithms

Toward sub-femtosecond pump-probe experiments: a dispersionless autocorrelator with attosecond resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Constant, E.; Mevel, E.; Zair, A.; Bagnoud, V.; Salin, F. [Bordeaux-1 Univ., Talence (FR). Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications (CELIA)

2001-07-01

We designed a dispersionless autocorrelator with a sub-femtosecond resolution suitable for the characterization of ultrashort X-UV pulses. We present a proof of feasibility experiment with 11 fs infrared pulses. (orig.)

Optical reprogramming with ultrashort femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Uchugonova, Aisada; Breunig, Hans G.; Batista, Ana; König, Karsten

2015-03-01

The use of sub-15 femtosecond laser pulses in stem cell research is explored with particular emphasis on the optical reprogramming of somatic cells. The reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be evoked through the ectopic expression of defined transcription factors. Conventional approaches utilize retro/lenti-viruses to deliver genes/transcription factors as well as to facilitate the integration of transcription factors into that of the host genome. However, the use of viruses may result in insertional mutations caused by the random integration of genes and as a result, this may limit the use within clinical applications due to the risk of the formation of cancer. In this study, a new approach is demonstrated in realizing non-viral reprogramming through the use of ultrashort laser pulses, to introduce transcription factors into the cell so as to generate iPS cells.

Ultrashort pulse shaping by optical parametric chirped amplification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelet, Ambre

2007-01-01

The aim of this work is to propose new laser architectures based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA). Common goals of OPCPA pre-amplifiers are to reach high energy level while maintaining the spectrum width and to adapt geometry of the amplified beam to the high power laser chain optics. We consider OPCPA as a way to control and to sculpt ultrashort pulses. Our first set-up aims at thwarting possible time recovery default between pump and signal pulses, which lower the energy extraction. A regenerative OPCPA, idler resonant, is a way to produce a high-intensity and high-repetition rate train of amplified signal replicas. Our second laser system pre-compensates the spectral gain narrowing by sculpting pulses directly within the OPCPA section, where a temporal shaping of the pump beam permits a spectro-spectral shaping of the amplified signal. Finally, we propose an OPCPA based on spatial coding and uniform amplification of spectral signal components by using a fan-out periodically poled crystal and a zero dispersion line. (author) [fr

Ionization of molecular hydrogen in ultrashort intense laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vanne, Yulian V.

2010-03-18

A novel ab initio numerical approach is developed and applied that solves the time-dependent Schroedinger equation describing two-electron diatomic molecules (e.g. molecular hydrogen) exposed to an intense ultrashort laser pulse. The method is based on the fixed-nuclei and the non-relativistic dipole approximations and aims to accurately describe both correlated electrons in full dimensionality. The method is applicable for a wide range of the laser pulse parameters and is able to describe both few-photon and many-photon single ionization processes, also in a non-perturbative regime. A key advantage of the method is its ability to treat the strong-field response of the molecules with arbitrary orientation of the molecular axis with respect to the linear-polarized laser field. Thus, this work reports on the first successful orientation-dependent analysis of the multiphoton ionization of H{sub 2} performed by means of a full-dimensional numerical treatment. Besides the investigation of few-photon regime, an extensive numerical study of the ionization by ultrashort frequency-doubled Ti:sapphire laser pulses (400 nm) is presented. Performing a series of calculations for different internuclear separations, the total ionization yields of H{sub 2} and D{sub 2} in their ground vibrational states are obtained for both parallel and perpendicular orientations. A series of calculations for 800 nm laser pulses are used to test a popular simple interference model. Besides the discussion of the ab initio numerical method, this work considers different aspects related to the application of the strong-field approximation (SFA) for investigation of a strong-field response of an atomic and molecular system. Thus, a deep analysis of the gauge problem of SFA is performed and the quasistatic limit of the velocity-gauge SFA ionization rates is derived. The applications of the length-gauge SFA are examined and a recently proposed generalized Keldysh theory is criticized. (orig.)

Ionization of molecular hydrogen in ultrashort intense laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanne, Yulian V.

2010-01-01

A novel ab initio numerical approach is developed and applied that solves the time-dependent Schroedinger equation describing two-electron diatomic molecules (e.g. molecular hydrogen) exposed to an intense ultrashort laser pulse. The method is based on the fixed-nuclei and the non-relativistic dipole approximations and aims to accurately describe both correlated electrons in full dimensionality. The method is applicable for a wide range of the laser pulse parameters and is able to describe both few-photon and many-photon single ionization processes, also in a non-perturbative regime. A key advantage of the method is its ability to treat the strong-field response of the molecules with arbitrary orientation of the molecular axis with respect to the linear-polarized laser field. Thus, this work reports on the first successful orientation-dependent analysis of the multiphoton ionization of H 2 performed by means of a full-dimensional numerical treatment. Besides the investigation of few-photon regime, an extensive numerical study of the ionization by ultrashort frequency-doubled Ti:sapphire laser pulses (400 nm) is presented. Performing a series of calculations for different internuclear separations, the total ionization yields of H 2 and D 2 in their ground vibrational states are obtained for both parallel and perpendicular orientations. A series of calculations for 800 nm laser pulses are used to test a popular simple interference model. Besides the discussion of the ab initio numerical method, this work considers different aspects related to the application of the strong-field approximation (SFA) for investigation of a strong-field response of an atomic and molecular system. Thus, a deep analysis of the gauge problem of SFA is performed and the quasistatic limit of the velocity-gauge SFA ionization rates is derived. The applications of the length-gauge SFA are examined and a recently proposed generalized Keldysh theory is criticized. (orig.)

Annealing of SnO2 thin films by ultra-short laser pulses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scorticati, D.; Illiberi, A.; Bor, T.; Eijt, S.W.H.; Schut, H.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Lange, D.F. de; Huis In't Veld, A.J.

2014-01-01

Post-deposition annealing by ultra-short laser pulses can modify the optical properties of SnO2 thin films by means of thermal processing. Industrial grade SnO2 films exhibited improved optical properties after picosecond laser irradiation, at the expense of a slightly increased sheet resistance

Cubic phase control of ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mecseki, K.; Erdelyi, M.; Kovacs, A.P.; Szabo, G.

2006-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. The temporal shape of an ultrashort laser pulse may change upon propagating through a linear dispersive medium having a phase shift ψω. The change can be characterized by the Taylor-coefficients of the phase shift which are calculated around the central frequency ω 0 of the pulse. Measurements and independent control of the group delay dispersion (GDD, ψ'(ω 0 )) and the third order dispersion (TOD, ψ'(ω 0 )) are important in several research fields, particularly in the generation of ultrashort laser pulses by chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and pulse shaping for molecular control. The GDD and the TOD of an ideal pulse compressor are equal to the negative of the corresponding dispersion coefficients of the medium. However, in the case of prism-pair and grating-pair compressor is different from the ratio of the coefficients of the medium to be compensated for. Therefore it is necessary to develop so-called cubic compressors that are able to control the TOD of the pulse, yet, do not affect the GDD. In this paper a new cubic compressor setup is investigated theoretically and experimentally, which resembles the set-up proposed by White, however, we control the GDD and the TOD by the position of a birefringent, semi-cylinder crystal place around the focal point of an achromatic lens. For the evaluation of the phase shift introduced by the proposed cubic compressor, a ray tracing program was written. The program allows optimizing the compressor parameters, such as the radius of the crystal, magnification of the lens etc. Calcite was applied because it is a strong birefringent material. Calculations showed that there is a trajectory, along which shifting the crystal the TOD can be tuned independently of the GDD. The value of the TOD changed in a relatively wide range between -3.15 x 10 5 fs 3 and -1.67 x 10 5 fs 3 . Although the defocus also affects the angular dispersion of the pulse leaving the compressor, if does not exceed

Simulation study on cross polarization scattering of ultrashort-pulse electromagnetic waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsuragawa, Naoki; Hojo, Hitoshi; Mase, Atushi

1996-11-01

Simulation study on cross polarization scattering of ultrashort-pulse electromagnetic waves due to magnetic fluctuations is presented. One-dimensional coupled wave equations for the ordinary and extraordinary modes are solved for incident unipolar sub-cycle pulses in an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma. It is shown that the peak frequencies in the frequency-spectral signals of the mode-converted reflected waves are determined from the Bragg resonance condition in the wave numbers of the ordinary mode, the extraordinary mode and the magnetic fluctuations for relatively short-wavelength localized magnetic fluctuations. (author)

Innovation: study of 'ultra-short' time reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2001-01-01

This short article presents the new Elyse facility of Orsay-Paris 11 university for the study of ultra-short chemical and biochemical phenomena. Elyse uses the 'pump-probe' technique which consists in two perfectly synchronized electron and photon pulses. It comprises a 3 to 9 MeV electron accelerator with a HF gun photo-triggered with a laser. Elyse can initiate reactions using ultra-short electron pulses (radiolysis) or ultra-short photon pulses (photolysis). (J.S.)

Plasma luminescence feedback control system for precise ultrashort pulse laser tissue ablation

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Beop-Min; Feit, Michael D.; Rubenchik, Alexander M.; Gold, David M.; Darrow, Christopher B.; Marion, John E., II; Da Silva, Luiz B.

1998-05-01

Plasma luminescence spectroscopy was used for precise ablation of bone tissue without damaging nearby soft tissue using an ultrashort pulse laser. Strong contrast of the luminescence spectra between bone marrow and spinal cord provided the real time feedback control so bone tissue is selectively ablated while preserving the spinal cord.

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of aluminum oxide using ultrashort precursor injection pulses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dingemans, G.; Sanden, van de M.C.M.; Kessels, W.M.M.

2012-01-01

An alternative plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method is developed and applied for the deposition of high-quality aluminum oxide (AlOx) films. The PECVD method combines a continuous plasma with ultrashort precursor injection pulses. We demonstrate that the modulation of the

Imaging Electron Dynamics with Ultrashort Light Pulses: A Theory Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daria Popova-Gorelova

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A wide range of ultrafast phenomena in various atomic, molecular and condense matter systems is governed by electron dynamics. Therefore, the ability to image electronic motion in real space and real time would provide a deeper understanding of such processes and guide developments of tools to control them. Ultrashort light pulses, which can provide unprecedented time resolution approaching subfemtosecond time scale, are perspective to achieve real-time imaging of electron dynamics. This task is challenging not only from an experimental view, but also from a theory perspective, since standard theories describing light-matter interaction in a stationary regime can provide erroneous results in an ultrafast case as demonstrated by several theoretical studies. We review the theoretical framework based on quantum electrodynamics, which has been shown to be necessary for an accurate description of time-resolved imaging of electron dynamics with ultrashort light pulses. We compare the results of theoretical studies of time-resolved nonresonant and resonant X-ray scattering, and time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and show that the corresponding time-resolved signals encode analogous information about electron dynamics. Thereby, the information about an electronic system provided by these time-resolved techniques is different from the information provided by their time-independent analogues.

Electron emission from insulator surfaces by ultra-short laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acuna, M; Gravielle, M S, E-mail: mario@iafe.uba.a, E-mail: msilvia@iafe.uba.a [Institutes de AstronomIa y Fisica del Espacio, Casilla de Correo 67, Sucursal 28, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2009-11-01

Photoelectron emission from insulator surfaces induced by ultra-short laser pulses is studied within a time-dependent distorted wave method. The proposed approach combines the Volkov phase, which takes into account the laser interaction, with a simple representation of the unperturbed surface states, given by the Tight-binding method. The model is applied to evaluate the photoelectron emission from a LiF(001) surface, finding effects of interference produced by the crystal lattice.

Breakup of the H2 molecule by xuv laser pulses: A time-dependent treatment in prolate spheroidal coordinates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan Xiaoxu; Bartschat, Klaus; Schneider, Barry I

2012-01-01

We present theoretical predictions for one-photon double-ionization of H 2 by an xuv laser pulse. The results were obtained by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in prolate spheroidal coordinates. Good agreement is obtained with predictions from other time-dependent and time-independent calculations, except for the recent 'exterior complex scaling' treatment by Tao et al. (Phys. Rev. A 82 023423).

Ultrashort Generation Regimes in the All-Fiber Kerr Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Ring Laser for Terahertz Pulsed Spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. S. Voropaev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Many femtosecond engineering applications require for a stable generation of ultrashort pulses. Thus, in the terahertz pulsed spectroscopy a measurement error in the refractive index is strongly dependent on the pulse duration stability with allowable variation of few femtoseconds. The aim of this work is to study the ultrashort pulses (USP regimes stability in the all – fiber erbium doped ring laser with Kerr mode-locking. The study was conducted at several different values of the total resonator intra-cavity dispersion. Three laser schemes with the intra-cavity dispersion values from -1.232 ps2 to +0.008 ps2 have been studied. In the experiment there were two regimes of generation observed: the stretched pulse generation and ordinary soliton generation. Main attention is focused on the stability of regimes under study. The most stable regime was that of the stretched pulse generation with a spectrum form of sech2 , possible pulse duration of 490 fs at least, repetition rate of 2.9 MHz, and average output power of 17 mW. It is worth noting, that obtained regimes had characteristics suitable for the successful use in the terahertz pulsed spectroscopy. The results may be useful in the following areas of science and technology: a high-precision spectroscopy, optical frequency standards, super-continuum generation, and terahertz pulsed spectroscopy. The future system development is expected to stabilize duration and repetition rate of the obtained regime of ultra-short pulse generation.

Time-dependent B-spline R-matrix approach to double ionization of atoms by XUV laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guan Xiaoxu; Zatsarinny, Oleg; Bartschat, Klaus [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa 50311 (United States); Noble, Clifford J [Computational Science and Engineering Department, Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); Schneider, Barry I, E-mail: xiaoxu.guan@drake.ed, E-mail: klaus.bartschat@drake.ed, E-mail: bschneid@nsf.go [Physics Division, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virgina 22230 (United States)

2009-11-01

We present an ab initio and non-perturbative time-dependent approach to the problem of double ionization of a general atom driven by intense XUV laser pulses. After using a highly flexible B-spline R-matrix method to generate field-free Hamiltonian and electric dipole matrices, the initial state is propagated in time using an efficient Arnoldi-Lanczos scheme. Example results for momentum and energy distributions of the two outgoing electrons in two-color pump-probe processes of He are presented.

Coherent Control of Multiphoton Transitions in the Gas and Condensed Phases with Shaped Ultrashort Pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dantus, Marcos

2008-01-01

Controlling laser-molecule interactions has become an integral part of developing devices and applications in spectroscopy, microscopy, optical switching, micromachining and photochemistry. Coherent control of multiphoton transitions could bring a significant improvement of these methods. In microscopy, multi-photon transitions are used to activate different contrast agents and suppress background fluorescence; coherent control could generate selective probe excitation. In photochemistry, different dissociative states are accessed through two, three, or more photon transitions; coherent control could be used to select the reaction pathway and therefore the yield-specific products. For micromachining and processing a wide variety of materials, femtosecond lasers are now used routinely. Understanding the interactions between the intense femtosecond pulse and the material could lead to technologically important advances. Pulse shaping could then be used to optimize the desired outcome. The scope of our research program is to develop robust and efficient strategies to control nonlinear laser-matter interactions using ultrashort shaped pulses in gas and condensed phases. Our systematic research has led to significant developments in a number of areas relevant to the AMO Physics group at DOE, among them: generation of ultrashort phase shaped pulses, coherent control and manipulation of quantum mechanical states in gas and condensed phases, behavior of isolated molecules under intense laser fields, behavior of condensed phase matter under intense laser field and implications on micromachining with ultrashort pulses, coherent control of nanoparticles their surface plasmon waves and their nonlinear optical behavior, and observation of coherent Coulomb explosion processes at 10 16 W/cm 2 . In all, the research has resulted in 36 publications (five journal covers) and nine invention disclosures, five of which have continued on to patenting

A time-dependent B-spline R-matrix approach to double ionization of atoms by XUV laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guan Xiaoxu; Zatsarinny, O; Noble, C J; Bartschat, K [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Drake University, Des Moines, IA 50311 (United States); Schneider, B I [Physics Division, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virgina 22230 (United States)], E-mail: xiaoxu.guan@drake.edu, E-mail: oleg.zatsarinny@drake.edu, E-mail: cjn@maxnet.co.nz, E-mail: klaus.bartschat@drake.edu, E-mail: bschneid@nsf.gov

2009-07-14

We present an ab initio and non-perturbative time-dependent approach to the problem of double ionization of a general atom driven by intense XUV laser pulses. After using a highly flexible B-spline R-matrix method to generate field-free Hamiltonian and electric dipole matrices, the initial state is propagated in time using an efficient Arnoldi-Lanczos scheme. Test calculations for double ionization of He by a single laser pulse yield good agreement with benchmark results obtained with other methods. The method is then applied to two-colour pump-probe processes, for which momentum and energy distributions of the two outgoing electrons are presented.

Axisymmetric modeling of ultrashort-pulse laser interactions with thin metal film

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Majchrzak

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The hyperbolic two-temperature model is used in order to describe the heat propagation in metal film subjected to an ultrashort-pulse laser heating. An axisymmetric heat soureceewith Gaussian temporeal and spatial distributions has been taken into account. At the stage of numerical computations the finite difference method is used. In the final part of the paper the examples of computations are shown.

The time resolved measurement of ultrashort terahertz-band electric fields without an ultrashort probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walsh, D. A.; Snedden, E. W.; Jamison, S. P.

2015-01-01

The time-resolved detection of ultrashort pulsed THz-band electric field temporal profiles without an ultrashort laser probe is demonstrated. A non-linear interaction between a narrow-bandwidth optical probe and the THz pulse transposes the THz spectral intensity and phase information to the optical region, thereby generating an optical pulse whose temporal electric field envelope replicates the temporal profile of the real THz electric field. This optical envelope is characterised via an autocorrelation based FROG (frequency resolved optical gating) measurement, hence revealing the THz temporal profile. The combination of a narrow-bandwidth, long duration, optical probe, and self-referenced FROG makes the technique inherently immune to timing jitter between the optical probe and THz pulse and may find particular application where the THz field is not initially generated via ultrashort laser methods, such as the measurement of longitudinal electron bunch profiles in particle accelerators

Nonresonant interaction of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses with multilevel quantum systems

Science.gov (United States)

Belenov, E.; Isakov, V.; Nazarkin, A.

1994-01-01

Some features of the excitation of multilevel quantum systems under the action of electromagnetic pulses which are shorter than the inverse frequency of interlevel transitions are considered. It is shown that the interaction is characterized by a specific type of selectivity which is not connected with the resonant absorption of radiation. The simplest three-level model displays the inverse population of upper levels. The effect of an ultrashort laser pulse on a multilevel molecule was regarded as an instant reception of the oscillation velocity by the oscillator and this approach showed an effective excitation and dissociation of the molecule. The estimations testify to the fact that these effects can be observed using modern femtosecond lasers.

Interaction of high power ultrashort laser pulses with plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geissler, M.

2000-12-01

The invention of short laser-pulses has opened a vast application range from testing ultra high-speed semiconductor devices to precision material processing, from triggering and tracing chemical reactions to sophisticated surgical applications in opthalmology and neurosurgery. In physical science, ultrashort light pulses enable researchers to follow ultrafast relaxation processes in the microcosm on time scale never before accessible and study light-matter-interactions at unprecedented intensity levels. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the interaction of ultrashort high power laser pulses with plasmas for a broad intensity range. First the ionization of atoms with intense laser fields is investigated. For sufficient strong and low frequent laser pulses, electrons can be removed from the core by a tunnel process through a potential barrier formed by the electric field of the laser. This mechanism is described by a well-established theory, but the interaction of few-cycle laser pulses with atoms can lead to regimes where the tunnel theory loses its validity. This regime is investigated and a new description of the ionization is found. Although the ionization plays a major role in many high-energy laser processes, there exist no simple and complete model for the evolution of laser pulses in field-ionizing media. A new propagation equation and the polarization response for field-ionizing media are presented and the results are compared with experimental data. Further the interaction of high power laser radiation with atoms result in nonlinear response of the electrons. The spectrum of this induced nonlinear dipole moment reaches beyond visible wavelengths into the x-ray regime. This effect is known as high harmonic generation (HHG) and is a promising tool for the generation of coherent shot wavelength radiation, but the conversions are still not efficient enough for most practical applications. Phase matching schemes to overcome the limitation are discussed

Single-shot spectro-temporal characterization of XUV pulses from a seeded free-electron laser

Science.gov (United States)

de Ninno, Giovanni; Gauthier, David; Mahieu, Benoît; Ribič, Primož Rebernik; Allaria, Enrico; Cinquegrana, Paolo; Danailov, Miltcho Bojanov; Demidovich, Alexander; Ferrari, Eugenio; Giannessi, Luca; Penco, Giuseppe; Sigalotti, Paolo; Stupar, Matija

2015-08-01

Intense ultrashort X-ray pulses produced by modern free-electron lasers (FELs) allow one to probe biological systems, inorganic materials and molecular reaction dynamics with nanoscale spatial and femtoscale temporal resolution. These experiments require the knowledge, and possibly the control, of the spectro-temporal content of individual pulses. FELs relying on seeding have the potential to produce spatially and temporally fully coherent pulses. Here we propose and implement an interferometric method, which allows us to carry out the first complete single-shot spectro-temporal characterization of the pulses, generated by an FEL in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. Moreover, we provide the first direct evidence of the temporal coherence of a seeded FEL working in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range and show the way to control the light generation process to produce Fourier-limited pulses. Experiments are carried out at the FERMI FEL in Trieste.

XUV preionization effects in high power magnetically insulated diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maenchen, J.; Woodworth, J.R.; Foltz, B.W.

1985-01-01

Electrode surface desorption and photoionization by an intense XUV pulse has been shown to dramatically improve a vacuum diode impedance history. The 6-Terawatt Applied-B ion diode experiment on PBFA I is limited by a delay in both diode and ion current initiation. The insulation magnetic field impedes electron crossings which are believed to aid the ion source initiation. The diode is therefore initially a severe overmatch to the accelerator 40-nsec, 2.2-MV, 0.5-ohm pulse. The diode current increases during the pulse, leading to a rapidly falling impedance history. The application of an intense (30 to 50-kW/cm 2 ) XUV flux from an array of sixteen 60-kA spark sources is found to cause immediate diode current flow, resulting in both a greatly improved impedance history and the prompt initiation of an intense higher power ion beam

Modification of transparent materials with ultrashort laser pulses: What is energetically and mechanically meaningful?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulgakova, Nadezhda M., E-mail: nadezhda.bulgakova@hilase.cz [HiLASE Centre, Institute of Physics ASCR, Za Radnicí 828, 25241 Dolní Břežany (Czech Republic); Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, 1 Lavrentyev Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Zhukov, Vladimir P. [Institute of Computational Technologies SB RAS, 6 Lavrentyev Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State Technical University, 20 Karl Marx Ave., 630073, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Sonina, Svetlana V. [Novosibirsk State University, 1 Koptuga Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Meshcheryakov, Yuri P. [Design and Technology Branch of Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics SB RAS, Tereshkovoi street 29, 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2015-12-21

A comprehensive analysis of laser-induced modification of bulk glass by single ultrashort laser pulses is presented which is based on combination of optical Maxwell-based modeling with thermoelastoplastic simulations of post-irradiation behavior of matter. A controversial question on free electron density generated inside bulk glass by ultrashort laser pulses in modification regimes is addressed on energy balance grounds. Spatiotemporal dynamics of laser beam propagation in fused silica have been elucidated for the regimes used for direct laser writing in bulk glass. 3D thermoelastoplastic modeling of material relocation dynamics under laser-induced stresses has been performed up to the microsecond timescale when all motions in the material decay. The final modification structure is found to be imprinted into material matrix already at sub-nanosecond timescale. Modeling results agree well with available experimental data on laser light transmission through the sample and the final modification structure.

Effect of group velocity mismatch on acousto-optic interaction of ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yushkov, K B; Molchanov, V Ya

2011-01-01

Equations describing acousto-optic diffraction of ultrashort laser pulses in an anisotropic medium are derived, taking into account the group velocity mismatch of optical eigenmodes. It is shown that the solution of the modified coupled-mode equations taking into account the group delay is characterised by an increase in the pulse duration, a decrease in diffraction efficiency, a change in the shape of the wave packet envelope, as well as by an increase in the width of the transmission function.

Nonlinear scattering in hard tissue studied with ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eichler, J.; Kim, B.M.

2002-01-01

The back-scattered spectrum of ultrashort laser pulses (800 nm, 0.2 ps) was studied in human dental and other hard tissues in vitro below the ablation threshold. Frequency doubled radiation (SHG), frequency tripled radiation and two-photon fluorescence were detected. The relative yield for these processes was measured for various pulse energies. The dependence of the SHG signal on probe thickness was determined in forward and back scattering geometry. SHG is sensitive to linear polarization of the incident laser radiation. SHG in human teeth was studied in vitro showing larger signals in dentin than in cementum and enamel. In carious areas no SHG signal could be detected. Possible applications of higher harmonic radiation for diagnostics and microscopy are discussed. (orig.)

Chromium carbide thin films deposited by ultra-short pulse laser deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teghil, R.; Santagata, A.; De Bonis, A.; Galasso, A.; Villani, P.

2009-01-01

Pulsed laser deposition performed by a laser with a pulse duration of 250 fs has been used to deposit films from a Cr 3 C 2 target. Due to the different processes involved in the laser ablation when it is performed by an ultra-short pulse source instead of a conventional short pulse one, it has been possible to obtain in vacuum films containing only one type of carbide, Cr 3 C 2 , as shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. On the other hand, Cr 3 C 2 is not the only component of the films, since a large amount of amorphous carbon is also present. The films, deposited at room temperature, are amorphous and seem to be formed by the coalescence of a large number of particles with nanometric size. The film composition can be explained in terms of thermal evaporation from particles ejected from the target.

Modelling of the energy density deposition profiles of ultrashort laser pulses focused in optical media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vidal, F; Lavertu, P-L; Bigaouette, N; Moore, F; Brunette, I; Giguere, D; Kieffer, J-C; Olivie, G; Ozaki, T

2007-01-01

The propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in dense optical media is investigated theoretically by solving numerically the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. It is shown that the maximum energy density deposition as a function of the pulse energy presents a well-defined threshold that increases with the pulse duration. As a consequence of plasma defocusing, the maximum energy density deposition is generally smaller and the size of the energy deposition zone is generally larger for shorter pulses. Nevertheless, significant values of the energy density deposition can be obtained near threshold, i.e., at lower energy than for longer pulses

Interaction of Rydberg atoms with two contrapropagating ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lugovskoy, A. V.; Bray, I.

2006-01-01

In this paper we investigate how Rydberg atoms respond to perturbation by two contrapropagating ultrashort laser pulses. We consider the case where the durations of both pulses τ 1 and τ 2 are shorter than the inverse of the initial-state energy ε i -1 . When acting alone such a pulse passes through the atom without noticeable alteration in the atomic state. The situation is different if two such pulses interfere in the region of atom localization. In this case the atomic response is significantly enhanced. This is due to the nonzero momentum transferred to the electron by the interplay of the electric field of one pulse and the magnetic field of the other. The sudden perturbation approximation is used to evaluate the transition probabilities. They are shown to depend on the atom position with respect to the pulse interference region. This dependence is determined by the relationship between the atomic diameter d i and the interference-region size l=c(τ 1 +τ 2 ) (c is the speed of light). If d i i >>l the transition probabilities are sensitive to the electron density distribution along the propagation direction. The probabilities of the initial-state destruction and atom ionization drop as l/d i irrespective of the characteristics of the pulses

Characteristics of soft x-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) emission from laser-produced highly charged rhodium ions

Science.gov (United States)

Barte, Ellie Floyd; Hara, Hiroyuki; Tamura, Toshiki; Gisuji, Takuya; Chen, When-Bo; Lokasani, Ragava; Hatano, Tadashi; Ejima, Takeo; Jiang, Weihua; Suzuki, Chihiro; Li, Bowen; Dunne, Padraig; O'Sullivan, Gerry; Sasaki, Akira; Higashiguchi, Takeshi; Limpouch, Jiří

2018-05-01

We have characterized the soft x-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) emission of rhodium (Rh) plasmas produced using dual pulse irradiation by 150-ps or 6-ns pre-pulses, followed by a 150-ps main pulse. We have studied the emission enhancement dependence on the inter-pulse time separation and found it to be very significant for time separations less than 10 ns between the two laser pulses when using 6-ns pre-pulses. The behavior using a 150-ps pre-pulse was consistent with such plasmas displaying only weak self-absorption effects in the expanding plasma. The results demonstrate the advantage of using dual pulse irradiation to produce the brighter plasmas required for XUV applications.

Ultrashort laser-pulse diagnostics for detection of ordering within an ion beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calabrese, R.; Guidi, V.; Lenisa, P.; Mariotti, E.

1996-01-01

A novel diagnostic method to detect ordering within one-dimensional ion beams in a storage ring is presented. The ions are simultaneously excited by a ultrashort pulsed laser (≅1 ps) at two different locations along the beam and fluorescence is detected by a group of four photomultipliers. Correlation in fluorescence signals is a firm indication that the ion beam has an ordered structure. (orig.)

A high-order corrected description of ultra-short and tightly focused laser pulses, and their electron acceleration in vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, J.T.; Wang, P.X.; Kong, Q.; Chen, Z.; Ho, Y.K.

2007-01-01

Field expressions are derived for ultra-short, tightly focused laser pulses up to the second-order temporal correction and seventh-order spatial correction. To evaluate the importance of these corrections, we simulate these fields and investigate the final energy of the accelerated electrons. We vary the order of the corrected expressions, the pulse duration, and the beam waist. We find that electron capture is still an important and generic phenomenon in ultra-short, tightly focused laser pulses. While small differences in the electron acceleration are obtained for various orders of the corrected field equations relative to the paraxial field equations, there is no qualitative difference in the behavior of the electron. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial corrections are found to be correlated

Radiobiological response to ultra-short pulsed megavoltage electron beams of ultra-high pulse dose rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Beyreuther, Elke; Karsch, Leonhard; Laschinsky, Lydia; Leßmann, Elisabeth; Naumburger, Doreen; Oppelt, Melanie; Richter, Christian; Schürer, Michael; Woithe, Julia; Pawelke, Jörg

2015-08-01

In line with the long-term aim of establishing the laser-based particle acceleration for future medical application, the radiobiological consequences of the typical ultra-short pulses and ultra-high pulse dose rate can be investigated with electron delivery. The radiation source ELBE (Electron Linac for beams with high Brilliance and low Emittance) was used to mimic the quasi-continuous electron beam of a clinical linear accelerator (LINAC) for comparison with electron pulses at the ultra-high pulse dose rate of 10(10) Gy min(-1) either at the low frequency of a laser accelerator or at 13 MHz avoiding effects of prolonged dose delivery. The impact of pulse structure was analyzed by clonogenic survival assay and by the number of residual DNA double-strand breaks remaining 24 h after irradiation of two human squamous cell carcinoma lines of differing radiosensitivity. The radiation response of both cell lines was found to be independent from electron pulse structure for the two endpoints under investigation. The results reveal, that ultra-high pulse dose rates of 10(10) Gy min(-1) and the low repetition rate of laser accelerated electrons have no statistically significant influence (within the 95% confidence intervals) on the radiobiological effectiveness of megavoltage electrons.

Optical third-harmonic generation using ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoker, D.; Keto, J.W.; Becker, M.F.

2005-01-01

To better predict optical third-harmonic generation (THG) in transparent dielectrics, we model a typical ultrashort pulsed Gaussian beam, including both group velocity mismatch and phase mismatch of the fundamental and harmonic fields. We find that competition between the group velocity mismatch and phase mismatch leads to third-harmonic generation that is sensitive only to interfaces. In this case, the spatial resolution is determined by the group velocity walk-off length. THG of modern femtosecond lasers in optical solids is a bulk process, without a surface susceptibility, but bears the signature of a surface enhancement effect in z-scan measurements. We demonstrate the accuracy of the model, by showing the agreement between the predicted spectral intensity and the measured third-harmonic spectrum from a thin sapphire crystal

Single-pass, efficient type-I phase-matched frequency doubling of high-power ultrashort-pulse Yb-fiber laser using LiB_3O_5

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, Mukesh Kumar; Kumar, Samir; Das, Ritwick

2016-05-01

We report 48 % efficient single-pass second harmonic generation of high-power ultrashort-pulse ({≈ }250 fs) Yb-fiber laser by utilizing type-I phase matching in LiB_3O_5 (LBO) crystal. The choice of LBO among other borate crystals for high-power frequency doubling is essentially motivated by large thermal conductivity, low birefringence and weak group velocity dispersion. By optimally focussing the beam in a 4-mm-long LBO crystal, we have generated about 2.3 W of average power at 532 nm using 4.8 W of available pump power at 1064 nm. The ultrashort green pulses were found out to be near-transform limited sech^2 pulses with a pulse width of Δ τ ≈ 150 fs and being delivered at 78 MHz repetition rate. Due to appreciably low spatial walk-off angle for LBO ({≈ }0.4°), we obtain M^2beam which signifies marginal distortion in comparison with the pump beam (M^2<1.15). We also discuss the impact of third-order optical nonlinearity of the LBO crystal on the generated ultrashort SH pulses.

Atomistic simulations of ultra-short pulse laser ablation of aluminum: validity of the Lambert-Beer law

Science.gov (United States)

Eisfeld, Eugen; Roth, Johannes

2018-05-01

Based on hybrid molecular dynamics/two-temperature simulations, we study the validity of the application of Lambert-Beer's law, which is conveniently used in various modeling approaches of ultra-short pulse laser ablation of metals. The method is compared to a more rigorous treatment, which involves solving the Helmholtz wave equation for different pulse durations ranging from 100 fs to 5 ps and a wavelength of 800 nm. Our simulations show a growing agreement with increasing pulse durations, and we provide appropriate optical parameters for all investigated pulse durations.

Ar 3p photoelectron sideband spectra in two-color XUV + NIR laser fields

Science.gov (United States)

Minemoto, Shinichirou; Shimada, Hiroyuki; Komatsu, Kazma; Komatsubara, Wataru; Majima, Takuya; Mizuno, Tomoya; Owada, Shigeki; Sakai, Hirofumi; Togashi, Tadashi; Yoshida, Shintaro; Yabashi, Makina; Yagishita, Akira

2018-04-01

We performed photoelectron spectroscopy using femtosecond XUV pulses from a free-electron laser and femtosecond near-infrared pulses from a synchronized laser, and succeeded in measuring Ar 3p photoelectron sideband spectra due to the two-color above-threshold ionization. In our calculations of the first-order time-dependent perturbation theoretical model based on the strong field approximation, the photoelectron sideband spectra and their angular distributions are well reproduced by considering the timing jitter between the XUV and the NIR pulses, showing that the timing jitter in our experiments was distributed over the width of {1.0}+0.4-0.2 ps. The present approach can be used as a method to evaluate the timing jitter inevitable in FEL experiments.

Nonlinear Thomson scattering of a relativistically strong tightly focused ultrashort laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vais, O. E.; Bochkarev, S. G., E-mail: bochkar@sci.lebedev.ru; Bychenkov, V. Yu. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation)

2016-09-15

The problem of nonlinear Thomson scattering of a relativistically strong linearly polarized ultrashort laser pulse tightly focused into a spot with a diameter of D{sub F} ≳ λ (where λ is the laser wavelength) is solved. The energy, spectral, and angular distributions of radiation generated due to Thomson scattering from test electrons located in the focal region are found. The characteristics of scattered radiation are studied as functions of the tightness of laser focusing and the initial position of test particles relative to the center of the focal region for a given laser pulse energy. It is demonstrated that the ultratight focusing is not optimal for obtaining the brightest and hardest source of secondary electromagnetic radiation. The hardest and shortest radiation pulse is generated when the beam waist diameter is ≃10λ.

On the surface topography of ultrashort laser pulse treated steel surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vincenc Obona, J.; Ocelík, V.; Skolski, J.Z.P.; Mitko, V.S.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Huis in’t Veld, A.J.; De Hosson, J.Th.M.

2011-01-01

This paper concentrates on observations of the surface topography by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on alloyed and stainless steels samples treated by ultrashort laser pulses with duration of 210 fs and 6.7 ps. Globular-like and jet-like objects were found depending on the various levels of the fluence applied. It is shown that these features appear due to solid-liquid and liquid-gas transitions within surface layer irradiated by intense laser light. The observations are confronted to the theory of short-pulsed laser light-matter interactions, including interference, excitation of electrons, electron-phonon coupling as well as subsequent ablation. It is shown that the orientation of small ripples does not always depend on the direction of the polarization of laser light.

A broadly tunable autocorrelator for ultra-short, ultra-high power infrared optical pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szarmes, E.B.; Madey, J.M.J. [Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)

1995-12-31

We describe the design of a crossed-beam, optical autocorrelator that uses an uncoated, birefringent beamsplitter to split a linearly polarized incident pulse into two orthogonally polarized pulses, and a Type II, SHG crystal to generate the intensity autocorrelation function. The uncoated beamsplitter accommodates extremely broad tunability while precluding any temporal distortion of ultrashort optical pulses at the dielectric interface, and the specific design provides efficient operation between 1 {mu}m and 4 {mu}m. Furthermore, the use of Type II SHG completely eliminates any single-beam doubling, so the autocorrelator can be operated at very shallow crossed-beam angles without generating a background pedestal. The autocorrelator has been constructed and installed in the Mark III laboratory at Duke University as a broadband diagnostic for ongoing compression experiments on the chirped-pulse FEL.

Water spray assisted ultrashort laser pulse ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvennoinen, M.; Kaakkunen, J.J.J.; Paivasaari, K.; Vahimaa, P.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We show the novel method to use multibeam processing with ultrashort pulses efficiently. ► Sprayed thin water layer on ablation zone enhances ablation rate and quality. ► In some cases this method also enables ablation of the deeper and straighter holes compared to ones made without the water layer. ► Method also makes possible to directly write features without the self-organizing structures. - Abstract: We have studied femtosecond ablation under sprayed thin water film and its influence and benefits compared with ablation in the air atmosphere. These have been studied in case of the hole and the groove ablation using IR femtosecond laser. Water enhances the ablation rate and in some situations it makes possible to ablate the holes with a higher aspect ratio. While ablating the grooves, the water spray allows using the high fluences without the generation of the self-organized structures.

Analytical performances of laser-induced micro-plasma of Al samples with single and double ultrashort pulses in air and with Ar-jet: A comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semerok, A.; Dutouquet, C.

2014-01-01

Ultrashort pulse laser microablation coupled with optical emission spectroscopy was under study to obtain several micro-LIBS analytical features (shot-to-shot reproducibility, spectral line intensity and lifetime, calibration curves, detection limits). Laser microablation of Al matrix samples with known Cu- and Mg-concentrations was performed by single and double pulses of 50 fs and 1 ps pulse duration in air and with Ar-jet. The micro-LIBS analytical features obtained under different experimental conditions were characterized and compared. The highest shot-to-shot reproducibility and gain in plasma spectral line intensity were obtained with double pulses with Ar-jet for both 50 fs and 1 ps pulse durations. The best calibration curves were obtained with 1 ps pulse duration with Ar-jet. Micro-LIBS with ultrashort double pulses may find its effective application for surface elemental microcartography. - Highlights: • Analytical performances of micro-LIBS with ultrashort double pulses were studied. • The maximal line intensity gain of 20 was obtained with double pulses and Ar-jet. • LIBS gain was obtained without additional ablation of a sample by the second pulse. • LIBS properties were almost the same for both 50 fs and 1 ps pulses. • The micro-LIBS detection limit was around 35 ppm

Variational analysis of self-focusing of intense ultrashort pulses in gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arevalo, E.; Becker, A.

2005-01-01

By using perturbation theory we derive an expression for the electrical field of a Gaussian laser beam propagating in a gas medium. This expression is used as a trial solution in a variational method to get quasianalytical solutions for the width, intensity, and self-focusing distance. The approximation gives a better agreement with results of numerical simulations for a broad range of values of the input power than previous analytical results available in the literature. The results apply in the case of ultrashort pulses too

Ultra-short laser pulses: review of the 3. physics talks, September 17-18, 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemoine, P.

1999-01-01

This book deals with the operation of lasers with ultra-short pulses and with the laser beam-matter interaction. The applications in concern are: the acceleration of particles, the production of X-ray or photon sources, the micro-machining, the fast ignition in thermonuclear fusion, the production of thin films and the surgery of cornea. (J.S.)

Ultra-short laser pulse ablation using shear-force feedback: Femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samek, Ota; Kurowski, Andre; Kittel, Silke; Kukhlevsky, Sergei; Hergenroeder, Roland

2005-01-01

This work reports on a feasibility study of proximity ablation using femtosecond pulses. Ultra-short pulses were launched to a bare tapered optical fiber and delivered to the sample. The tip-sample distance was controlled by means of shear-force feedback. Consequently, ablation craters with submicrometer dimensions were obtained. Potential analytical applications for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique, such as e.g. inclusions in steel or bio cells, are suggested

Few-cycle isolated attosecond pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sansone, G.; Benedetti, E.; Calegari, F.; Stagira, S.; Vozzi, C.; Silvestri De, S.; Nisoli, M.

2006-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. In the last few years the field of attosecond science has shown impressive and rapid progress, mainly due to the introduction of novel experimental methods for the characterization of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses and attosecond electron wave packets. This development has been also triggered by significant improvements in the control of the electric field of the driving infrared pulses. Particularly interesting for the applications is the generation of isolated attosecond XUV pulses using few-cycle driving pulses. In this case significant progresses have been achieved thanks to the stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of amplified light pulses. In this work we demonstrate that the polarization gating (PG) method with few-cycle phase-stabilized driving pulses allows one to generate few-cycle isolated attosecond pulses tunable on a very broad spectral region. The PG method is based on temporal modulation of the ellipticity of a light pulse, which confines the XUV emission in the temporal gate where the polarization is close to linear. The time-dependent polarization of phase-stabilized sub-6-fs pulses, generated by the hollow fiber technique, has been obtained using two birefringent plates. It is possible to create a linear polarization gate, whose position is imposed by the intensity profile of the pulse whilst the emission time is linked to the CEP of the electric field. The pulses have been analyzed by using a flat-field spectrometer. Continuous XUV spectra, corresponding to the production of isolated attosecond pulses, have been generated for particular CEP values. Upon changing the rotation of the first plate it was possible to tune the XUV emission in a broad spectra range. We have then achieved a complete temporal characterization of the generated isolated attosecond pulses using frequency-resolved optical gating for complete reconstruction of attosecond bursts (FROG CRAB). The measured parabolic phase

Optimization And Single-Shot Characterization Of Ultrashort Thz Pulses From A Laser Wakefield Accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plateau, G.R.; Matlis, N.H.; van Tilborg, J.; Geddes, C.G.R.; Toth, Cs.; Schroeder, C.B.; Leemans, W.P.

2009-01-01

We present spatiotemporal characterization of μJ-class ultrashort THz pulses generated from a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA). Accelerated electrons, resulting from the interaction of a high-intensity laser pulse with a plasma, emit high-intensity THz pulses as coherent transition radiation. Such high peak-power THz pulses, suitable for high-field (MV/cm) pump-probe experiments, also provide a non-invasive bunch-length diagnostic and thus feedback for the accelerator. The characterization of the THz pulses includes energy measurement using a Golay cell, 2D sign-resolved electro-optic measurement and single-shot spatiotemporal electric-field distribution retrieval using a new technique, coined temporal electric-field cross-Correlation (TEX). All three techniques corroborate THz pulses of ∼ 5 μJ, with peak fields of 100's of kV/cm and ∼ 0.4 ps rms duration.

Ultra-short wavelength x-ray system

Science.gov (United States)

Umstadter, Donald [Ann Arbor, MI; He, Fei [Ann Arbor, MI; Lau, Yue-Ying [Potomac, MD

2008-01-22

A method and apparatus to generate a beam of coherent light including x-rays or XUV by colliding a high-intensity laser pulse with an electron beam that is accelerated by a synchronized laser pulse. Applications include x-ray and EUV lithography, protein structural analysis, plasma diagnostics, x-ray diffraction, crack analysis, non-destructive testing, surface science and ultrafast science.

Influence of dispersion stretching of ultrashort UV laser pulse on the critical power for self-focusing

Science.gov (United States)

Ionin, A. A.; Mokrousova, D. V.; Piterimov, D. A.; Seleznev, L. V.; Sinitsyn, D. V.; Sunchugasheva, E. S.

2018-04-01

The critical power for self-focusing in air for ultrashort ultraviolet laser pulses, stretched due to dispersion from 90 to 730 fs, was experimentally measured. It was shown that the pulse duration enhancement due to its propagation in condensed media leads to an almost linear decrease in the critical power for self-focusing. It was also observed that when the pulse peak power exceeds the critical one, the maximum of linear plasma distribution along the ultraviolet laser filament does not shift in the direction opposite to the laser pulse propagation, as observed for infrared laser filaments, but remains at the geometrical focus.

Application of the ultrashort pulses in bovine dental enamel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todescan, Carla de Rago

2003-01-01

The interaction of lasers with the hard structures of the teeth, has found the excess of heat as a problem for its utilization. This study analyzes, in vitro, the interaction of the ultrashort pulse laser of Ti:safire (830 nm) with the bovine dental enamel. The system consisted in one main oscillator integrated with an amplifier (CPA). The pulses extracted before the temporal compression inside the amplifier had 30 ps, 1000 Hz and ∼1 mJ. The pulses extracted after the compression had 60 fs, 1000 Hz and ∼0,7 mJ. The M 2 was 1,3, the focal lens 2,5 cm, the focal distance 29,7 and a computerized translation stage x,y,z. We evaluated the amount of tissue removed per pulse,the resulting cavities and the surrounding tissues not irradiated, under OM and SEM. The fluency was the major factor for differentiating the two regimens studied, therefore, the intensity was not so important as we expected in this process. We found: one ablation region in 'cat tongue', one ablation length, one fluency ∼0,7 J/cm 2 for 30 ps and ∼0,5 J/cm 2 for 60 fs (50% of high speed burr), smooth edge for 30 ps and high precision of the sharp edge cut of submicrometric order for 60 fs. (author)

Prospects for a novel ultrashort pulsed laser technology for pathogen inactivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsen Shaw-Wei D

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract The threat of emerging pathogens and microbial drug resistance has spurred tremendous efforts to develop new and more effective antimicrobial strategies. Recently, a novel ultrashort pulsed (USP laser technology has been developed that enables efficient and chemical-free inactivation of a wide spectrum of viral and bacterial pathogens. Such a technology circumvents the need to introduce potentially toxic chemicals and could permit safe and environmentally friendly pathogen reduction, with a multitude of possible applications including the sterilization of pharmaceuticals and blood products, and the generation of attenuated or inactivated vaccines.

Laser mass spectrometry of chemical warfare agents using ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weickhardt, C.; Grun, C.; Grotemeyer, J.

1998-01-01

Fast relaxation processes in excited molecules such as IC, ISC, and fragmentation are observed in many environmentally and technically relevant substances. They cause severe problems to resonance ionization mass spectrometry because they reduce the ionization yield and lead to mass spectra which do not allow the identification of the compound. By the use of ultrashort laser pulses these problems can be overcome and the advantages of REMPI over conventional ionization techniques in mass spectrometry can be regained. This is demonstrated using soil samples contaminated with a chemical warfare agent

Mode-locking peculiarities in an all-fiber erbium-doped ring ultrashort pulse laser with a highly-nonlinear resonator

Science.gov (United States)

Dvoretskiy, Dmitriy A.; Sazonkin, Stanislav G.; Kudelin, Igor S.; Orekhov, Ilya O.; Pnev, Alexey B.; Karasik, Valeriy E.; Denisov, Lev K.

2017-12-01

Today ultrashort pulse (USP) fiber lasers are in great demand in a frequency metrology field, THz pulse spectroscopy, optical communication, quantum optics application, etc. Therefore mode-locked (ML) fiber lasers have been extensively investigated over the last decade due the number of scientific, medical and industrial applications. It should be noted, that USP fiber lasers can be treated as an ideal platform to expand future applications due to the complex ML nonlinear dynamics in a laser resonator. Up to now a series of novel ML regimes have been investigated e.g. self-similar pulses, noise-like pulses, multi-bound solitons and soliton rain generation. Recently, we have used a highly nonlinear germanosilicate fiber (with germanium oxides concentration in the core 50 mol. %) inside the resonator for more reliable and robust launching of passive mode-locking based on the nonlinear polarization evolution effect in fibers. In this work we have measured promising and stable ML regimes such as stretched pulses, soliton rain and multi-bound solitons formed in a highly-nonlinear ring laser and obtained by intracavity group velocity dispersion (GVD) variation in slightly negative region. As a result, we have obtained the low noise ultrashort pulse generation with duration 59 dB) and relative intensity noise <-101 dBc / Hz.

The Sandia laser plasma extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray (XUV) light source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tooman, T.P.

1986-01-01

Laser produced plasmas have been shown to be extremely bright sources of extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray (XUV) radiation; however, certain practical difficulties have hindered the development of this source as a routinely usable laboratory device. To explore solutions to these difficulties, Sandia has constructed an XUV laser plasma source (LASPS) with the intention of developing an instrument that can be used for experiments requiring intense XUV radiation from 50-300 eV. The driving laser for this source is a KrF excimer with a wavelength of 248 nm, divergence of 200 μrad, pulse width of 23 ns at 20 Hz and typical pulse energy of 500 mJ which allows for good energy coupling to the plasma at moderate (10/sup 12/ W cm/sup 2/) power densities. This source has been pulsed approximately 2 x 10/sup 5/ times, demonstrating good tolerance to plasma debris. The source radiates from the visible to well above 1000 eV, however, to date attention has been concentrated on the 50-300 eV region. In this paper, spectral data and plasma images for both stainless steel and gold targets are presented with the gold target yielding a 200 μm plasma and reradiating 3.9% of the pump energy into 15-73 eV band, a flux of 1.22 x 10/sup 13/ photons/pulse/eV into 2π sr. Further efforts will expand these measurements to rare earth targets and to higher spectral energies. A special high throughput wide angle XUV (50-300 eV) monochromator and associated optics is being concurrently developed to collect the plasma radiation, perform energy dispersion and focus the radiation onto the experimental area

Photoionization of atoms and molecules by intense EUV-FEL pulses and FEL seeded by high-order harmonic of ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwasaki, Atsushi; Owada, Shigeki; Yamanouchi, Kaoru; Sato, Takahiro; Nagasono, Mitsuru; Yabashi, Makina; Ishikawa, Tetsuya; Togashi, Tadashi; Takahashi, Eiji J.; Midorikawa, Katsumi; Aoyama, Makoto; Yamakawa, Koichi; Kannari, Fumihiko; Yagishita, Akira

2012-01-01

The advantages of SPring-8 Compact SASE Source as a light source for spectroscopic measurements in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength region are introduced by referring to our recent study of non-linear photoionization processes of He, in which the absolute two-photon ionization cross sections of He at four different wavelengths in the 54 - 62 nm region were determined using intense pulses of the free-election laser (FEL). In addition, our recent effort to generate intense full-coherent EUV light pulses are introduced, in which significant amplification of the 13th harmonic of ultrashort laser pulses at 800 nm was achieved by FEL seeded with the 13th harmonic. (author)

Coherent control of atoms and diatomic molecules with shaped ultrashort pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degert, J.

2002-12-01

This thesis deals with the theoretical and experimental study of coherent control of atomic and molecular systems with shaped pulses. At first, we present several experiments of control of coherent transients in rubidium. These transients appear when a two-level system is excited by a perturbative chirped pulse, and are characterized by oscillations in the excited state population. For a strong chirp, we show that a phase step in the spectrum modifies the phase of the oscillations. Then, by direct analogy with Fresnel zone lens, we conceive a chirped pulse with a highly modulated amplitude, allowing to suppress destructive contributions to the population transfer. In a second set of experiments, we focus on quantum path interferences in two-photon transitions excited by linearly chirped pulses. Owing to the broad bandwidth of ultrashort pulses, sequential and direct excitation paths contribute to the excited state population. Oscillations resulting from interferences between these two paths are observed in atomic sodium. Moreover, we show that they are observable whatever the sign of chirp. Theoretically, we study the control of the predissociation of a benchmark diatomic molecule: NaI. Predissociation leads to matter wave interferences in the fragments distribution. First, we show that a suitably chosen probe pulse allows the observation of theses interferences. Next, using a sequence of control pulse inducing electronic transition, we demonstrate the possibility to manipulate fragment energy distribution. (author)

Two-dimensional angular energy spectrum of electrons accelerated by the ultra-short relativistic laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borovskiy, A. V. [Department of Computer Science and Cybernetics, Baikal State University of Economics and Law, 11 Lenin Street, Irkutsk 664003 (Russian Federation); Galkin, A. L. [Coherent and Nonlinear Optics Department, A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the RAS, 38 Vavilov Street, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Department of Physics of MBF, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, 1 Ostrovitianov Street, Moscow 117997 (Russian Federation); Kalashnikov, M. P., E-mail: galkin@kapella.gpi.ru [Max-Born-Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short-Time Spectroscopy, 2a Max-Born-Strasse, Berlin 12489 (Germany)

2015-04-15

The new method of calculating energy spectra of accelerated electrons, based on the parameterization by their initial coordinates, is proposed. The energy spectra of electrons accelerated by Gaussian ultra-short relativistic laser pulse at a selected angle to the axis of the optical system focusing the laser pulse in a low density gas are theoretically calculated. The two-peak structure of the electron energy spectrum is obtained. Discussed are the reasons for its appearance as well as an applicability of other models of the laser field.

Yb3+:Sr3Y2(BO3)4: A potential ultrashort pulse laser crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Shijia; Xu, Jinlong; Wei, Qi; Lou, Fei; Huang, Yisheng; Yuan, Feifei; Zhang, Lizhen; Lin, Zhoubin; He, Jingliang; Wang, Guofu

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A Yb 3+ :Sr 3 Y 2 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal was grown successfully by Czochralski method. • The crystal has wide absorption and emission bandwidth. • 3.47 W continuous wave laser output with a slope efficiency of 29% was obtained. • The results show that the crystal is a promising ultrashort pulse laser material. - Abstract: A Yb 3+ :Sr 3 Y 2 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal was grown successfully by the Czochralski method. The polarized spectral properties and continuous wave laser output of this crystal were investigated in detail. The crystal has larger absorption and emission cross sections compared with many mature Yb 3+ -doped borate crystals. The full width at half maximum of the emission bands around 1023 nm are 69 nm (E//a), 61 nm (E//b) and 65 nm (E//c). 3.47 W continuous wave laser output with a slope efficiency of 29% and an optical conversion efficiency of 24% was obtained. The results reveal that Yb 3+ :Sr 3 Y 2 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal is an excellent candidate for ultrashort pulse laser crystal

Complex {PT}-symmetric extensions of the nonlinear ultra-short light pulse model

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zhenya

2012-11-01

The short pulse equation u_{xt}=u+\\frac{1}{2}(u^2u_x)_x is PT symmetric, which arises in nonlinear optics for the ultra-short pulse case. We present a family of new complex PT-symmetric extensions of the short pulse equation, i[(iu_x)^{\\sigma }]_t=au+bu^m+ic[u^n(iu_x)^{\\epsilon }]_x \\,\\, (\\sigma ,\\, \\epsilon ,\\,a,\\,b,\\,c,\\,m,\\,n \\in {R}), based on the complex PT-symmetric extension principle. Some properties of these equations with some chosen parameters are studied including the Hamiltonian structures and exact solutions such as solitary wave solutions, doubly periodic wave solutions and compacton solutions. Our results may be useful to understand complex PT-symmetric nonlinear physical models. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘Quantum physics with non-Hermitian operators’.

Fibre amplifier based on an ytterbium-doped active tapered fibre for the generation of megawatt peak power ultrashort optical pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koptev, M Yu; Anashkina, E A; Lipatov, D S; Andrianov, A V; Muravyev, S V; Kim, A V [Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Bobkov, K K; Likhachev, M E; Levchenko, A E; Aleshkina, S S; Semjonov, S L; Denisov, A N; Bubnov, M M [Fiber Optics Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); Laptev, A Yu; Gur' yanov, A N [G.G.Devyatykh Institute of Chemistry of High-Purity Substances, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnii Novgorod (Russian Federation)

2015-05-31

We report a new ytterbium-doped active tapered fibre used in the output amplifier stage of a fibre laser system for the generation of megawatt peak power ultrashort pulses in the microjoule energy range. The tapered fibre is single-mode at its input end (core and cladding diameters of 10 and 80 μm) and multimode at its output end (diameters of 45 and 430 μm), but ultrashort pulses are amplified in a quasi-single-mode regime. Using a hybrid Er/Yb fibre system comprising an erbium master oscillator and amplifier at a wavelength near 1.5 μm, a nonlinear wavelength converter to the 1 μm range and a three-stage ytterbium-doped fibre amplifier, we obtained pulses of 1 μJ energy and 7 ps duration, which were then compressed by a grating-pair dispersion compressor with 60% efficiency to a 130 fs duration, approaching the transform-limited pulse duration. The present experimental data agree well with numerical simulation results for pulse amplification in the threestage amplifier. (extreme light fields and their applications)

Hydrodynamic model for ultra-short pulse ablation of hard dental tissue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

London, R.A.; Bailey, D.S.; Young, D.A.; Alley, W.E.; Feit, M.D.; Rubenchik, A.M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Neev, J. [Beckman Laser Inst., Irvine, CA (United States)

1996-02-29

A computational model for the ablation of tooth enamel by ultra-short laser pulses is presented. The role of simulations using this model in designing and understanding laser drilling systems is discussed. Pulses of duration 300 fsec and intensity greater than 10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2} are considered. Laser absorption proceeds via multi-photon initiated plasma mechanism. The hydrodynamic response is calculated with a finite difference method, using an equation of state constructed from thermodynamic functions including electronic, ion motion, and chemical binding terms. Results for the ablation efficiency are presented. An analytic model describing the ablation threshold and ablation depth is presented. Thermal coupling to the remaining tissue and long-time thermal conduction are calculated. Simulation results are compared to experimental measurements of the ablation efficiency. Desired improvements in the model are presented.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the normal pituitary gland using ultrashort TE (UTE) pulse sequences (REV 1.0)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Portman, Olivia; Flemming, Stephen; Cox, Jeremy P.D.; Johnston, Desmond G.; Bydder, Graeme M.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the normal pituitary gland in male subjects with ultrashort echo time (TE) pulse sequences, describe its appearance and measure its signal intensity before and after contrast enhancement. Eleven male volunteers (mean age 57.1 years; range 36-81 years) were examined with a fat-suppressed ultrashort TE (= 0.08 ms) pulse sequence. The studies were repeated after the administration of intravenous gadodiamide. The MR scans were examined for gland morphology and signal intensity before and after enhancement. Endocrinological evaluation included baseline pituitary function tests and a glucagon stimulatory test to assess pituitary cortisol and growth hormone reserve. High signal intensity was observed in the anterior pituitary relative to the brain in nine of the 11 subjects. These regions involved the whole of the anterior pituitary in three subjects, were localised to one side in two examples and were seen inferiorly in three subjects. Signal intensities relative to the brain increased with age, with a peak around the sixth or seventh decade and decreasing thereafter. Overall, the pituitary function tests were considered to be within normal limits and did not correlate with pituitary gland signal intensity. The anterior pituitary shows increased signal intensity in normal subjects when examined with T 1 -weighted ultrashort TE pulse sequences. The cause of this increased intensity is unknown, but fibrosis and iron deposition are possible candidates. The variation in signal intensity with age followed the temporal pattern of iron content observed at post mortem. No relationship with endocrine status was observed. (orig.)

Magnetic resonance imaging of the normal pituitary gland using ultrashort TE (UTE) pulse sequences (REV 1.0)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Portman, Olivia; Flemming, Stephen; Cox, Jeremy P.D.; Johnston, Desmond G. [Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, St Mary' s Hospital, Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine, London (United Kingdom); Bydder, Graeme M. [University of California, San Diego, Department of Radiology, San Diego, CA (United States)

2008-03-15

The purpose of this study was to examine the normal pituitary gland in male subjects with ultrashort echo time (TE) pulse sequences, describe its appearance and measure its signal intensity before and after contrast enhancement. Eleven male volunteers (mean age 57.1 years; range 36-81 years) were examined with a fat-suppressed ultrashort TE (= 0.08 ms) pulse sequence. The studies were repeated after the administration of intravenous gadodiamide. The MR scans were examined for gland morphology and signal intensity before and after enhancement. Endocrinological evaluation included baseline pituitary function tests and a glucagon stimulatory test to assess pituitary cortisol and growth hormone reserve. High signal intensity was observed in the anterior pituitary relative to the brain in nine of the 11 subjects. These regions involved the whole of the anterior pituitary in three subjects, were localised to one side in two examples and were seen inferiorly in three subjects. Signal intensities relative to the brain increased with age, with a peak around the sixth or seventh decade and decreasing thereafter. Overall, the pituitary function tests were considered to be within normal limits and did not correlate with pituitary gland signal intensity. The anterior pituitary shows increased signal intensity in normal subjects when examined with T{sub 1}-weighted ultrashort TE pulse sequences. The cause of this increased intensity is unknown, but fibrosis and iron deposition are possible candidates. The variation in signal intensity with age followed the temporal pattern of iron content observed at post mortem. No relationship with endocrine status was observed. (orig.)

Annual Scientific Report for DE-FG03-02NA00063 Coherent imaging of laser-plasma interactions using XUV high harmonic radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry C. Kapteyn

2005-01-01

In this project, we use coherent short-wavelength light generated using high-order harmonic generation as a probe of laser-plasma dynamics and phase transitions on femtosecond time-scales. The interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with materials and plasmas is relevant to stockpile stewardship, to understanding the equation of state of matter at high pressures and temperatures, and to plasma concepts such as the fast-ignitor ICF fusion concept and laser-based particle acceleration. Femtosecond laser technology makes it possible to use a small-scale setup to generate 20fs pulses with average power >10W at multiple kHz repetition rates, that can be focused to intensities in excess of 1017W/cm2. These lasers can be used either to rapidly heat materials to initiate phase transitions, or to create laser plasmas over a wide parameter space. These lasers can also be used to generate fully spatially coherent XUV beams with which to probe these materials and plasma systems. We are in process of implementing imaging studies of plasma hydrodynamics and warm, dense matter. The data will be compared with simulation codes of laser-plasma interactions, making it possible to refine and validate these codes

The interaction of super-intense ultra-short laser pulse and micro-clusters with large atomic clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miao Jingwei; Yang Chaowen; An Zhu; Yuan Xuedong; Sun Weiguo; Luo Xiaobing; Wang Hu; Bai Lixing; Shi Miangong; Miao Lei; Zhen Zhijian; Gu Yuqin; Liu Hongjie; Zhu Zhouseng; Sun Liwei; Liao Xuehua

2007-01-01

The fusion mechanism of large deuterium clusters (100-1000 Atoms/per cluster) in super-intense ultra-short laser pulse field, Coulomb explosions of micro-cluster in solids, gases and Large-size clusters have been studied using the interaction of a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses with large deuterium clusters, collision of high-quality beam of micro-cluster from 2.5 MV van de Graaff accelerator with solids, gases and large clusters. The experimental advance of the project is reported. (authors)

Autler-Townes doublet and electromagnetically induced transparency resonance probed by an ultrashort pulse train

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soares, A A; De Araujo, Luis E E

2010-01-01

We study theoretically the interaction between an ultrashort pulse train and a three-level atom driven by a cw laser. We show that the pulse train can be employed to observe spectra of Autler-Townes doublet and electromagnetically induced transparency resonance that are time and frequency resolved. The observation of subnatural linewidth features associated with the electromagnetically induced transparency resonance is described. The temporal evolution of electromagnetically induced transparency of the pulse train is shown to exhibit new and different features compared to that of the related phenomenon of coherent population trapping. By matching the tooth separation of the frequency comb associated with the pulse train to that of the Autler-Townes doublet, quantum beats between the doublet components can be induced. We show that coherent accumulation of excitation plays a major role in the two studied phenomena.

Interaction of intense ultrashort pulse lasers with clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrov, G. M.; Davis, J.

2008-01-01

The dynamics of clusters composed of different material irradiated by a high-intensity ultrashort pulse laser was studied using a fully relativistic three-dimensional molecular dynamics model. Key parameters of the cluster evolution such as particle positions, energy absorption, and cluster explosion were simulated. By a direct comparison of these parameters for clusters of equal initial radius but made of different material (deuterium, neon, argon, and xenon), the main stages and attributes of cluster evolution were elucidated. The simulations showed that clusters made of different material act alike, especially those of heavy elements. Clusters made of heavy elements (neon, argon, and xenon) differentiate from clusters made of light elements (deuterium) by the magnitude of the absorbed energy per cluster and the final mean energy of exploding ions. What most distinguishes clusters composed of different material is the amount of emitted radiation and its spectral range

Applications of ultrashort shaped pulses in microscopy and for controlling chemical reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lozovoy, Vadim V.; Andegeko, Yair; Zhu Xin; Dantus, Marcos

2008-01-01

This article presents a new perspective on laser control based on insights into the effect of spectral phase on nonlinear optical processes. Gaining this understanding requires the systematic evaluation of the molecular response as a function of a series of pre-defined accurately shaped laser pulses. The effort required is rewarded with robust, highly reproducible, results. This approach is illustrated by results on selective two-photon excitation microscopy of biological samples, where higher signal and less photobleaching damage are achieved by accurate phase measurement and elimination of high-order phase distortions from the ultrashort laser pulses. A similar systematic approach applied to laser control of gas phase chemical reactions reveals surprising general trends. Molecular fragmentation pattern is found to be dependent on phase shaping. Differently shaped pulses with similar pulse duration have been found to produce similar fragmentation patterns. This implies that any single parameter that is proportional to the pulse duration, such as second harmonic generation intensity, allows us to predict the molecular fragmentation pattern within the experimental noise. This finding, is illustrated here for a series of isomers. Bond selectivity, coherent photochemistry and their applications are discussed in light of results from these systematic studies

Photoelectron emission from LiF surfaces by ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acuna, M. A.; Gravielle, M. S.

2011-01-01

Energy- and angle-resolved electron emission spectra produced by incidence of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses on a LiF(001) surface are studied by employing a distorted-wave method named the crystal surface-Volkov (CSV) approximation. The theory makes use of the Volkov phase to describe the action of the external electric field on the emitted electron, while the electron-surface interaction is represented within the tight-binding model. The CSV approach is applied to investigate the effects introduced by the crystal lattice when the electric field is oriented parallel to the surface plane. These effects are essentially governed by the vector potential of the external field, while the influence of the crystal orientation was found to be negligible.

A high repetition rate XUV seeding source for FLASH2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willner, Arik

2012-05-01

Improved performance of free-electron laser (FEL) light sources in terms of timing stability, pulse shape and spectral properties of the amplified FEL pulses is of interest in material science, the fields of ultrafast dynamics, biology, chemistry and even special branches in industry. A promising scheme for such an improvement is direct seeding with high harmonic generation (HHG) in a noble gas target. A free-electron laser seeded by an external extreme ultraviolet (XUV) source is planned for FLASH2 at DESY in Hamburg. The requirements for the XUV/soft X-ray source can be summarized as follows: A repetition rate of at least 100 kHz in a 10 Hz burst is needed at variable wavelengths from 10 to 40 nm and pulse energies of several nJ within a single laser harmonic. This application requires a laser amplifier system with exceptional parameters, mJ-level pulse energy, 10-15 fs pulse duration at 100 kHz (1 MHz) burst repetition rate. A new optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system is under development in order to meet these requirements, and very promising results have been achieved in the last three years. In parallel to this development, a new HHG concept is necessary to sustain high average power of the driving laser system and to generate harmonics with high conversion efficiencies. Currently, the highest conversion efficiency with HHG has been demonstrated using gas-filled capillary targets. For our application, only a free-jet target can be used for HHG, in order to overcome damage threshold limitations of HHG target optics at a high repetition rate. A novel dual-gas multijet gas target has been developed and first experiments show remarkable control of the degree of phase matching forming the basis for improved control of the harmonic photon flux and the XUV pulse characteristics. The basic idea behind the dual-gas concept is the insertion of matching zones in between multiple HHG sources. These matching sections are filled with hydrogen which

A high repetition rate XUV seeding source for FLASH2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Willner, Arik

2012-05-15

Improved performance of free-electron laser (FEL) light sources in terms of timing stability, pulse shape and spectral properties of the amplified FEL pulses is of interest in material science, the fields of ultrafast dynamics, biology, chemistry and even special branches in industry. A promising scheme for such an improvement is direct seeding with high harmonic generation (HHG) in a noble gas target. A free-electron laser seeded by an external extreme ultraviolet (XUV) source is planned for FLASH2 at DESY in Hamburg. The requirements for the XUV/soft X-ray source can be summarized as follows: A repetition rate of at least 100 kHz in a 10 Hz burst is needed at variable wavelengths from 10 to 40 nm and pulse energies of several nJ within a single laser harmonic. This application requires a laser amplifier system with exceptional parameters, mJ-level pulse energy, 10-15 fs pulse duration at 100 kHz (1 MHz) burst repetition rate. A new optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system is under development in order to meet these requirements, and very promising results have been achieved in the last three years. In parallel to this development, a new HHG concept is necessary to sustain high average power of the driving laser system and to generate harmonics with high conversion efficiencies. Currently, the highest conversion efficiency with HHG has been demonstrated using gas-filled capillary targets. For our application, only a free-jet target can be used for HHG, in order to overcome damage threshold limitations of HHG target optics at a high repetition rate. A novel dual-gas multijet gas target has been developed and first experiments show remarkable control of the degree of phase matching forming the basis for improved control of the harmonic photon flux and the XUV pulse characteristics. The basic idea behind the dual-gas concept is the insertion of matching zones in between multiple HHG sources. These matching sections are filled with hydrogen which

Self-Guiding of Ultrashort Relativistically Intense Laser Pulses to the Limit of Nonlinear Pump Depletion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ralph, J. E.; Marsh, K. A.; Pak, A. E.; Lu, W.; Clayton, C. E.; Fang, F.; Joshi, C.; Tsung, F. S.; Mori, W. B.

2009-01-01

A study of self-guiding of ultra short, relativistically intense laser pulses is presented. Here, the laser pulse length is on the order of the nonlinear plasma wavelength and the normalized vector potential is greater than one. Self-guiding of ultrashort laser pulses over tens of Rayliegh lengths is possible when driving a highly nonlinear wake. In this case, self-guiding is limited by nonlinear pump depletion. Erosion of the pulse due to diffraction at the head of the laser pulse is minimized for spot sizes close to the blow-out radius. This is due to the slowing of the group velocity of the photons at the head of the laser pulse. Using an approximately 10 TW Ti:Sapphire laser with a pulse length of approximately 50 fs, experimental results are presented showing self-guiding over lengths exceeding 30 Rayliegh lengths in various length Helium gas jets. Fully explicit 3D PIC simulations supporting the experimental results are also presented.

Fast Prototyping of Sensorized Cell Culture Chips and Microfluidic Systems with Ultrashort Laser Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian M. Bonk

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We developed a confined microfluidic cell culture system with a bottom plate made of a microscopic slide with planar platinum sensors for the measurement of acidification, oxygen consumption, and cell adhesion. The slides were commercial slides with indium tin oxide (ITO plating or were prepared from platinum sputtering (100 nm onto a 10-nm titanium adhesion layer. Direct processing of the sensor structures (approximately three minutes per chip by an ultrashort pulse laser facilitated the production of the prototypes. pH-sensitive areas were produced by the sputtering of 60-nm Si3N4 through a simple mask made from a circuit board material. The system body and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS molding forms for the microfluidic structures were manufactured by micromilling using a printed circuit board (PCB milling machine for circuit boards. The microfluidic structure was finally imprinted in PDMS. Our approach avoided the use of photolithographic techniques and enabled fast and cost-efficient prototyping of the systems. Alternatively, the direct production of metallic, ceramic or polymeric molding tools was tested. The use of ultrashort pulse lasers improved the precision of the structures and avoided any contact of the final structures with toxic chemicals and possible adverse effects for the cell culture in lab-on-a-chip systems.

Nonlinear Dynamics of Ultrashort Long-Range Surface Plasmon Polariton Pulses in Gold Strip Waveguides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lysenko, Oleg; Bache, Morten; Olivier, Nicolas

2016-01-01

We study experimentally and theoretically nonlinear propagation of ultrashort long-range surface plasmon polaritons in gold strip waveguides. The nonlinear absorption of the plasmonic modes in the waveguides is measured with femtosecond pulses revealing a strong dependence of the third......-order nonlinear susceptibility of the gold core on the pulse duration and layer thickness. A comprehensive model for the pulse duration dependence of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility is developed on the basis of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation for plasmonic mode propagation in the waveguides....... The model accounts for the intrinsic delayed (noninstantaneous) nonlinearity of free electrons of gold as well as the thickness of the gold film and is experimentally verified. The obtained results are important for the development of active plasmonic and nanophotonic components....

Surface Texturing of CVD Diamond Assisted by Ultrashort Laser Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele M. Trucchi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Diamond is a wide bandgap semiconductor with excellent physical properties which allow it to operate under extreme conditions. However, the technological use of diamond was mostly conceived for the fabrication of ultraviolet, ionizing radiation and nuclear detectors, of electron emitters, and of power electronic devices. The use of nanosecond pulse excimer lasers enabled the microstructuring of diamond surfaces, and refined techniques such as controlled ablation through graphitization and etching by two-photon surface excitation are being exploited for the nanostructuring of diamond. On the other hand, ultrashort pulse lasers paved the way for a more accurate diamond microstructuring, due to reduced thermal effects, as well as an effective surface nanostructuring, based on the formation of periodic structures at the nanoscale. It resulted in drastic modifications of the optical and electronic properties of diamond, of which “black diamond” films are an example for future high-temperature solar cells as well as for advanced optoelectronic platforms. Although experiments on diamond nanostructuring started almost 20 years ago, real applications are only today under implementation.

Multiphoton photoemission from a copper cathode illuminated by ultrashort laser pulses in an RF photoinjector.

Science.gov (United States)

Musumeci, P; Cultrera, L; Ferrario, M; Filippetto, D; Gatti, G; Gutierrez, M S; Moody, J T; Moore, N; Rosenzweig, J B; Scoby, C M; Travish, G; Vicario, C

2010-02-26

In this Letter we report on the use of ultrashort infrared laser pulses to generate a copious amount of electrons by a copper cathode in an rf photoinjector. The charge yield verifies the generalized Fowler-Dubridge theory for multiphoton photoemission. The emission is verified to be prompt using a two pulse autocorrelation technique. The thermal emittance associated with the excess kinetic energy from the emission process is comparable with the one measured using frequency tripled uv laser pulses. In the high field of the rf gun, up to 50 pC of charge can be extracted from the cathode using a 80 fs long, 2 microJ, 800 nm pulse focused to a 140 mum rms spot size. Taking into account the efficiency of harmonic conversion, illuminating a cathode directly with ir laser pulses can be the most efficient way to employ the available laser power.

Multiphoton Photoemission from a Copper Cathode Illuminated by Ultrashort Laser Pulses in an rf Photoinjector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musumeci, P.; Gutierrez, M. S.; Moody, J. T.; Moore, N.; Rosenzweig, J. B.; Scoby, C. M.; Travish, G.; Cultrera, L.; Ferrario, M.; Filippetto, D.; Gatti, G.; Vicario, C.

2010-01-01

In this Letter we report on the use of ultrashort infrared laser pulses to generate a copious amount of electrons by a copper cathode in an rf photoinjector. The charge yield verifies the generalized Fowler-Dubridge theory for multiphoton photoemission. The emission is verified to be prompt using a two pulse autocorrelation technique. The thermal emittance associated with the excess kinetic energy from the emission process is comparable with the one measured using frequency tripled uv laser pulses. In the high field of the rf gun, up to 50 pC of charge can be extracted from the cathode using a 80 fs long, 2 μJ, 800 nm pulse focused to a 140 μm rms spot size. Taking into account the efficiency of harmonic conversion, illuminating a cathode directly with ir laser pulses can be the most efficient way to employ the available laser power.

Dynamics of ultra-short electromagnetic pulses in the system of chiral carbon nanotube waveguides in the presence of external alternating electric field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Konobeeva, N.N., E-mail: yana_nn@inbox.ru [Volgograd State University, University Avenue 100, Volgograd 400062 (Russian Federation); Belonenko, M.B. [Volgograd Institute of Business, Uzhno-ukrainskaya str., Volgograd 400048 (Russian Federation)

2014-04-01

The paper addresses the propagation of ultra-short optical pulses in chiral carbon nanotubes in the presence of external alternating electric field. Following the assumption that the considered optical pulses are represented in the form of discrete solitons, we analyze the wave equation for the electromagnetic field and consider the dynamics of pulses in external field, their initial amplitudes and frequencies.

A novel optical tool for controlling and probing ultrafast surface dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yudong

2017-12-01

Ultrashort pulse laser sources have been greatly developed over the past few decades. The available pulse duration has been reduced to the single-cycle pulse regime. The discovery of high harmonic generation has freed us from the limitation of the laser wavelength. Moreover, the demonstration of isolated attosecond pulse generation has indicated the advent of the attosecond science era. Attosecond pulses undoubtedly allow one to study ultrafast dynamics with unprecedented time resolution. However, physical systems with genuine attosecond time scale dynamics are rather challenging to find. Ultrafast surface charge transfer, which is an important process in photochemistry and electrochemistry, is a good candidate experimental system exhibiting attosecond electronic dynamics. Specifically, the ultrafast surface charge transfer on the c(4 x 2)S/Ru(0001) surface was previously studied and the charge transfer time inferred to be 320 as using core-hole clock spectroscopy at a synchrotron facility. In order to measure this benchmark attosecond electronic dynamics with real time-resolving methods, pump pulses centered at 160 eV and probe pulses centered at 40 eV are required. To this end, a dedicated attosecond experimental beamline including an ultrashort laser pulse source and an attosecond pulse generation and characterization setup has been designed and is being developed. The author of this thesis was responsible for the construction of the attosecond experimental beamline which will be used ultrafast surface charge transfer studies. In this thesis, a completely functional attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) beamline, which includes a few-cycle laser pulse source, an attosecond pulse generation and characterization setup, is described. A commercial Ti:sapphire-based chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system is the overall source of the beamline. The laser system is actively carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilized and the output pulse duration is ∝35 fs. The

A novel optical tool for controlling and probing ultrafast surface dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Yudong

2017-12-15

Ultrashort pulse laser sources have been greatly developed over the past few decades. The available pulse duration has been reduced to the single-cycle pulse regime. The discovery of high harmonic generation has freed us from the limitation of the laser wavelength. Moreover, the demonstration of isolated attosecond pulse generation has indicated the advent of the attosecond science era. Attosecond pulses undoubtedly allow one to study ultrafast dynamics with unprecedented time resolution. However, physical systems with genuine attosecond time scale dynamics are rather challenging to find. Ultrafast surface charge transfer, which is an important process in photochemistry and electrochemistry, is a good candidate experimental system exhibiting attosecond electronic dynamics. Specifically, the ultrafast surface charge transfer on the c(4 x 2)S/Ru(0001) surface was previously studied and the charge transfer time inferred to be 320 as using core-hole clock spectroscopy at a synchrotron facility. In order to measure this benchmark attosecond electronic dynamics with real time-resolving methods, pump pulses centered at 160 eV and probe pulses centered at 40 eV are required. To this end, a dedicated attosecond experimental beamline including an ultrashort laser pulse source and an attosecond pulse generation and characterization setup has been designed and is being developed. The author of this thesis was responsible for the construction of the attosecond experimental beamline which will be used ultrafast surface charge transfer studies. In this thesis, a completely functional attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) beamline, which includes a few-cycle laser pulse source, an attosecond pulse generation and characterization setup, is described. A commercial Ti:sapphire-based chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system is the overall source of the beamline. The laser system is actively carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilized and the output pulse duration is ∝35 fs. The

Depolarization of an Ultrashort Pulse in a Disordered Ensemble of Mie Particles

Science.gov (United States)

Gorodnichev, E. E.; Ivliev, S. V.; Kuzovlev, A. I.; Rogozkin, D. B.

2017-12-01

We study propagation of an ultrashort pulse of polarized light through a turbid medium with the Reynolds-McCormick phase function. Within the basic mode approach to the vector radiative transfer equation, the temporal profile of the degree of polarization is calculated analytically with the use of the small-angle approximation. The degree of polarization is shown to be described by the self-similar dependence on some combination of the transport scattering coefficient, the temporal delay and the sample thickness. Our results are in excellent agreement with the data of numerical simulations carried out previously for aqueous suspension of polystyrene microspheres.

Mapping the spectral phase of isolated attosecond pulses by extreme-ultraviolet emission spectrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Candong; Zeng, Zhinan; Li, Ruxin; Xu, Zhizhan; Nisoli, Mauro

2015-04-20

An all-optical method is proposed for the measurement of the spectral phase of isolated attosecond pulses. The technique is based on the generation of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation in a gas by the combination of an attosecond pulse and a strong infrared (IR) pulse with controlled electric field. By using a full quantum simulation, we demonstrate that, for particular temporal delays between the two pulses, the IR field can drive back to the parent ions the photoelectrons generated by the attosecond pulse, thus leading to the generation of XUV photons. It is found that the generated XUV spectrum is notably sensitive to the chirp of the attosecond pulse, which can then be reliably retrieved. A classical quantum-path analysis is further used to quantitatively explain the main features exhibited in the XUV emission.

An XUV/VUV free-electron laser oscillator

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, J. C.; Newnam, B. E.; Cooper, R. K.; Comly, J. C., Jr.

Problems regarding the extension of free-electron laser technology from the visible and near infrared region, where such devices are currently operating, to the ultraviolet have recently been extensively discussed. It was found that significant technical problems must be overcome before free-electron lasers (FELs) can be operated in the VUV (100-200 nm) and the XUV (50-100). However, the present lack of other intense and tunable sources of coherent radiation at these wavelengths together with the intrinsic properties of FELs make the development of such devices potentially very rewarding. The properties of FELs include continuous tunability in wavelength and output in the form of a train of picosecond pulses. An investigation is conducted regarding the feasibility of an operation of a FEL in the XUV/VUV regions, taking into account a theoretical model. It is found that modest improvements in electron beam and optical mirror technologies will make the design of a FEL for operation in the 50-200-nm range of optical wavelength possible.

X-ray emission as a potential hazard during ultrashort pulse laser material processing

Science.gov (United States)

Legall, Herbert; Schwanke, Christoph; Pentzien, Simone; Dittmar, Günter; Bonse, Jörn; Krüger, Jörg

2018-06-01

In laser machining with ultrashort laser pulses unwanted X-ray radiation in the keV range can be generated when a critical laser intensity is exceeded. Even if the emitted X-ray dose per pulse is low, high laser repetition rates can lead to an accumulation of X-ray doses beyond exposure safety limits. For 925 fs pulse duration at a center wavelength of 1030 nm, the X-ray emission was investigated up to an intensity of 2.6 × 1014 W/cm2. The experiments were performed in air with a thin disk laser at a repetition rate of 400 kHz. X-ray spectra and doses were measured for various planar target materials covering a wide range of the periodic table from aluminum to tungsten. Without radiation shielding, the measured radiation doses at this high repetition rate clearly exceed the regulatory limits. Estimations for an adequate radiation shielding are provided.

Optical reprogramming of human somatic cells using ultrashort Bessel-shaped near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Uchugonova, Aisada; Breunig, Hans Georg; Batista, Ana; König, Karsten

2015-11-01

We report a virus-free optical approach to human cell reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells with low-power nanoporation using ultrashort Bessel-shaped laser pulses. Picojoule near-infrared sub-20 fs laser pulses at a high 85 MHz repetition frequency are employed to generate transient nanopores in the membrane of dermal fibroblasts for the introduction of four transcription factors to induce the reprogramming process. In contrast to conventional approaches which utilize retro- or lentiviruses to deliver genes or transcription factors into the host genome, the laser method is virus-free; hence, the risk of virus-induced cancer generation limiting clinical application is avoided.

Triggering and guiding high-voltage large-scale leader discharges with sub-joule ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pepin, H.; Comtois, D.; Vidal, F.; Chien, C.Y.; Desparois, A.; Johnston, T.W.; Kieffer, J.C.; La Fontaine, B.; Martin, F.; Rizk, F.A.M.; Potvin, C.; Couture, P.; Mercure, H.P.; Bondiou-Clergerie, A.; Lalande, P.; Gallimberti, I.

2001-01-01

The triggering and guiding of leader discharges using a plasma channel created by a sub-joule ultrashort laser pulse have been studied in a megavolt large-scale electrode configuration (3-7 m rod-plane air gap). By focusing the laser close to the positive rod electrode it has been possible, with a 400 mJ pulse, to trigger and guide leaders over distances of 3 m, to lower the leader inception voltage by 50%, and to increase the leader velocity by a factor of 10. The dynamics of the breakdown discharges with and without the laser pulse have been analyzed by means of a streak camera and of electric field and current probes. Numerical simulations have successfully reproduced many of the experimental results obtained with and without the presence of the laser plasma channel

Graphics-processing-unit-accelerated finite-difference time-domain simulation of the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and metal nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolskiy, V. P.; Stegailov, V. V.

2018-01-01

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) serve as important tools for many modern technologies. However, the proper microscopic models of the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and metal NPs are currently not very well developed in many cases. One part of the problem is the description of the warm dense matter that is formed in NPs after intense irradiation. Another part of the problem is the description of the electromagnetic waves around NPs. Description of wave propagation requires the solution of Maxwell’s equations and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is the classic approach for solving them. There are many commercial and free implementations of FDTD, including the open source software that supports graphics processing unit (GPU) acceleration. In this report we present the results on the FDTD calculations for different cases of the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and metal nanoparticles. Following our previous results, we analyze the efficiency of the GPU acceleration of the FDTD algorithm.

Texturing in titanium grade 2 surface irradiate with ultrashort pulse laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nogueira, Alessandro Francelino

2015-01-01

The texturing laser micromachining is an important alternative to improve the bonding adhesion between composites and titanium, which are applied to structural components in the aerospace industry. The texturing running on titanium plates is due to the fact that the preferred joining technique for many composite materials is the adhesive bonding. In this work, titanium plates were texturized using laser ultrashort pulses temporal widths of femtoseconds. This process resulted in minimal heat transfer to the material, avoiding deformation of the titanium plate surface as well as the formation of resolidified material in the ablated region. These drawbacks have occurred with the use of nanoseconds pulses. Were performed three types of texturing using laser with femtosecond pulses, with variations in the distances between the machined lines. The analysis of the obtained surfaces found that the wettability increases when there is the increased distance between the texturing lines. Advancing in the analysis by optical profilometry of textured surfaces was observed that there is substantial increase in the volume available for penetration of structural adhesive when the distances between the textured lines are diminished. In tensile tests conducted it was observed that there is an increase in shear strength of the adhesive joint by reducing the distance between the textured lines. (author)

Interaction of ultra-short ultra-intense laser pulses with under-dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solodov, A.

2000-12-01

Different aspects of interaction of ultra-short ultra-intense laser pulses with underdense plasmas are studied analytically and numerically. These studies can be interesting for laser-driven electron acceleration in plasma, X-ray lasers, high-order harmonic generation, initial confinement fusion with fast ignition. For numerical simulations a fully-relativistic particle code WAKE was used, developed earlier at Ecole Polytechnique. It was modified during the work on the thesis in the part of simulation of ion motion, test electron motion, diagnostics for the field and plasma. The studies in the thesis cover the problems of photon acceleration in the plasma wake of a short intense laser pulse, phase velocity of the plasma wave in the Self-Modulated Laser Wake-Field Accelerator (SM LWFA), relativistic channeling of laser pulses with duration of the order of a plasma period, ion dynamics in the wake of a short intense laser pulse, plasma wave breaking. Simulation of three experiments on the laser pulse propagation in plasma and electron acceleration were performed. Among the main results of the thesis, it was found that reduction of the plasma wave phase velocity in the SM LWFA is crucial for electron acceleration, only if a plasma channel is used for the laser pulse guiding. Self-similar structures describing relativistic guiding of short laser pulses in plasmas were found and relativistic channeling of initially Gaussian laser pulses of a few plasma periods in duration was demonstrated. It was shown that ponderomotive force of a plasma wake excited by a short laser pulse forms a channel in plasma and plasma wave breaking in the channel was analyzed in detail. Effectiveness of electron acceleration by the laser field and plasma wave was compared and frequency shift of probe laser pulses by the plasma waves was found in conditions relevant to the current experiments. (author)

Characterization of ultrashort laser pulses employing self-phase modulation dispersion-scan technique

Science.gov (United States)

Sharba, A. B.; Chekhlov, O.; Wyatt, A. S.; Pattathil, R.; Borghesi, M.; Sarri, G.

2018-03-01

We present a new phase characterization technique for ultrashort laser pulses that employs self-phase modulation (SPM) in the dispersion scan approach. The method can be implemented by recording a set of nonlinearly modulated spectra generated with a set of known chirp values. The unknown phase of the pulse is retrieved by linking the recorded spectra to the initial spectrum of the pulse via a phase function guessed by a function minimization iterative algorithm. This technique has many advantages over the dispersion scan techniques that use frequency conversion processes. Mainly, the use of SPM cancels out the phase and group velocity mismatch errors and dramatically widens the spectral acceptance of the nonlinear medium and the range of working wavelength. The robustness of the technique is demonstrated with smooth and complex phase retrievals using numerical examples. The method is shown to be not affected by the spatial distribution of the beam or the presence of nonlinear absorption process. In addition, we present an efficient method for phase representation based on a summation of a set of Gaussian functions. The independence of the functions from each other prevents phase coupling of any kind and facilitates a flexible phase representation.

Atomic and molecular dynamics triggered by ultrashort light pulses on the atto- to picosecond time scale

Science.gov (United States)

Pabst, Stefan

2013-04-01

Time-resolved investigations of ultrafast electronic and molecular dynamics were not possible until recently. The typical time scale of these processes is in the picosecond to attosecond realm. The tremendous technological progress in recent years made it possible to generate ultrashort pulses, which can be used to trigger, to watch, and to control atomic and molecular motion. This tutorial focuses on experimental and theoretical advances which are used to study the dynamics of electrons and molecules in the presence of ultrashort pulses. In the first part, the rotational dynamics of molecules, which happens on picosecond and femtosecond time scales, is reviewed. Well-aligned molecules are particularly suitable for angle-dependent investigations like x-ray diffraction or strong-field ionization experiments. In the second part, the ionization dynamics of atoms is studied. The characteristic time scale lies, here, in the attosecond to few-femtosecond regime. Although a one-particle picture has been successfully applied to many processes, many-body effects do constantly occur. After a broad overview of the main mechanisms and the most common tools in attosecond physics, examples of many-body dynamics in the attosecond world (e.g., in high-harmonic generation and attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy) are discussed.

Experimental study and numerical simulations of the spectral properties of XUV lasers pumped by collisional excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, L.

2012-01-01

Improving the knowledge of the spectral and temporal properties of plasma-based XUV lasers is an important issue for the ongoing development of these sources towards significantly higher peak power. The spectral properties of the XUV laser line actually control several physical quantities that are important for applications, such as the minimum duration that can be achieved (Fourier-transform limit). The shortest duration experimentally achieved to-date is ∼1 picosecond. The demonstrated technique of seeding XUV laser plasmas with a coherent femtosecond pulse of high-order harmonic radiation opens new and promising prospects to reduce the duration to a few 100 fs, provided that the gain bandwidth can be kept large enough.XUV lasers pumped by collisional excitation of Ni-like and Ne-like ions have been developed worldwide in hot plasmas created either by fast electrical discharge, or by various types of high-power lasers. This leads to a variety of XUV laser sources with distinct output properties, but also markedly different plasma parameters (density, temperature) in the amplification zone. Hence different spectral properties are expected. The purpose of our work was then to investigate the spectral behaviour of the different types of existing collisional excitation XUV lasers, and to evaluate their potential to support amplification of pulses with duration below 1 ps in a seeded mode.The spectral characterization of plasma-based XUV lasers is challenging because the extremely narrow bandwidth (typically Δλ/λ ∼10 -5 ) lies beyond the resolution limit of existing spectrometers in this spectral range. In our work the narrow linewidth was resolved using a wavefront-division interferometer specifically designed to measure temporal coherence, from which the spectral linewidth is inferred. We have characterized three types of collisional XUV lasers, developed in three different laboratories: transient pumping in Ni-like Mo, capillary discharge pumping in Ne

X-UV lasers and their promising applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ros, D.

2004-01-01

The author reviews 30 years of research and achievements concerning X-UV lasers. Typical features of X-UV lasers are: a large number of photons emitted per impulse (between 10 12 and 10 14 ) and very short impulses (between 1 and 100 ps). When a crystal is irradiated by a X-UV laser, these features favor new physical processes that did not appear when the irradiation was performed with other X-UV sources like synchrotron radiation for instance. Their high brilliance and coherence properties make them efficient means as irradiating sources or imaging tools. X-UV laser interferometry allows the mapping of a surface at the nano-metric scale without any interaction between the laser beam and the surface. (A.C.)

Practical issues of retrieving isolated attosecond pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang He; Chini, Michael; Khan, Sabih D; Chen, Shouyuan; Gilbertson, Steve; Feng Ximao; Mashiko, Hiroki; Chang Zenghu

2009-01-01

The attosecond streaking technique is used for the characterization of isolated extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulses. This type of measurement suffers from low photoelectron counts in the streaked spectrogram, and is thus susceptible to shot noise. For the retrieval of few- or mono-cycle attosecond pulses, high-intensity streaking laser fields are required, which cause the energy spectrum of above-threshold ionized (ATI) electrons to overlap with that of the streaked photoelectrons. It is found by using the principal component generalized projections algorithm that the XUV attosecond pulse can accurately be retrieved for simulated and experimental spectrograms with a peak value of 50 or more photoelectron counts. Also, the minimum streaking intensity is found to be more than 50 times smaller than that required by the classical streaking camera for retrieval of pulses with a spectral bandwidth supporting 90 as transform-limited pulse durations. Furthermore, spatial variation of the streaking laser intensity, collection angle of streaked electrons and time delay jitter between the XUV pulse and streaking field can degrade the quality of the streaked spectrogram. We find that even when the XUV and streaking laser focal spots are comparable in size, the streaking electrons are collected from a 4π solid angle, or the delay fluctuates by more than the attosecond pulse duration, the attosecond pulses can still be accurately retrieved. In order to explain the insusceptibility of the streaked spectrogram to these factors, the linearity of the streaked spectrogram with respect to the streaking field is derived under the saddle point approximation.

Integrability Aspects and Soliton Solutions for a System Describing Ultrashort Pulse Propagation in an Inhomogeneous Multi-Component Medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Rui; Tian Bo; Lue Xing; Zhang Haiqiang; Xu Tao

2010-01-01

For the propagation of the ultrashort pulses in an inhomogeneous multi-component nonlinear medium, a system of coupled equations is analytically studied in this paper. Painleve analysis shows that this system admits the Painleve property under some constraints. By means of the Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur procedure, the Lax pair of this system is derived, and the Darboux transformation (DT) is constructed with the help of the obtained Lax pair. With symbolic computation, the soliton solutions are obtained by virtue of the DT algorithm. Figures are plotted to illustrate the dynamical features of the soliton solutions. Characteristics of the solitons propagating in an inhomogeneous multi-component nonlinear medium are discussed: (i) Propagation of one soliton and two-peak soliton; (ii) Elastic interactions of the parabolic two solitons; (iii) Overlap phenomenon between two solitons; (iv) Collision of two head-on solitons and two head-on two-peak solitons; (v) Two different types of interactions of the three solitons; (vi) Decomposition phenomenon of one soliton into two solitons. The results might be useful in the study on the ultrashort-pulse propagation in the inhomogeneous multi-component nonlinear media. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

High-throughput machining using high average power ultrashort pulse lasers and ultrafast polygon scanner

Science.gov (United States)

Schille, Joerg; Schneider, Lutz; Streek, André; Kloetzer, Sascha; Loeschner, Udo

2016-03-01

In this paper, high-throughput ultrashort pulse laser machining is investigated on various industrial grade metals (Aluminium, Copper, Stainless steel) and Al2O3 ceramic at unprecedented processing speeds. This is achieved by using a high pulse repetition frequency picosecond laser with maximum average output power of 270 W in conjunction with a unique, in-house developed two-axis polygon scanner. Initially, different concepts of polygon scanners are engineered and tested to find out the optimal architecture for ultrafast and precision laser beam scanning. Remarkable 1,000 m/s scan speed is achieved on the substrate, and thanks to the resulting low pulse overlap, thermal accumulation and plasma absorption effects are avoided at up to 20 MHz pulse repetition frequencies. In order to identify optimum processing conditions for efficient high-average power laser machining, the depths of cavities produced under varied parameter settings are analyzed and, from the results obtained, the characteristic removal values are specified. The maximum removal rate is achieved as high as 27.8 mm3/min for Aluminium, 21.4 mm3/min for Copper, 15.3 mm3/min for Stainless steel and 129.1 mm3/min for Al2O3 when full available laser power is irradiated at optimum pulse repetition frequency.

Study of 2ω and 3/2ω harmonics in ultrashort high-intensity laser ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Intense laser pulses from such laser systems may have many pre-pulses like picosecond ... ultrashort laser–matter interaction, as well as to control the source parameters. In situ monitoring of ultrashort ... central wavelength of 790 nm with a bandwidth of 16 ± 2 nm after the compressor. The picosecond intensity contrast ...

Excitation of hydrogen atom by ultrashort laser pulses in optically dense plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calisti, A. [Aix Marseille Universite, CNRS, PIIM, Marseille (France); Astapenko, V.A. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudnyi (Russian Federation); Lisitsa, V.S. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudnyi (Russian Federation); Russian Research Center ' ' Kurchatov Institute' ' , Moscow (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2017-10-15

The features of excitation of a hydrogen atom by ultrashort laser pulses (USP) with a Gaussian envelope in optically dense plasma at a Lyman-beta transition are studied theoretically. The problem is of interest for diagnostics of optically dense media. USP have two doubtless advantages over conventional laser excitation: (a) the USP carrier frequency is shifted to the region of short wavelengths allowing exciting atoms from the ground state and (b) the wide spectrum of USP allows them to penetrate into optically dense media to much longer distances as compared with monochromatic radiation. As actual realistic cases, two examples are considered: hot rarefied plasma (the coronal limit) and dense cold plasma (the Boltzmann equilibrium). Universal expressions for the total probability of excitation of the transition under consideration are obtained in view of absorption of radiation in a medium. As initial data for the spectral form of a line, the results of calculations by methods of molecular dynamics are used. The probability of excitation of an atom is analysed for different values of problem parameters: the pulse duration, the optical thickness of a medium, and the detuning of the pulse carrier frequency from the eigenfrequency of an electron transition. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Birefringence profile adjustment by spatial overlap of nanogratings induced by ultra-short laser pulses inside fused silica

Science.gov (United States)

Arabanian, Atoosa Sadat; Najafi, Somayeh; Ajami, Aliasghar; Husinsky, Wolfgang; Massudi, Reza

2018-02-01

We have succeeded in realizing a method to control the spatial distribution of optical retardation as a result of nanogratings in bulk-fused silica induced by ultrashort laser pulses. A colorimetry-based retardation measurement (CBRM) based on the Michel-Levy interference color chart using a polarization microscope is used to determine the profiles of the optical retardation. Effects of the spatial overlap of written regions as well as the energy and polarization of the writing pulses on the induced retardations are studied. It has been found that the spatial overlap of lines written by pulse trains with different energies and polarizations can result in an adjustment of the induced birefringence in the overlap region. This approach offers the possibility of designing polarization-sensitive components with a desired birefringence profile.

Laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera for the temporal characterization of ultrashort processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuette, Bernd

2011-09-15

In this work, a novel laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera is presented. It allows for a pulse length characterization of femtosecond (fs) extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses by a cross-correlation with terahertz (THz) pulses generated with a Ti:sapphire laser. The XUV pulses are emitted by a source of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in which an intense near-infrared (NIR) fs laser pulse is focused into a gaseous medium. The design and characterization of a high-intensity THz source needed for the streak camera is also part of this thesis. The source is based on optical rectification of the same NIR laser pulse in a lithium niobate crystal. For this purpose, the pulse front of the NIR beam is tilted via a diffraction grating to achieve velocity matching between NIR and THz beams within the crystal. For the temporal characterization of the XUV pulses, both HHG and THz beams are focused onto a gas target. The harmonic radiation creates photoelectron wavepackets which are then accelerated by the THz field depending on its phase at the time of ionization. This principle adopted from a conventional streak camera and now widely used in attosecond metrology. The streak camera presented here is an advancement of a terahertz-field-driven streak camera implemented at the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH). The advantages of the laser-based streak camera lie in its compactness, cost efficiency and accessibility, while providing the same good quality of measurements as obtained at FLASH. In addition, its flexibility allows for a systematic investigation of streaked Auger spectra which is presented in this thesis. With its fs time resolution, the terahertz-field-driven streak camera thereby bridges the gap between attosecond and conventional cameras. (orig.)

Laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera for the temporal characterization of ultrashort processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuette, Bernd

2011-09-01

In this work, a novel laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera is presented. It allows for a pulse length characterization of femtosecond (fs) extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses by a cross-correlation with terahertz (THz) pulses generated with a Ti:sapphire laser. The XUV pulses are emitted by a source of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in which an intense near-infrared (NIR) fs laser pulse is focused into a gaseous medium. The design and characterization of a high-intensity THz source needed for the streak camera is also part of this thesis. The source is based on optical rectification of the same NIR laser pulse in a lithium niobate crystal. For this purpose, the pulse front of the NIR beam is tilted via a diffraction grating to achieve velocity matching between NIR and THz beams within the crystal. For the temporal characterization of the XUV pulses, both HHG and THz beams are focused onto a gas target. The harmonic radiation creates photoelectron wavepackets which are then accelerated by the THz field depending on its phase at the time of ionization. This principle adopted from a conventional streak camera and now widely used in attosecond metrology. The streak camera presented here is an advancement of a terahertz-field-driven streak camera implemented at the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH). The advantages of the laser-based streak camera lie in its compactness, cost efficiency and accessibility, while providing the same good quality of measurements as obtained at FLASH. In addition, its flexibility allows for a systematic investigation of streaked Auger spectra which is presented in this thesis. With its fs time resolution, the terahertz-field-driven streak camera thereby bridges the gap between attosecond and conventional cameras. (orig.)

Ultra-short pulse delivery at high average power with low-loss hollow core fibers coupled to TRUMPF's TruMicro laser platforms for industrial applications

Science.gov (United States)

Baumbach, S.; Pricking, S.; Overbuschmann, J.; Nutsch, S.; Kleinbauer, J.; Gebs, R.; Tan, C.; Scelle, R.; Kahmann, M.; Budnicki, A.; Sutter, D. H.; Killi, A.

2017-02-01

Multi-megawatt ultrafast laser systems at micrometer wavelength are commonly used for material processing applications, including ablation, cutting and drilling of various materials or cleaving of display glass with excellent quality. There is a need for flexible and efficient beam guidance, avoiding free space propagation of light between the laser head and the processing unit. Solid core step index fibers are only feasible for delivering laser pulses with peak powers in the kW-regime due to the optical damage threshold in bulk silica. In contrast, hollow core fibers are capable of guiding ultra-short laser pulses with orders of magnitude higher peak powers. This is possible since a micro-structured cladding confines the light within the hollow core and therefore minimizes the spatial overlap between silica and the electro-magnetic field. We report on recent results of single-mode ultra-short pulse delivery over several meters in a lowloss hollow core fiber packaged with industrial connectors. TRUMPF's ultrafast TruMicro laser platforms equipped with advanced temperature control and precisely engineered opto-mechanical components provide excellent position and pointing stability. They are thus perfectly suited for passive coupling of ultra-short laser pulses into hollow core fibers. Neither active beam launching components nor beam trackers are necessary for a reliable beam delivery in a space and cost saving packaging. Long term tests with weeks of stable operation, excellent beam quality and an overall transmission efficiency of above 85 percent even at high average power confirm the reliability for industrial applications.

Correlated nuclear and electronic dynamics in photoionized systems studied by quantum and mixed quantum-classical approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Zheng

2014-09-01

The advent of free electron lasers and high harmonic sources enables the investigation of electronic and nuclear dynamics of molecules and solids with atomic spatial resolution and femtosecond/attosecond time resolution, using bright and ultrashort laser pulses of frequency from terahertz to hard x-ray range. With the help of ultrashort laser pulses, the nuclear and electronic dynamics can be initiated, monitored and actively controlled at the typical time scale in the femtosecond to attosecond realm. Meanwhile, theoretical tools are required to describe the underlying mechanism. This doctoral thesis focuses on the development of theoretical tools based on full quantum mechanical multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) and mixed quantum classical approaches, which can be applied to describe the dynamical behavior of gas phase molecules and strongly correlated solids in the presence of ultrashort laser pulses. In the first part of this thesis, the focus is on the motion of electron holes in gas phase molecular ions created by extreme ultraviolet (XUV) photoionization and watched by spectroscopic approaches. The XUV photons create electron-hole in the valence orbitals of molecules by photoionization, the electron hole, as a positively charged quasi-particle, can then interact with the nuclei and the rest of electrons, leading to coupled non-Born-Oppenheimer dynamics. I present our study on electron-hole relaxation dynamics in valence ionized molecular ions of moderate size, using quantum wave packet and mixed quantum-classical approaches, using photoionized [H + (H 2 O) n ] + molecular ion as example. We have shown that the coupled motion of the electron-hole and the nuclei can be mapped out with femtosecond resolution by core-level x-ray transient absorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, in specific cases, the XUV photon can create a coherent electron hole, that can maintain its coherence to time scales of ∝ 1 picosecond. Employing XUV pump - IR probe

Bright ultrashort x-rays from intense subpicosecond laser-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umstadter, D.

1995-01-01

Short-pulse, high-intensity lasers interacting with solid targets make possible the study of a new class of laser-plasma interactions. They are unique because during the ultrashort laser pulse relatively little expansion occurs, and the density scale length remains much less than the laser wavelength. This makes possible the direct deposition of a significant amount of the laser energy at close to solid density. Steep plasma temperature and density gradients subsequently cause rapid cooling, resulting in highly non-equilibrium conditions and the concurrent emission of extremely bright ultrashort x-ray pulses. In this study, the latter are investigated experimentally with temporally and spectrally resolved soft x-ray diagnostics. The emitted x-ray spectra from solid targets with various atomic numbers are characterized for a laser pulse width τ l ∼ 400 fs. These ultrashort x rays may be used as (1) a diagnostic of solid-density plasma conditions, (2) a tool for the study of radiation hydrodynamics in a parameter regime that is otherwise inaccessible, and (3) a source for time-resolved diffraction, spectroscopy, or microscopy studies of transient chemical, biological or physical phenomena

ANALYSIS OF PERIODIC NANOSTRUCTURES FORMATION ON A GOLD SURFACE UNDER EXPOSURE TO ULTRASHORT LASER PULSES NEAR THE MELTING THRESHOLD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. S. Ivanov

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Subject of Study. The mechanism of surface restructuring by ultrashort laser pulses involves a lot of fast, non-equilibrium, and interrelated processes while the solid is in a transient state. As a result, the analysis of the experimental data cannot cover all the mechanisms of nanostructuring. We present a direct comparison of a simulation and experimental results of surface nanomodification induced by a single laser pulse. Method. The experimental results were obtained by using a mask projection setup with a laser wavelength equal to 248 nm and a pulse length equal to 1.6 ps. This setup is used to produce an intensity grating on a gold surface with a sinusoidal shape and a period of 500 nm. The formed structures were analyzed by a scanning and transmission electron microscope, respectively. Then a hybrid atomistic-continuum model capable of capturing the essential mechanisms responsible for the nanostructuring process was used for modeling the interaction of the laser pulse with a thick gold target. Main Results. A good agreement between simulation and experimental data justifies the proposed approach as a powerful tool revealing the physics behind the nanostructuring process at a gold surface and providing a microscopic insight into the dynamics of the structuring processes of metals in general. The presented model, therefore, is an important step towards a new computational tool in predicting materials response to an ultrashort laser pulse on the atomic scale and properties of the modified surfaces. Practical Relevance. This detailed understanding of the dynamics of the process will pave the way towards pre-designed topologies for functionalized surfaces on the nano- and micro-scales.

Generation of ultra-short relativistic-electron-bunch by a laser wakefield

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khachatryan, A.G.; Boller, Klaus J.; van Goor, F.A.

2003-01-01

The possibility of the generation of an ultra-short (about one micron long) relativistic (up to a few GeVs) electron-bunch in a moderately nonlinear laser wakefield excited in an underdense plasma by an intense laser pulse is investigated. The ultra-short bunch is formed by trapping, effective

Spectral phase encoding of ultra-short optical pulse in time domain for OCDMA application.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xu; Wada, Naoya

2007-06-11

We propose a novel reconfigurable time domain spectral phase encoding (SPE) scheme for coherent optical code-division-multiple-access application. In the proposed scheme, the ultra-short optical pulse is stretched by dispersive device and the SPE is done in time domain using high speed phase modulator. The time domain SPE scheme is robust to wavelength drift of the light source and is very flexible and compatible with the fiber optical system. Proof-of-principle experiments of encoding with 16-chip, 20 GHz/chip binary-phase-shift-keying codes and 1.25 Gbps data transmission have been successfully demonstrated together with an arrayed-wave-guide decoder.

Pulse-shaping strategies in short-pulse fiber amplifiers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schimpf, Damian Nikolaus

2010-02-09

Ultrashort pulse lasers are an important tool in scientific and industrial applications. However, many applications are demanding higher average powers from these ultrashort pulse sources. This can be achieved by combining direct diode pumping with novel gain media designs. In particular, ultrashort pulse fiber lasers are now delivering average powers in the kW range. However, the design of fiber lasers, producing pulses with high peak-powers, is challenging due to the impact of nonlinear effects. To significantly reduce these detrimental effects in ultrashort pulse fiber amplifers, the combination of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and large mode area fibers is employed. Using these methods, the pulse energy of fiber lasers has been steadily increasing for the past few years. Recently, a fiber-based CPA-system has been demonstrated which produces pulse energies of around 1 mJ. However, both the stretching and the enlargement of the mode area are limited, and therefore, the impact of nonlinearity is still noticed in systems employing such devices. The aim of this thesis is the analysis of CPA-systems operated beyond the conventional nonlinear limit, which corresponds to accumulated nonlinear phase-shifts around 1 rad. This includes a detailed discussion of the influence of the nonlinear effect self-phase modulation on the output pulse of CPA-systems. An analytical model is presented. Emphasis is placed on the design of novel concepts to control the impact of self-phase modulation. Pulse-shaping is regarded as a powerful tool to accomplish this goal. Novel methods to control the impact of SPM are experimentally demonstrated. The design of these concepts is based on the theoretical findings. Both amplitude- and phase-shaping are studied. Model-based phase-shaping is implemented in a state-of-the-art fiber CPA-system. The influence of the polarization state is also highlighted. Additionally, existing techniques and recent advances are put into context. (orig.)

Pulse-shaping strategies in short-pulse fiber amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schimpf, Damian Nikolaus

2010-01-01

Ultrashort pulse lasers are an important tool in scientific and industrial applications. However, many applications are demanding higher average powers from these ultrashort pulse sources. This can be achieved by combining direct diode pumping with novel gain media designs. In particular, ultrashort pulse fiber lasers are now delivering average powers in the kW range. However, the design of fiber lasers, producing pulses with high peak-powers, is challenging due to the impact of nonlinear effects. To significantly reduce these detrimental effects in ultrashort pulse fiber amplifers, the combination of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and large mode area fibers is employed. Using these methods, the pulse energy of fiber lasers has been steadily increasing for the past few years. Recently, a fiber-based CPA-system has been demonstrated which produces pulse energies of around 1 mJ. However, both the stretching and the enlargement of the mode area are limited, and therefore, the impact of nonlinearity is still noticed in systems employing such devices. The aim of this thesis is the analysis of CPA-systems operated beyond the conventional nonlinear limit, which corresponds to accumulated nonlinear phase-shifts around 1 rad. This includes a detailed discussion of the influence of the nonlinear effect self-phase modulation on the output pulse of CPA-systems. An analytical model is presented. Emphasis is placed on the design of novel concepts to control the impact of self-phase modulation. Pulse-shaping is regarded as a powerful tool to accomplish this goal. Novel methods to control the impact of SPM are experimentally demonstrated. The design of these concepts is based on the theoretical findings. Both amplitude- and phase-shaping are studied. Model-based phase-shaping is implemented in a state-of-the-art fiber CPA-system. The influence of the polarization state is also highlighted. Additionally, existing techniques and recent advances are put into context. (orig.)

Proceedings of the first JAERI-Kansai international workshop on ultrashort-pulse ultrahigh-power lasers and simulation for laser-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

Records of the First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop, which focused on the subject of 'Ultrashort-Pulse Ultrahigh-Power Lasers and Simulation for Laser-Plasma Interactions', are contained in this issue. The First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop was held as Joint ICFA/JAERI-Kansai International Workshop '97 with International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA). This report consists of 24 contributed papers. (J.P.N.)

Proceedings of the first JAERI-Kansai international workshop on ultrashort-pulse ultrahigh-power lasers and simulation for laser-plasma interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Records of the First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop, which focused on the subject of `Ultrashort-Pulse Ultrahigh-Power Lasers and Simulation for Laser-Plasma Interactions`, are contained in this issue. The First JAERI-Kansai International Workshop was held as Joint ICFA/JAERI-Kansai International Workshop `97 with International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA). This report consists of 24 contributed papers. (J.P.N.)

How to optimize ultrashort pulse laser interaction with glass surfaces in cutting regimes?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulgakova, Nadezhda M., E-mail: bulgakova@fzu.cz [HiLASE Centre, Institute of Physics ASCR, Za Radnicí 828, 25241 Dolní Břežany (Czech Republic); Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, 1 Lavrentyev Ave., Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Zhukov, Vladimir P. [Institute of Computational Technologies SB RAS, 6 Lavrentyev Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State Technical University, 20 Karl Marx Ave., 630073 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Collins, Adam R. [NCLA, NUI Galway, Galway (Ireland); Rostohar, Danijela; Derrien, Thibault J.-Y.; Mocek, Tomáš [HiLASE Centre, Institute of Physics ASCR, Za Radnicí 828, 25241 Dolní Břežany (Czech Republic)

2015-05-01

Highlights: • The factors influencing laser micromachining of transparent materials are analyzed. • Important role of ambient gas in laser processing is shown by numerical simulations. • The large potential of bi-wavelength laser processing is demonstrated. - Abstract: The interaction of short and ultrashort pulse laser radiation with glass materials is addressed. Particular attention is paid to regimes which are important in industrial applications such as laser cutting, drilling, functionalization of material surfaces, etc. Different factors influencing the ablation efficiency and quality are summarized and their importance is illustrated experimentally. The effects of ambient gas ionization in front of the irradiated target are also analyzed. A possibility to enhance laser coupling with transparent solids by bi-wavelength irradiation is discussed.

Electron Interference in Molecular Circular Polarization Attosecond XUV Photoionization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai-Jun Yuan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Two-center electron interference in molecular attosecond photoionization processes is investigated from numerical solutions of time-dependent Schrödinger equations. Both symmetric H\\(_2^+\\ and nonsymmetric HHe\\(^{2+}\\ one electron diatomic systems are ionized by intense attosecond circularly polarized XUV laser pulses. Photoionization of these molecular ions shows signature of interference with double peaks (minima in molecular attosecond photoelectron energy spectra (MAPES at critical angles \\(\\vartheta_c\\ between the molecular \\(\\textbf{R}\\ axis and the photoelectron momentum \\(\\textbf{p}\\. The interferences are shown to be a function of the symmetry of electronic states and the interference patterns are sensitive to the molecular orientation and pulse polarization. Such sensitivity offers possibility for imaging of molecular structure and orbitals.

Fields of an ultrashort tightly focused radially polarized laser pulse in a linear response plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Salamin, Yousef I.

2017-10-01

Analytical expressions for the fields of a radially polarized, ultrashort, and tightly focused laser pulse propagating in a linear-response plasma are derived and discussed. The fields are obtained from solving the inhomogeneous wave equations for the vector and scalar potentials, linked by the Lorenz gauge, in a plasma background. First, the scalar potential is eliminated using the gauge condition, then the vector potential is synthesized from Fourier components of an initial uniform distribution of wavenumbers, and the inverse Fourier transformation is carried out term-by-term in a truncated series (finite sum). The zeroth-order term in, for example, the axial electric field component is shown to model a pulse much better than its widely used paraxial approximation counterpart. Some of the propagation characteristics of the fields are discussed and all fields are shown to have manifested the expected limits for propagation in a vacuum.

Multifunctional gold nanorods for selective plasmonic photothermal therapy in pancreatic cancer cells using ultra-short pulse near-infrared laser irradiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Patino, Tania; Mahajan, Ujjwal; Palankar, Raghavendra; Medvedev, Nikolay; Walowski, Jakob; Münzenberg, Markus; Mayerle, Julia; Delcea, Mihaela

2015-03-12

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) have attracted considerable attention in plasmonic photothermal therapy for cancer treatment by exploiting their selective and localized heating effect due to their unique photophysical properties. Here we describe a strategy to design a novel multifunctional platform based on AuNRs to: (i) specifically target the adenocarcinoma MUC-1 marker through the use of the EPPT-1 peptide, (ii) enhance cellular uptake through a myristoylated polyarginine peptide (MPAP) and (iii) selectively induce cell death by ultra-short near infrared laser pulses. We used a biotin-avidin based approach to conjugate EPPT-1 and MPAP to AuNRs. Dual-peptide (EPPT-1+MPAP) labelled AuNRs showed a significantly higher uptake by pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells when compared to their single peptide or avidin conjugated counterparts. In addition, we selectively induced cell death by ultra-short near infrared laser pulses in small target volumes (∼1 μm3), through the creation of plasmonic nanobubbles that lead to the destruction of a local cell environment. Our approach opens new avenues for conjugation of multiple ligands on AuNRs targeting cancer cells and tumors and it is relevant for plasmonic photothermal therapy.

Non-destructive testing of ceramic materials using mid-infrared ultrashort-pulse laser

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, S. C.; Qi, Hong; An, X. Y.; Ren, Y. T.; Qiao, Y. B.; Ruan, Liming M.

2018-04-01

The non-destructive testing (NDT) of ceramic materials using mid-infrared ultrashort-pulse laser is investigated in this study. The discrete ordinate method is applied to solve the transient radiative transfer equation in 2D semitransparent medium and the emerging radiative intensity on boundary serves as input for the inverse analysis. The sequential quadratic programming algorithm is employed as the inverse technique to optimize objective function, in which the gradient of objective function with respect to reconstruction parameters is calculated using the adjoint model. Two reticulated porous ceramics including partially stabilized zirconia and oxide-bonded silicon carbide are tested. The retrieval results show that the main characteristics of defects such as optical properties, geometric shapes and positions can be accurately reconstructed by the present model. The proposed technique is effective and robust in NDT of ceramics even with measurement errors.

On-the-fly depth profiling during ablation with ultrashort laser pulses: A tool for accurate micromachining and laser surgery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lausten, Rune; Balling, Peter

2001-01-01

A method for accurate depth profiling of a region subjected to ablation with ultrashort laser pulses is demonstrated. Time-gated imaging of the backscattered radiation from the ablation region is performed in a geometry, which allows the depth along a chosen axis on the sample to be determined with a single measurement. The profiling system has a spatial resolution of a few micrometers and applications are promoted by the fact that the measurement is performed with the same pulse that undertakes ablation. This also indicates that the method is inherently suited for in situ on-the-fly measurements. Copyright 2001 American Institute of Physics

New theoretical approaches to atomic and molecular dynamics triggered by ultrashort light pulses on the atto- to picosecond time scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pabst, Stefan Ulf

2013-04-01

The concept of atoms as the building blocks of matter has existed for over 3000 years. A revolution in the understanding and the description of atoms and molecules has occurred in the last century with the birth of quantum mechanics. After the electronic structure was understood, interest in studying the dynamics of electrons, atoms, and molecules increased. However, time-resolved investigations of these ultrafast processes were not possible until recently. The typical time scale of atomic and molecular processes is in the picosecond to attosecond realm. Tremendous technological progress in recent years makes it possible to generate light pulses on these time scales. With such ultrashort pulses, atomic and molecular dynamics can be triggered, watched, and controlled. Simultaneously, the need rises for theoretical models describing the underlying mechanisms. This doctoral thesis focuses on the development of theoretical models which can be used to study the dynamical behavior of electrons, atoms, and molecules in the presence of ultrashort light pulses. Several examples are discussed illustrating how light pulses can trigger and control electronic, atomic, and molecular motions. In the first part of this work, I focus on the rotational motion of asymmetric molecules, which happens on picosecond and femtosecond time scales. Here, the aim is to align all three axes of the molecule as well as possible. To investigate theoretically alignment dynamics, I developed a program that can describe alignment motion ranging from the impulsive to the adiabatic regime. The asymmetric molecule SO 2 is taken as an example to discuss strategies of optimizing 3D alignment without the presence of an external field (i.e., field-free alignment). Field-free alignment is particularly advantageous because subsequent experiments on the aligned molecule are not perturbed by the aligning light pulse. Wellaligned molecules in the gas phase are suitable for diffraction experiments. From the

New theoretical approaches to atomic and molecular dynamics triggered by ultrashort light pulses on the atto- to picosecond time scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pabst, Stefan Ulf

2013-04-15

The concept of atoms as the building blocks of matter has existed for over 3000 years. A revolution in the understanding and the description of atoms and molecules has occurred in the last century with the birth of quantum mechanics. After the electronic structure was understood, interest in studying the dynamics of electrons, atoms, and molecules increased. However, time-resolved investigations of these ultrafast processes were not possible until recently. The typical time scale of atomic and molecular processes is in the picosecond to attosecond realm. Tremendous technological progress in recent years makes it possible to generate light pulses on these time scales. With such ultrashort pulses, atomic and molecular dynamics can be triggered, watched, and controlled. Simultaneously, the need rises for theoretical models describing the underlying mechanisms. This doctoral thesis focuses on the development of theoretical models which can be used to study the dynamical behavior of electrons, atoms, and molecules in the presence of ultrashort light pulses. Several examples are discussed illustrating how light pulses can trigger and control electronic, atomic, and molecular motions. In the first part of this work, I focus on the rotational motion of asymmetric molecules, which happens on picosecond and femtosecond time scales. Here, the aim is to align all three axes of the molecule as well as possible. To investigate theoretically alignment dynamics, I developed a program that can describe alignment motion ranging from the impulsive to the adiabatic regime. The asymmetric molecule SO{sub 2} is taken as an example to discuss strategies of optimizing 3D alignment without the presence of an external field (i.e., field-free alignment). Field-free alignment is particularly advantageous because subsequent experiments on the aligned molecule are not perturbed by the aligning light pulse. Wellaligned molecules in the gas phase are suitable for diffraction experiments. From the

Investigation of ultrashort-pulsed laser on dental hard tissue

Science.gov (United States)

Uchizono, Takeyuki; Awazu, Kunio; Igarashi, Akihiro; Kato, Junji; Hirai, Yoshito

2007-02-01

Ultrashort-pulsed laser (USPL) can ablate various materials with precious less thermal effect. In laser dentistry, to solve the problem that were the generation of crack and carbonized layer by irradiating with conventional laser such as Er:YAG and CO II laser, USPL has been studied to ablate dental hard tissues by several researchers. We investigated the effectiveness of ablation on dental hard tissues by USPL. In this study, Ti:sapphire laser as USPL was used. The laser parameter had the pulse duration of 130 fsec, 800nm wavelength, 1KHz of repetition rate and the average power density of 90~360W/cm2. Bovine root dentin plates and crown enamel plates were irradiated with USPL at 1mm/sec using moving stage. The irradiated samples were analyzed by SEM, EDX, FTIR and roughness meter. In all irradiated samples, the cavity margin and wall were sharp and steep, extremely. In irradiated dentin samples, the surface showed the opened dentin tubules and no smear layer. The Ca/P ratio by EDX measurement and the optical spectrum by FTIR measurement had no change on comparison irradiated samples and non-irradiated samples. These results confirmed that USPL could ablate dental hard tissue, precisely and non-thermally. In addition, the ablation depths of samples were 10μm, 20μm, and 60μm at 90 W/cm2, 180 W/cm2, and 360 W/cm2, approximately. Therefore, ablation depth by USPL depends on the average power density. USPL has the possibility that can control the precision and non-thermal ablation with depth direction by adjusting the irradiated average power density.

Toward Imaging of Small Objects with XUV Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Sayrac, Muhammed; Kolomenski, Alexandre A.; Boran, Yakup; Schuessler, Hans

The coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) technique has the potential to capture high resolution images of nano- or micron-sized structures when using XUV radiation obtained by high harmonic radiation (HHG) process. When a small object is exposed to XUV radiation, a diffraction pattern of the object is created. The advances in the coherent HHG enable obtaining photon flux sufficient for XUV imaging. The diffractive imaging technique from coherent table top XUV beams have made possible nanometer-scale resolution imaging by replacing the imaging optics with a computer reconstruction algorithm. In this study, we present our initial work on diffractive imaging using a tabletop XUV source. The initial investigation of imaging of a micron-sized mesh with an optimized HHG source is demonstrated. This work was supported in part by the Robert A. Welch Foundation Grant No. A1546 and the Qatar Foundation under the grant NPRP 8-735-1-154. M. Sayrac acknowledges support from the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey.

Enhanced surface structuring by ultrafast XUV/NIR dual action

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jakubczak, Krzysztof; Mocek, Tomáš; Chalupský, Jaromír; Lee, G.H.; Kim, T.K.; Park, S.B.; Nam, Ch. H.; Hájková, Věra; Toufarová, Martina; Juha, Libor; Rus, Bedřich

2011-01-01

Roč. 13, č. 5 (2011), s. 1-12 ISSN 1367-2630 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN300100702; GA MŠk(CZ) LC528; GA MŠk LA08024; GA ČR GC202/07/J008 Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) M100100911 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : XUV beam * ultrafast NIR laser pulses * high-order harmonics * laser-induced periodic surface structures Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 4.177, year: 2011 http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/13/5/053049

Effect of gas heating on the generation of an ultrashort avalanche electron beam in the pulse-periodic regime

Science.gov (United States)

Baksht, E. Kh.; Burachenko, A. G.; Lomaev, M. I.; Sorokin, D. A.; Tarasenko, V. F.

2015-07-01

The generation of an ultrashort avalanche electron beam (UAEB) in nitrogen in the pulse-periodic regime is investigated. The gas temperature in the discharge gap of the atmospheric-pressure nitrogen is measured from the intensity distribution of unresolved rotational transitions ( C 3Π u , v' = 0) → ( B 3Π g , v″ = 0) in the nitrogen molecule for an excitation pulse repetition rate of 2 kHz. It is shown that an increase in the UAEB current amplitude in the pulse-periodic regime is due to gas heating by a series of previous pulses, which leads to an increase in the reduced electric field strength as a result of a decrease in the gas density in the zone of the discharge formation. It is found that in the pulse-periodic regime and the formation of the diffuse discharge, the number of electrons in the beam increases by several times for a nitrogen pressure of 9 × 103 Pa. The dependences of the number of electrons in the UAEB on the time of operation of the generator are considered.

Charge and spin dynamics driven by ultrashort extreme broadband pulses: A theory perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moskalenko, Andrey S., E-mail: andrey.moskalenko@uni-konstanz.de [Institut für Physik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Germany); Department of Physics and Center for Applied Photonics, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz (Germany); Zhu, Zhen-Gang, E-mail: zgzhu@ucas.ac.cn [Institut für Physik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Germany); School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Berakdar, Jamal, E-mail: jamal.berakdar@physik.uni-halle.de [Institut für Physik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Germany)

2017-02-17

This article gives an overview on recent theoretical progress in controlling the charge and spin dynamics in low-dimensional electronic systems by means of ultrashort and ultrabroadband electromagnetic pulses. A particular focus is put on sub-cycle and single-cycle pulses and their utilization for coherent control. The discussion is mostly limited to cases where the pulse duration is shorter than the characteristic time scales associated with the involved spectral features of the excitations. The relevant current theoretical knowledge is presented in a coherent, pedagogic manner. We work out that the pulse action amounts in essence to a quantum map between the quantum states of the system at an appropriately chosen time moment during the pulse. The influence of a particular pulse shape on the post-pulse dynamics is reduced to several integral parameters entering the expression for the quantum map. The validity range of this reduction scheme for different strengths of the driving fields is established and discussed for particular nanostructures. Acting with a periodic pulse sequence, it is shown how the system can be steered to and largely maintained in predefined states. The conditions for this nonequilibrium sustainability are worked out by means of geometric phases, which are identified as the appropriate quantities to indicate quasistationarity of periodically driven quantum systems. Demonstrations are presented for the control of the charge, spin, and valley degrees of freedom in nanostructures on picosecond and subpicosecond time scales. The theory is illustrated with several applications to one-dimensional semiconductor quantum wires and superlattices, double quantum dots, semiconductor and graphene quantum rings. In the case of a periodic pulsed driving the influence of the relaxation and decoherence processes is included by utilizing the density matrix approach. The integrated and time-dependent spectra of the light emitted from the driven system deliver

Dynamics of the spectral behaviour of an ultrashort laser pulse in an argon-gas-filled capillary discharge-preformed plasma channel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakai S.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available We have reported the argon plasma waveguide produced in an alumina (Al2O3 capillary discharge and used to guide ultrashort laser pulses at intensities of the order of 1016  W/cm2. A one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD code was used to evaluate the average degree of ionization of Ar in the preformed plasma channel. The spectrum of the propagated laser pulse in the Ar plasma waveguide was not modified and was well reproduced by a particle-in-cell (PIC simulation under initial ion charge state of Ar3+ in the preformed plasma waveguide. The optimum timing for the laser pulse injection was around 150 ns after initiation of a discharge with a peak current of 200 A.

Investigation of Temperature Change under Influence of Ultrashort Laser Pulses Taking into Account Relaxation Properties of Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Eremin, A. V.; Kudinov, V. A.; Stefanyuk, E. V.; Kudinov, I. V.

2018-03-01

By using the modified Fourier law’s formula considering the relaxation of heat flow and temperature gradient, a mathematical model of the local non-equilibrium process of plate heating with ultrashort laser pulses was developed. The research showed that consideration of non-locality results in the delayed plate heat up irrespective of the laser radiation flow intensity. It was also shown that in consideration of the relaxation phenomena, the boundary conditions may not be fulfilled immediately – they may be set only within a definite range of the initial time.

Detection of hydrodynamic expansion in ultrashort pulse laser ellipsometric pump-probe experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morikami, Hidetoshi; Yoneda, Hitoki; Ueda, Ken-ichi; More, Richard M.

2004-01-01

In ultrashort-pulse laser interaction with solid target materials, the target rapidly heats, melts, evaporates, and begins to expand as a vapor or plasma. The onset of hydrodynamic expansion following surface evaporation is a switching point, where the dominant physics changes from temperature dependence of the solid dielectric function to refraction by the dense vapor cloud. We propose and demonstrate a method to analyze reflection data to identify this onset of target expansion. We use two of the Stokes parameters obtained from ellipsometric pump-probe measurements to determine a dielectric function with an assumption of no expansion. We use this dielectric function to predict the full set of reflectivity measurements. If there is a sharply defined target interface, this method reproduces the experimental data. When the plasma expansion is no longer negligible, the prediction deviates from the experimental measurements. This comparison shows when the plasma expansion is no longer negligible

Polarized spectral properties of Yb3+ : Li2Gd4(MoO4)7 crystal: a candidate for tunable and ultrashort pulse lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Haomiao; Chen Yujin; Lin Yanfu; Gong Xinghong; Liao Jinsheng; Chen Xueyuan; Luo Zundu; Huang Yidong

2007-01-01

Detailed polarized spectral properties of a 3.2 at.% Yb 3+ : Li 2 Gd 4 (MoO 4 ) 7 crystal, including absorption cross-section, emission cross-section, up-conversion spectrum and intrinsic fluorescence lifetime, were investigated. The laser potentiality was also evaluated and the results show that this crystal is a good candidate for tunable and ultrashort pulse lasers

Studies of high repetition rate laser-produced plasma soft-X-ray amplifiers; Etudes d'amplificateurs plasma laser a haute cadence dans le domaine X-UV et applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cassou, K

2006-12-15

The progress made as well on the Ti:Sa laser system, as in the control and the knowledge of laser produced X-UV sources allowed the construction of a X-UV laser station dedicated to the applications. My thesis work falls under the development of this station and more particularly on the characterization of a X-UV laser plasma amplifier. The experimental study relates to the coupling improvement of the pump infra-red laser with plasma within the framework of the transient collisional X-UV laser generation. These X-UV lasers are generated in a plasma formed by the interaction of a solid target and a laser pulse of approximately 500 ps duration, followed by a second infra-red laser pulse known as of pump (about 5 ps) impinging on the target in grazing incidence. For the first time, a complete parametric study was undertaken on the influence of the grazing angle on the pumping of the amplifying medium. One of the results was to reach very high peak brightness about 10{sup 28} ph/s/mm{sup 2}/mrad{sup 2}/(0.1%bandwidth), which compares well with the free-electron laser brightness. Moreover, we modified then used a new two-dimensional hydrodynamic code with adaptive mesh refinement in order to understand the influence of the space-time properties of the infra-red laser on the formation and the evolution of the amplifying plasma. Our modeling highlighted the interest to use a super Gaussian transverse profile for the line focus leading to an increase in a factor two of the gain region size and a reduction of the electron density gradient by three orders of magnitude. These improvements should strongly increase the energy contained in X-UV laser beam. We thus used X-UV laser to study the appearance of transient defects produced by a laser IR on a beam-splitter rear side. We also began research on the mechanisms of DNA damage induced by a very intense X-UV radiation. (author)

Generation of “gigantic” ultra-short microwave pulses based on passive mode-locking effect in electron oscillators with saturable absorber in the feedback loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginzburg, N. S.; Denisov, G. G.; Vilkov, M. N.; Zotova, I. V.; Sergeev, A. S.

2016-01-01

A periodic train of powerful ultrashort microwave pulses can be generated in electron oscillators with a non-linear saturable absorber installed in the feedback loop. This method of pulse formation resembles the passive mode-locking widely used in laser physics. Nevertheless, there is a specific feature in the mechanism of pulse amplification when consecutive energy extraction from different fractions of a stationary electron beam takes place due to pulse slippage over the beam caused by the difference between the wave group velocity and the electron axial velocity. As a result, the peak power of generated “gigantic” pulses can exceed not only the level of steady-state generation but also, in the optimal case, the power of the driving electron beam.

Performance of a nonlinear receiver for the ultrashort-pulse optical CDMA system

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Bin; Lehnert, James S.

2005-09-01

At the receiver of an ultrashort-pulse optical code-division multiple-access (OCDMA) system, a nonlinear thresholder is needed to discriminate between the correctly decoded short pulse and the interference that appears to be a pseudorandom signal. It has been demonstrated that the self phase modulation (SPM) effect can be used to realize this nonlinear thresholder. The performance of a system that exploits this phenomenon is analyzed in this paper. If the spreading code is random, the electrical field of the interfering signal from the multiple users can be shown to be a complex Gaussian random process. The broadened power spectral density (PSD) function caused by the SPM effect can be calculated. When "1" is transmitted, the correctly decoded signal from the desired user, which is a deterministic waveform, is added to the Gaussian random process. Beating between the two signals causes random fluctuations in the power. Since the strength of the SPM effect is proportional to the variation rate of power, the broadened signal spectrum will appear random. The Monte Carlo method is used to obtain the properties of the decision statistic. Finally, the bit-error rate (BER) is calculated, and the simulation results are presented. The result reveals that the performance of the SPM-based nonlinear receiver can outperform the ideal linear receiver in some circumstances.

XUV free-electron laser-based projection lithography systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newnam, B.E.

1990-01-01

Free-electron laser sources, driven by rf-linear accelerators, have the potential to operate in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range with more than sufficient average power for high-volume projection lithography. For XUV wavelengths from 100 nm to 4 nm, such sources will enable the resolution limit of optical projection lithography to be extended from 0.25 {mu}m to 0.05{mu}m and with an adequate total depth of focus (1 to 2 {mu}m). Recent developments of a photoinjector of very bright electron beams, high-precision magnetic undulators, and ring-resonator cavities raise our confidence that FEL operation below 100 nm is ready for prototype demonstration. We address the motivation for an XUV FEL source for commercial microcircuit production and its integration into a lithographic system, include reflecting reduction masks, reflecting XUV projection optics and alignment systems, and surface-imaging photoresists. 52 refs., 7 figs.

Time-dependent H-like and He-like Al lines produced by ultra-short pulse laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kato, Takako; Kato, Masatoshi [National Inst. for Fusion Science, Nagoya (Japan); Shepherd, R; Young, B; More, R; Osterheld, Al

1998-03-01

We have performed numerical modeling of time-resolved x-ray spectra from thin foil targets heated by the LLNL Ultra-short pulse (USP) laser. The targets were aluminum foils of thickness ranging from 250 A to 1250 A, heated with 120 fsec pulses of 400 nm light from the USP laser. The laser energy was approximately 0.2 Joules, focused to a 3 micron spot size for a peak intensity near 2 x 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}. Ly{alpha} and He{alpha} lines were recorded using a 900 fsec x-ray streak camera. We calculate the effective ionization, recombination and emission rate coefficients including density effects for H-like and He-like aluminum ions using a collisional radiative model. We calculate time-dependent ion abundances using these effective ionization and recombination rate coefficients. The time-dependent electron temperature and density used in the calculation are based on an analytical model for the hydrodynamic expansion of the target foils. During the laser pulse the target is ionized. After the laser heating stops, the plasma begins to recombine. Using the calculated time dependent ion abundances and the effective emission rate coefficients, we calculate the time dependent Ly{alpha} and He{alpha} lines. The calculations reproduce the main qualitative features of the experimental spectra. (author)

Laser-matter interaction at high intensity and high temporal contrast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doumy, G.

2006-01-01

The continuous progress in the development of laser installations has already lead to ultra-short pulses capable of achieving very high focalized intensities (I > 10 18 W/cm 2 ). At these intensities, matter presents new non-linear behaviours, due to the fact that the electrons are accelerated to relativistic speeds. The experimental access to this interaction regime on solid targets has long been forbidden because of the presence, alongside the femtosecond pulse, of a pedestal (mainly due to the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) which occurs in the laser chain) intense enough to modify the state of the target. In this thesis, we first characterized, both experimentally and theoretically, a device which allows an improvement of the temporal contrast of the pulse: the Plasma Mirror. It consists in adjusting the focusing of the pulse on a dielectric target, so that the pedestal is mainly transmitted, while the main pulse is reflected by the overcritical plasma that it forms at the surface. The implementation of such a device on the UHI 10 laser facility (CEA Saclay - 10 TW - 60 fs) then allowed us to study the interaction between ultra-intense, high contrast pulses with solid targets. In a first part, we managed to generate and characterize dense plasmas resulting directly from the interaction between the main pulse and very thin foils (100 nm). This characterization was realized by using an XUV source obtained by high order harmonics generation in a rare gas jet. In a second part, we studied experimentally the phenomenon of high order harmonics generation on solid targets, which is still badly understood, but could potentially lead to a new kind of energetic ultra-short XUV sources. (author)

Fully phase-encoded MRI near metallic implants using ultrashort echo times and broadband excitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiens, Curtis N; Artz, Nathan S; Jang, Hyungseok; McMillan, Alan B; Koch, Kevin M; Reeder, Scott B

2018-04-01

To develop a fully phase-encoded MRI method for distortion-free imaging near metallic implants, in clinically feasible acquisition times. An accelerated 3D fully phase-encoded acquisition with broadband excitation and ultrashort echo times is presented, which uses a broadband radiofrequency pulse to excite the entire off-resonance induced by the metallic implant. Furthermore, fully phase-encoded imaging is used to prevent distortions caused by frequency encoding, and to obtain ultrashort echo times for rapidly decaying signal. Phantom and in vivo acquisitions were used to describe the relationship among excitation bandwidth, signal loss near metallic implants, and T 1 weighting. Shorter radiofrequency pulses captured signal closer to the implant by improving spectral coverage and allowing shorter echo times, whereas longer pulses improved T 1 weighting through larger maximum attainable flip angles. Comparisons of fully phase-encoded acquisition with broadband excitation and ultrashort echo times to T 1 -weighted multi-acquisition with variable resonance image combination selective were performed in phantoms and subjects with metallic knee and hip prostheses. These acquisitions had similar contrast and acquisition efficiency. Accelerated fully phase-encoded acquisitions with ultrashort echo times and broadband excitation can generate distortion free images near metallic implants in clinically feasible acquisition times. Magn Reson Med 79:2156-2163, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

H{sup +}{sub 2} ionization by ultra-short electromagnetic pulses investigated through a non-perturbative Coulomb-Volkov approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

RodrIguez, V D [Departamento de Fisica, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Macri, P [Departamento de Fisica, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientIficas y Tecnicas, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Gayet, R [CELIA, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, UMR 5107, Unite Mixte de Recherche CNRS-CEA-Universite Bordeaux 1, Universite Bordeaux 1, 351 Cours de la Liberation, 33405 Talence Cedex (France)

2005-08-14

The sudden Coulomb-Volkov theoretical approximation has been shown to well describe atomic ionization by intense and ultra-short electromagnetic pulses, such as pulses generated by very fast highly-charged ions. This approach is extended here to investigate single ionization of homonuclear diatomic molecules by such pulses in the framework of one-active electron. Under particular conditions, a Young-like interference formula can approximately be factored out. Present calculations show interference effects originating from the molecular two-centre structure. Fivefold differential angular distributions of the ejected electron are studied as a function of the molecular orientation and internuclear distance. Both non-perturbative and perturbative regimes are examined. In the non-perturbative case, an interference pattern is visible but a main lobe, opposite to the electric field polarization direction, dominates the angular distribution. In contrast, in perturbation conditions the structure of interferences shows analogies to the Young-like interference pattern obtained in ionization of molecules by fast electron impacts. Finally, the strong dependence of these Young-like angular distributions on the internuclear distance is addressed.

Generalized bipolariton model. propagation of a ultrashort laser pulse through a thin semiconductor film in the conditions of two-photon generation of biexcitons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igor Beloussov

2013-01-01

A generalized bipolariton model is proposed. Bipolaritons is formed from virtual excitons of four kinds. There exists both attractive and repulsive interaction between these excitons, though only excitons of a specific type can interact with light. A substantial difference between conventional and our models is shown for the case of nonlinear transmission/reflection of ultrashort laser pulses by a thin semiconductor film under two-photon generation of biexcitons. (author)

Short-pulse optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification for the generation of high-power few-cycle pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Major, Zs.; Osterhoff, J.; Hoerlein, R.; Karsch, S.; Fuoloep, J.A.; Krausz, F.; Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Muenchen

2006-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. In the quest for a way to generate ultrashort, high-power, few-cycle laser pulses the discovery of optical parametric amplification (OPA) has opened up to the path towards a completely new regime, well beyond that of conventional laser amplification technology. The main advantage of this parametric amplification process is that it allows for an extremely broad amplification bandwidth compared to any known laser amplifier medium. When combined with the chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) principle (i.e. OPCPA), on one hand pulses of just 10 fs duration and 8 mJ pulse energy have been demonstrated. On the other hand, pulse energies of up to 30 J were also achieved on a different OPCPA system; the pulse duration in this case, however, was 100 fs. In order to combine ultrashort pulse durations (i.e. pulses in the few-cycle regime) with high pulse energies (i.e. in the Joule range) we propose tu pump on OPCPA chain with TW-scale short pulses (100 fs - 1 ps instead of > 100 ps of previous OPCPA systems) delivered by a conventional CPA system. This approach inherently improves the conditions for generating high-power ultrashort pulses using OPCPA in the following ways. Firstly, the short pump pulse duration reduces the necessary stretching factor for the seed pulse, thereby increasing stretching and compression fidelity. Secondly, also due to the shortened pump pulse duration, a much higher contrast is achieved. Finally, the significantly increased pump power makes the use of thinner OPCPA crystals possible, which implies an even broader amplification bandwidth, thereby allowing for even shorter pulses. We carried out theoretical investigations to show the feasibility of such a set-up. Alongside these studies we will also present preliminary experimental results of an OPCPA system pumped by the output of our Ti:Sapphire ATLAS laser, currently delivering 350 mJ in 43 fs. An insight into the planned scaling of this technique to petawatt

Plasma emission spectroscopy of solids irradiated by intense XUV pulses from a free electron laser

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dzelzainis, T.W.J.; Chalupský, Jaromír; Fajardo, M.; Fäustlin, R.; Heimann, P.A.; Hájková, Věra; Juha, Libor; Jurek, Karel; Khattak, F.Y.; Kozlová, Michaela; Krzywinski, J.; Lee, R. W.; Nagler, B.; Nelson, A.J.; Rosmej, F.B.; Soberierski, R.; Toleikis, S.; Tschentscher, T.; Vinko, S.M.; Wark, J. S.; Whitcher, T.; Riley, D.

2010-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 1 (2010), 109-112 ISSN 1574-1818 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC510; GA MŠk(CZ) LC528; GA MŠk LA08024; GA AV ČR IAAX00100903 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523; CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : XUV emission spectroscopy * free-electron laser * warm dense matter Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.206, year: 2010

Femto-second pulses of synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zholents, A.A.; Zolotorev, M.S.

1995-07-01

A method capable of producing femto-second pulses of synchrotron radiation is proposed. It is based on the interaction of femto-second light pulses with electrons in a storage ring. The application of the method to the generation of ultra-short x-ray pulses at the Advance Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been considered. The same method can also be used for extraction of electrons from a storage ring in ultra-short series of microbunches spaced by the periodicity of light wavelength

High-throughput machining using a high-average power ultrashort pulse laser and high-speed polygon scanner

Science.gov (United States)

Schille, Joerg; Schneider, Lutz; Streek, André; Kloetzer, Sascha; Loeschner, Udo

2016-09-01

High-throughput ultrashort pulse laser machining is investigated on various industrial grade metals (aluminum, copper, and stainless steel) and Al2O3 ceramic at unprecedented processing speeds. This is achieved by using a high-average power picosecond laser in conjunction with a unique, in-house developed polygon mirror-based biaxial scanning system. Therefore, different concepts of polygon scanners are engineered and tested to find the best architecture for high-speed and precision laser beam scanning. In order to identify the optimum conditions for efficient processing when using high-average laser powers, the depths of cavities made in the samples by varying the processing parameter settings are analyzed and, from the results obtained, the characteristic removal values are specified. For overlapping pulses of optimum fluence, the removal rate is as high as 27.8 mm3/min for aluminum, 21.4 mm3/min for copper, 15.3 mm3/min for stainless steel, and 129.1 mm3/min for Al2O3, when a laser beam of 187 W average laser powers irradiates. On stainless steel, it is demonstrated that the removal rate increases to 23.3 mm3/min when the laser beam is very fast moving. This is thanks to the low pulse overlap as achieved with 800 m/s beam deflection speed; thus, laser beam shielding can be avoided even when irradiating high-repetitive 20-MHz pulses.

Application of the ultrashort pulses in bovine dental enamel; Aplicacao de pulsos ultracurtos em esmalte dental bovino

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Todescan, Carla de Rago

2003-07-01

The interaction of lasers with the hard structures of the teeth, has found the excess of heat as a problem for its utilization. This study analyzes, in vitro, the interaction of the ultrashort pulse laser of Ti:safire (830 nm) with the bovine dental enamel. The system consisted in one main oscillator integrated with an amplifier (CPA). The pulses extracted before the temporal compression inside the amplifier had 30 ps, 1000 Hz and {approx}1 mJ. The pulses extracted after the compression had 60 fs, 1000 Hz and {approx}0,7 mJ. The M{sup 2} was 1,3, the focal lens 2,5 cm, the focal distance 29,7 and a computerized translation stage x,y,z. We evaluated the amount of tissue removed per pulse,the resulting cavities and the surrounding tissues not irradiated, under OM and SEM. The fluency was the major factor for differentiating the two regimens studied, therefore, the intensity was not so important as we expected in this process. We found: one ablation region in 'cat tongue', one ablation length, one fluency {approx}0,7 J/cm{sup 2} for 30 ps and {approx}0,5 J/cm{sup 2} for 60 fs (50% of high speed burr), smooth edge for 30 ps and high precision of the sharp edge cut of submicrometric order for 60 fs. (author)

Application of the ultrashort pulses in bovine dental enamel; Aplicacao de pulsos ultracurtos em esmalte dental bovino

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Todescan, Carla de Rago

2003-07-01

The interaction of lasers with the hard structures of the teeth, has found the excess of heat as a problem for its utilization. This study analyzes, in vitro, the interaction of the ultrashort pulse laser of Ti:safire (830 nm) with the bovine dental enamel. The system consisted in one main oscillator integrated with an amplifier (CPA). The pulses extracted before the temporal compression inside the amplifier had 30 ps, 1000 Hz and {approx}1 mJ. The pulses extracted after the compression had 60 fs, 1000 Hz and {approx}0,7 mJ. The M{sup 2} was 1,3, the focal lens 2,5 cm, the focal distance 29,7 and a computerized translation stage x,y,z. We evaluated the amount of tissue removed per pulse,the resulting cavities and the surrounding tissues not irradiated, under OM and SEM. The fluency was the major factor for differentiating the two regimens studied, therefore, the intensity was not so important as we expected in this process. We found: one ablation region in 'cat tongue', one ablation length, one fluency {approx}0,7 J/cm{sup 2} for 30 ps and {approx}0,5 J/cm{sup 2} for 60 fs (50% of high speed burr), smooth edge for 30 ps and high precision of the sharp edge cut of submicrometric order for 60 fs. (author)

XUV Absorption by Solid Density Aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iglesias, C A

2009-09-21

An inverse bremsstrahlung model for plasmas and simple metals that approximates the cold, solid Al experimental data below the L-edge is applied to matter conditions relevant to XUV laser applications. The model involves an all-order calculation using a semi-analytical effective electron-ion interaction. The predicted increases in XUV absorption with rising temperature occur via two effects: increased availability of final states from reduced electron degeneracy and a stronger electron-ion interaction from reduced screening. Discrepancies in the temperature dependence as well as other details between the present approach and a recently proposed absorption model are discussed.

Laser-matter interaction at high intensity and high temporal contrast; Interaction laser matiere a haut flux et fort contraste temporel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doumy, G

2006-01-15

The continuous progress in the development of laser installations has already lead to ultra-short pulses capable of achieving very high focalized intensities (I > 10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}). At these intensities, matter presents new non-linear behaviours, due to the fact that the electrons are accelerated to relativistic speeds. The experimental access to this interaction regime on solid targets has long been forbidden because of the presence, alongside the femtosecond pulse, of a pedestal (mainly due to the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) which occurs in the laser chain) intense enough to modify the state of the target. In this thesis, we first characterized, both experimentally and theoretically, a device which allows an improvement of the temporal contrast of the pulse: the Plasma Mirror. It consists in adjusting the focusing of the pulse on a dielectric target, so that the pedestal is mainly transmitted, while the main pulse is reflected by the overcritical plasma that it forms at the surface. The implementation of such a device on the UHI 10 laser facility (CEA Saclay - 10 TW - 60 fs) then allowed us to study the interaction between ultra-intense, high contrast pulses with solid targets. In a first part, we managed to generate and characterize dense plasmas resulting directly from the interaction between the main pulse and very thin foils (100 nm). This characterization was realized by using an XUV source obtained by high order harmonics generation in a rare gas jet. In a second part, we studied experimentally the phenomenon of high order harmonics generation on solid targets, which is still badly understood, but could potentially lead to a new kind of energetic ultra-short XUV sources. (author)

Nonlinear Dichroism in Back-to-Back Double Ionization of He by an Intense Elliptically Polarized Few-Cycle Extreme Ultraviolet Pulse.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngoko Djiokap, J M; Manakov, N L; Meremianin, A V; Hu, S X; Madsen, L B; Starace, Anthony F

2014-11-28

Control of double ionization of He by means of the polarization and carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of an intense, few-cycle extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse is demonstrated numerically by solving the six-dimensional two-electron, time-dependent Schrödinger equation for He interacting with an elliptically polarized XUV pulse. Guided by perturbation theory (PT), we predict the existence of a nonlinear dichroic effect (∝I^{3/2}) that is sensitive to the CEP, ellipticity, peak intensity I, and temporal duration of the pulse. This dichroic effect (i.e., the difference of the two-electron angular distributions for opposite helicities of the ionizing XUV pulse) originates from interference of first- and second-order PT amplitudes, allowing one to probe and control S- and D-wave channels of the two-electron continuum. We show that the back-to-back in-plane geometry with unequal energy sharing is an ideal one for observing this dichroic effect that occurs only for an elliptically polarized, few-cycle attosecond pulse.

Theoretical analysis of supercontinuum and coloured conical emission produced during ultrashort laser pulse interaction with gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semak, V V; Shneider, M N

2014-01-01

We use a conceptually new approach to theoretical modelling of self-focusing in which we integrated diffractive and geometrical optics in order to explain and predict emission of white light and coloured rings observed in ultrashort laser pulse interaction. In our approach, laser beam propagation is described by blending the solution of the linear Maxwell's equation and a correction term that represents nonlinear field perturbation expressed in terms of paraxial ray-optics (eikonal) equation. No attempt is made to create an appearance of exhaustive treatment via use of complex mathematical models. Rather, emphasis is placed on elegance of the formulations leading to fundamental understanding of the underlying physics and, eventually, to an accurate practical numerical model capable of simulating white light generation and conical emission of coloured rings produced around the filament. (paper)

Ultra-short laser processing of transparent material at the interface to liquid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehme, R; Pissadakis, S; Ehrhardt, M; Ruthe, D; Zimmer, K

2006-01-01

Similarly to laser-induced backside wet etching (LIBWE) with nanosecond ultraviolet (ns UV) laser pulses, the irradiation of the solid/liquid interface of fused silica with sub-picosecond (sub-ps) UV and femtosecond near infrared (fs NIR) laser pulses results in etching of the fused silica surface and deposition of decomposition products from liquid. Furthermore, the etch threshold is reduced compared with both direct ablation with an fs laser in air and backside etching with UV ns pulses. Using 0.5 M pyrene/toluene as absorbing liquid, the thresholds were determined to be 70 mJ cm -2 (sub-ps UV) and 330 mJ cm -2 (fs NIR). Furthermore, an almost linear increase in the etch rate with increasing laser fluence was found. The roughness of surfaces backside etched with ultra-short pulses is higher in comparison with ns pulses but lower than that obtained using direct fs laser ablation. Hence a combination of processes involved in fs laser ablation and ns backside etching can be expected. The processes at the ultra-short pulse laser irradiated solid/liquid interface are discussed, considering the effects of ultra-fast heating, multi-photon absorption processes, as well as defect generation in the materials

Mimicking lizard-like surface structures upon ultrashort laser pulse irradiation of inorganic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Hermens, U.; Kirner, S. V.; Emonts, C.; Comanns, P.; Skoulas, E.; Mimidis, A.; Mescheder, H.; Winands, K.; Krüger, J.; Stratakis, E.; Bonse, J.

2017-10-01

Inorganic materials, such as steel, were functionalized by ultrashort laser pulse irradiation (fs- to ps-range) to modify the surface's wetting behavior. The laser processing was performed by scanning the laser beam across the surface of initially polished flat sample material. A systematic experimental study of the laser processing parameters (peak fluence, scan velocity, line overlap) allowed the identification of different regimes associated with characteristic surface morphologies (laser-induced periodic surface structures, grooves, spikes, etc.). Analyses of the surface using optical as well as scanning electron microscopy revealed morphologies providing the optimum similarity to the natural skin of lizards. For mimicking skin structures of moisture-harvesting lizards towards an optimization of the surface wetting behavior, additionally a two-step laser processing strategy was established for realizing hierarchical microstructures. In this approach, micrometer-scaled capillaries (step 1) were superimposed by a laser-generated regular array of small dimples (step 2). Optical focus variation imaging measurements finally disclosed the three dimensional topography of the laser processed surfaces derived from lizard skin structures. The functionality of these surfaces was analyzed in view of wetting properties.

Experimental studies of X-UV rays by a laser plasma: X-UV strioscopy by means of multilayer mirrors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutrin, F.

1996-01-01

This thesis studies a new instrument -from its conception to the measures interpretation- that analyses electronic density gradient in the super critical transportation area of a laser plasma (0,35 μm). This device, so-called of X-UV Schlieren, is based on the refraction property of a probe beam by an index gradient. Its specificity is the use of the X-UV emission at 13 nm (92 eV) of another laser plasma as X-UV probe. The conception and characterization of this instrument are defined thanks to both the emissivity and reflectivity properties of laser plasmas and the reflectivity properties of multilayers. Within this report are presented strioscopy images, spatially and spectrally resolved of an aluminium plasma from a 3.10 12 W/cm 2 laser flux, probed by a 13 nm wavelength. The device has to be closely aligned so as to obtain good contrast and good spatial resolution. For the first time, the refraction of a X-UV probe beam by a laser plasma is displayed. The experiments show that this refraction is all the more obvious for a gold probe plasma of energy 105 J and an aluminium probed plasma of energy 1 J. According to our plasma hydrodynamic simulation, the detected refraction corresponds to an electronic density gradient of 6,5.10 25 electrons/cm 4 in the two first microns of the sur-critical area. To study the parameters dependence of this gradient in the sur-critical area, several solutions for improving the instrument are produced. (author)

The Building History of XUV disks of M83& NGC2403 with TRGB Archaeology

Science.gov (United States)

Koda, Jin

2015-06-01

We propose deep HSC g & i-band imaging of two extended ultraviolet (XUV) disks of M83 and NGC2403. These galaxies have the prototype XUV disks with the largest size ( 1 deg and 30 arcmin). The Subaru HSC permits unprecedentedly deep imaging over these gigantic XUV disks, including sufficient surrounding areas which are used for sky subtraction and statistical estimation of background contamination. This project probes the building history of the XUV disks using archeological stellar populations, especially the tip of red giant branch (TRGB) stars (age 2-14 Gyr). Their presence and distribution over the XUV disks will reveal any star formation (SF) occurring over the past 2 Gyr, 4-6 Gyr, and beyond - i.e., the epochs preceding the recent (UV-traced) state of SF. Their color depends strongly on metallicity, thus providing an additional measure of star-gas recycling during the evolution of the XUV disks. In addition, we will detect young & massive main sequence stars (<100 Myr) and He-burning stars (100-500 Myr). Comparing various generations of stars, in terms of number densities and spatial distributions, will reveal the much-unexplored SF history in the XUV disks.

Half-period optical pulse generation using a free-electron laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaroszynski, D.A.; Chaix, P.; Piovella, N.

1995-01-01

Recently there has been growth, in interest in non-equilibrium interaction of half-period long optical pulses with matter. To date the optical pulses have been produced by chopping out a half-period long segment from a longer pulse using a semiconductor switch driven by a femtosecond laser. In this paper we present new methods for producing tunable ultra-short optical pulses as short as half an optical period using a free-electron laser driven by electron bunches with a duration a fraction of an optical period. Two different methods relying on the production of coherent spontaneous emission will be described. In the first method we show that when a train of ultra-short optical pulses as short as one half period. We present calculations which show that the small signal gain is unimportant in the early stages of radiation build up in the cavity when the startup process is dominated by coherent spontaneous emission. To support our proposed method we present encouraging experimental results from the FELIX experiment in the Netherlands which show that interference effects between the coherent spontaneous optical pulses at start-up are very important. The second proposed method relies on the fact that coherent spontaneous emission mimics the undulations of electrons as they pass through the undulator. We show that ultra-short optical pulses are produced by coherent spontaneous emission when ultra-short electron bunches pass through an ultra-short undulator. We discuss the interesting case of such undulator radiation in the presence of an optical cavity and show that the optical pulse can be open-quotes tayloredclose quotes by simply adjusting the optical cavity desynchronism. The proposed methods may be realisable using existing rf driven FELs in the far-infrared

Ultrashort soliton switching based on coherent energy hiding.

Science.gov (United States)

Romagnoli, M; Wabnitz, S; Zoccolotti, L

1991-08-15

Coherent coupling between light and atoms may be exploited for conceiving a novel class of all-optical signalprocessing devices without a direct counterpart in the continuous-wave regime. We show that the self-switching of ultrashort soliton pulses on resonance with a transition of doping centers in a slab waveguide directional coupler is based on nonlinear group-velocity (instead of the usual phase-velocity) changes.

High-power ultrashort fiber laser for solar cells micromachining

Science.gov (United States)

Lecourt, J.-B.; Duterte, C.; Liegeois, F.; Lekime, D.; Hernandez, Y.; Giannone, D.

2012-02-01

We report on a high-power ultra-short fiber laser for thin film solar cells micromachining. The laser is based on Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) scheme. The pulses are stretched to hundreds of picoseconds prior to amplification and can be compressed down to picosecond at high energy. The repetition rate is adjustable from 100 kHz to 1 MHz and the optical average output power is close to 13 W (before compression). The whole setup is fully fibred, except the compressor achieved with bulk gratings, resulting on a compact and reliable solution for cold ablation.

New techniques of time-resolved infrared and Raman spectroscopy using ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laubereau, A.

1986-01-01

Considerable progress has been made in recent years in the field of spectroscopic applications of ultrashort laser pulses. This paper examines two approaches toward studying ultrafast relaxation processes in condensed matter: an IR technique which complements coherent Raman scattering; and a Fourier Raman method with high frequency resolution. The time domain IR spectroscopy technique has been applied to various vibration-rotation transitions of pure HCl gas and in mixtures with Ar buffer gas. The advantage of the time domain measurements instead of frequency spectroscopy is readily visualized when one recalls that a frequency resolution of 10 -3 cm -1 corresponds to time observations over 10 -8 , which are readily feasible. As a first demonstration of the FT-Raman technique the author presents experimental data on the Q-branch of the v 1 -vibrational mode of methane. An example for the experimental data obtained approximately 2 mm behind the nozzle is presented; the coherent anti-Stokes Raman signal is plotted versus delay time. A complicated beating structure and the decay of the signal envelope are readily seen. The desired spectroscopic information is obtained by numerical Fourier transformation of the experimental points presented

Selective ablation of a titanium nitride film on tungsten carbide substrate using ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Eduardo Spinelli

2017-01-01

Surface coatings are applied to many cutting tools in the metallurgical industry in order to improve cutting efficiency and extend its useful life. In this work, tests were performed to remove the coating of titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) on tungsten carbide (WC-Co) pellets, using an ultrashort laser pulses beam. After determination of the damage thresholds of the film and the substrate, were ablated on the surface of the coating lines using two ablation conditions, it was initially operated on the low fluence regime for the film, and later on the low fluence regime of the substrate, far below the threshold of the film, applying high overlapping pulses. A laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system was set up to monitor the materials present in the plasma generated by the laser, but the system did not present sufficient sensitivity to read the low intensity of the plasma generated in the process and was not used. After the analysis of the traces by electron microscopy, optical profilometer and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, it was not possible to determine a safe process to carry out the selective removal of the film in question, however, due to the data obtained and observations of the results in some traces, new possibilities were raised, opening the discussion for future work. (author)

Scattering of electromagnetic pulses by metal nanospheres in the vicinity of a Fano-like resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astapenko, V.A.; Svita, S.Yu.

2015-01-01

In the work, radiation scattering by metal nanospheres in a dielectric matrix in case of ultrashort and long electromagnetic pulses is studied theoretically. Spectral efficiencies of backward and forward scattering by silver nanospheres in glass are calculated with the use of experimental data on the dielectric permittivity of silver. The presence of Fano-like resonances in spectral dependences of scattering efficiency caused by interference of dipole and quadrupole scatterings is shown. Backward and forward scattering of ultrashort pulses is calculated and analyzed. The obtained dependences of the total probability of scattering (during all time of the action of a pulse) on pulse duration demonstrate an essential distinction between an ultrashort case and a long pulse limit

Dense plasmas interferometry using an X-UV laser. Development of an X-UV Michelson interferometer at 13.9 nm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hubert, S.

2001-01-01

After having recalled some aspects related to the physics of plasmas produced by interaction between laser and matter, and related to inertial confinement fusion or ICF (discussion of laser energy absorption, X conversion, parametric and hydrodynamic instabilities, and so on), this research thesis presents various techniques used for plasma diagnosis in order to justify the use of interferometry for the investigation of the electronic density distribution of these plasmas. The physical principle of this diagnosis technique is described and two types of X-UV interferometer are presented, one of them being chosen as more suitable for the study of ICF-type plasmas. The author then describes and reports the experimental investigation performed with a two-mirror Fresnel interferometer and a 21.2 nm zinc X-UV laser: description of the interferometer operation and characteristics, of the specifically designed image system, discussion of plasma interferogram simulations. Then, he reports the development of a Michelson-type X-UV interferometer at 13.9 nm. The operation principle is recalled, and the preliminary modelling phase is reported. The imaging system is presented and results of the interferogram modelling phase are presented [fr

Fiscal 1998 R and D report on femtosecond technology (ultra-short pulse optoelectronics technology); 1998 nendo femuto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu (chotan pulse hikari electronics gijutsu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

This report reports the result of the fiscal 1998 R and D on femtosecond technology supported by NEDO. For creation of industrial basic technologies supporting the advanced information society in the 21st century, ultra-high speed electronics technology including new functions beyond the speed limit of conventional electronics technologies is indispensable. From such viewpoint, this R and D aims at establishment of the basic technology necessary for ultra- high speed electronics technology through R and D of technology controlling conditions of beams and electrons in a femtosecond (10{sup -15}-10{sup -12} seconds) region. In fiscal 1998, this project first succeeded in fabrication of a prototype pulse compressor by using semiconductors, and developed a new pulse compressing method by using fibers to generate ultra-short pulse of 38fs. By developing new materials for intersubband transition where ultra-high speed responses can be expected, optical absorption by intersubband transition was first confirmed at optical communication wavelength. The main result for every theme is reported and explained. (NEDO)

Efficient chirped-pulse amplification of sub-20 fs laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsuoka, Shinichi; Yamakawa, Koichi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1998-03-01

We have developed a model for ultrabroadband and ultrashort pulse amplification including the effects of a pulse shaper for regenerative pulse shaping, gain narrowing and gain saturation in the amplifiers. Thin solid etalons are used to control both gain narrowing and gain saturation during amplification. This model has been used to design an optimized Ti:sapphire amplifier system for producing efficiently pulses of < 20-fs duration with approaching peak and average powers of 100 TW and 20 W. (author)

Breaking time-resolution limits in pulse radiolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Jinfeng; Kondoh, Takafumi; Norizawa, Kimihiro; Yoshida, Yoichi; Tagawa, Seiichi

2009-01-01

Pulse radiolysis, which is a time-resolved stroboscopic method based on ultrashort electron pulse and ultrashort analyzing light, is widely used for the study of the chemical kinetics and radiation primary processes or reactions. Although it has become possible to use femtosecond-pulse electron beam and femtosecond laser light in pulse radiolysis, the resolution is limited by the difference in group velocities of the electrons and the light in sample. In this contribution, we introduce a concept of equivalent velocity spectroscopy (EVS) into pulse radiolysis and demonstrate the methodology experimentally. In EVS, both the electron and the analyzing light pulses precisely overlap at every point in the sample and throughout the propagation time by rotating the electron pulse. The advance allows us to overcome the resolution degradation due to the different group velocity. We also present a method for measuring the rotated angle of the electron pulse and a technique for rotating the electron pulse with a deflecting cavity.

Spatial and temporal interference during the ionization of H by few-cycle XUV laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, A.; Borbely, S.; Nagy, L.; Toekesi, K.

2012-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. We have studied the ionization of H atoms by two-cycle XUV laser pulses in the tunneling and over-the-barrier regimes, by following the time evolution of our system. Beside the dominant ionization processes, secondary processes may occure. These are interferences between different electronic wave packets. From the numerous possible scenarios two have a significant impact on the final momentum distribution of the free electrons. In the first case, the interference between wave packets emitted at different time moments during the action of the laser pulse leads to circular interference minima and maxima in the final momentum distribution. In the second scenario, electronic wave packets emitted at the same time follow different paths, accumulating different final phases, leading to a radial fringe structure in the electron spectra. This process can be viewed as the interference between a direct and a scattered wave, so its pattern in the momentum distribution can be interpreted as the holographic mapping (HM) of the target system's state [1]. In our work we have used the time dependent close-coupling method to solve numerically the time dependent Schroedinger equation. For the investigation of the temporal interference we used also the strong field approximation, and we showed that the concentric extremas are the result of the interference between wave packets emitted at opposite halfcycles of the same laser field cycle. In case of the spatial interference, first, we have confirmed the existence of the two types of electron trajectories using classical trajectory Monte Carlo calculations. According to the simple two-path model of [1], the spatial interference pattern is mainly influenced by only one parameter, z0, which is the maximum distance reached by the free wave packet before it is redirected towards the parent ion by the laser field. By performing TDCC calculations for different laser pulse parameters (implicit modification

High power ultrashort pulse lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perry, M.D.

1994-01-01

Small scale terawatt and soon even petawatt (1000 terawatt) class laser systems are made possible by application of the chirped-pulse amplification technique to solid-state lasers combined with the availability of broad bandwidth materials. These lasers make possible a new class of high gradient accelerators based on the large electric fields associated with intense laser-plasma interactions or from the intense laser field directly. Here, we concentrate on the laser technology to produce these intense pulses. Application of the smallest of these systems to the production of high brightness electron sources is also introduced

Monte Carlo wave-packet approach to trace nuclear dynamics in molecular excited states by XUV-pump-IR-probe spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Qingli; Bello, Roger Y.; Martín, Fernando; Palacios, Alicia; Madsen, Lars Bojer

2018-04-01

Recent research interests have been raised in uncovering and controlling ultrafast dynamics in excited neutral molecules. In this work we generalize the Monte Carlo wave packet (MCWP) approach to XUV-pump-IR-probe schemes to simulate the process of dissociative double ionization of H2 where singly excited states in H2 are involved. The XUV pulse is chosen to resonantly excite the initial ground state of H2 to the lowest excited electronic state of 1Σu + symmetry in H2 within the Franck-Condon region. The delayed intense IR pulse couples the excited states of 1Σu + symmetry with the nearby excited states of 1Σg + symmetry. It also induces the first ionization from H2 to H2 + and the second ionization from H2 + to H++H+. To reduce the computational costs in the MCWP approach, a sampling method is proposed to determine in time the dominant ionization events from H2 to H2+. By conducting a trajectory analysis, which is a unique possibility within the MCWP approach, the origins of the characteristic features in the nuclear kinetic energy release spectra are identified for delays ranging from 0 to 140 fs and the nuclear dynamics in the singly excited states in H2 is mapped out.

Ultrashort megaelectronvolt positron beam generation based on laser-accelerated electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Tongjun; Shen, Baifei; Xu, Jiancai; Li, Shun; Yu, Yong; Li, Jinfeng; Lu, Xiaoming; Wang, Cheng; Wang, Xinliang; Liang, Xiaoyan; Leng, Yuxin; Li, Ruxin; Xu, Zhizhan

2016-03-01

Experimental generation of ultrashort MeV positron beams with high intensity and high density using a compact laser-driven setup is reported. A high-density gas jet is employed experimentally to generate MeV electrons with high charge; thus, a charge-neutralized MeV positron beam with high density is obtained during laser-accelerated electrons irradiating high-Z solid targets. It is a novel electron-positron source for the study of laboratory astrophysics. Meanwhile, the MeV positron beam is pulsed with an ultrashort duration of tens of femtoseconds and has a high peak intensity of 7.8 × 1021 s-1, thus allows specific studies of fast kinetics in millimeter-thick materials with a high time resolution and exhibits potential for applications in positron annihilation spectroscopy.

Simple formula for photoprocesses in ultrashort electromagnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astapenko, V.A.

2010-01-01

Within the framework of the perturbation theory, a simple formula for the probability of a photoprocess for the whole time of action of an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse has been derived, when the concept of spectral intensity of radiation and probability per unit time is inapplicable. In the obtained formula the total probability is expressed in terms of the cross-section of a photoprocess in a monochromatic field and the Fourier transform of electric field strength. The advanced approach is applied for the analysis of photoabsorption of an atom and a metal nanosphere under the action of a subcycle laser pulse with a changeable value of the carrier-envelope phase. The expressions for probability and energy of photoabsorption in the limit of a zero pulse duration have been obtained.

Ultra-short coherent terahertz radiation from ultra-short dips in electron bunches circulating in a storage ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, N.; Shimada, M.; Adachi, M.; Zen, H.; Tanikawa, T.; Taira, Y.; Kimura, S.; Hosaka, M.; Takashima, Y.; Takahashi, T.; Katoh, M.

2011-01-01

Terahertz (THz) coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) is emitted not only from ultra-short electron bunches, but also from electron bunches with micro-structures. Formation of micro-structures at the sub-picosecond scale in electron bunches by a laser slicing technique is experimentally studied through observation of the THz CSR. The THz CSR spectrum was found to depend strongly on the intensity and the pulse width of the laser. The results agreed qualitatively with a numerical simulation. It was suggested that the evolution of the micro-structure during CSR emission is important under some experimental conditions.

Coherent Sources of XUV Radiation Soft X-Ray Lasers and High-Order Harmonic Generation

CERN Document Server

Jaeglé, Pierre

2006-01-01

Extreme ultraviolet radiation, also referred to as soft X-rays or XUV, offers very special optical properties. The X-UV refractive index of matter is such that normal reflection cannot take place on polished surfaces whereas beam transmission through one micrometer of almost all materials reduces to zero. Therefore, it has long been a difficult task to imagine and to implement devices designed for complex optics experiments in this wavelength range. Thanks to new sources of coherent radiation - XUV-lasers and High Order Harmonics - the use of XUV radiation, for interferometry, holography, diffractive optics, non-linear radiation-matter interaction, time-resolved study of fast and ultrafast phenomena and many other applications, including medical sciences, is ubiquitous.

High-density optical data storage based on grey level recording in photobleaching polymers using two-photon excitation under ultrashort pulse and continuous wave illumination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganic, D.; Day, D.; Gu, M.

1999-01-01

Full text: Two-photon excitation has been employed in three-dimensional optical data storage by many researchers in an attempt to increase the storage density of a given material. The probability of two-photon excitation is proportional to the squared intensity of the incident light; this effect produces excitation only within a small region of the focus spot. Another advantage of two-photon excitation is the use of infrared illumination, which results in the reduction of scattering and enables the recording of layers at a deep depth in a thick material. The storage density thus obtained using multi-layered bit optical recording can be as high as Tbit/cm 3 . To increase this storage density even further, grey level recording can be employed. This method utilises variable exposure times of a laser beam focused into a photobleaching sample. As a result, the bleached area possesses a certain pixel value which depends upon the exposure time; this can increase the storage density many times depending upon the number of grey levels used. Our experiment shows that it is possible to attain grey level recording using both ultrashort pulsed and continuous-wave illumination. Although continuous wave illumination requires an average power of approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher than that for ultrashort pulsed illumination, it is a preferred method of recording due to its relatively low system cost and compactness. Copyright (1999) Australian Optical Society

Ultrafast population transfer in a Λ-configuration level system driven by few-cycle laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wen-Jing; Xie Xiao-Tao; Jin Lu-Ling; Bai Jin-Tao

2013-01-01

The feasibility of population transfer from a populated level via an intermediate state to the target level driven by few-cycle pulses is theoretically discussed. The processes of on- or far-resonance stimulated Raman scattering with sequential or simultaneous ultrashort pulses are investigated respectively. We find that the ultrashort pulses with about two optical cycles can be used to realize the population operation. This suggests that the population transfer can be completed in the femtosecond time scale. At the same time, our simulation shows that the signal of the carrier-envelope-phase-dependent effect can be enlarged due to quantum interference in some conditions. Our theoretic study may promote the research on the coherent control via ultrashort pulses in the related fields

Two-temperature hydrodynamic expansion and coupling of strong elastic shock with supersonic melting front produced by ultrashort laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inogamov, Nail A; Khokhlov, Viktor A; Zhakhovsky, Vasily V; Khishchenko, Konstantin V; Demaske, Brian J; Oleynik, Ivan I

2014-01-01

Ultrafast processes, including nonmonotonic expansion of material into vacuum, supersonic melting and generation of super-elastic shock wave, in a surface layer of metal irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse are discussed. In addition to the well-established two-temperature (2T) evolution of heated layer a new effect of electron pressure gradient on early stage of material expansion is studied. It is shown that the expanding material experiences an unexpected jump in flow velocity in a place where stress exceeds the effective tensile strength provided by used EoS of material. Another 2T effect is that supersonic propagation of homogeneous melting front results in distortion of spatial profile of ion temperature, which later imprints on ion pressure profile transforming in a super-elastic shock wave with time.

Linear and non-linear carrier-envelope phase difference effects in interactions of ultra-short laser pulses with a metal nano-layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varro, S.

2006-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. On the basis of classical electrodynamics the reflection and transmission of an ultra-short laser pulse impinging on a metal nano-layer have been analysed. The thickness of the layer was assumed to be of the order of 2-10 nm, and the metallic electrons were represented by a surface current density at the plane boundary of a dielectric substrate. It has been shown that in the scattered fields a non-oscillatory wake-field appears following the main pulse with an exponential decay and with a definite sign of the electric and magnetic fields. The characteristic time of these wake-fields is inversely proportional to the square of the plasma frequency and to the thickness of the metal nano-layer, and can be of order or larger then the original pulse duration. The magnitude of these wake-fields is proportional with the incoming field strength - so this is a linear effect - and the definite sign of them is governed by the cosine of the carrier-envelope phase difference of the incoming ultrashort laser pulse. As a consequence, when we let such a wake-field excite the electrons of a secondary target - say a plasma, a metal surface or a gas - we obtain 100 percent modulation depth in the electron signal in a given direction. This scheme can perhaps serve as a basis for the construction of a robust linear carrier-envelope phase difference mater. At relativistic laser intensities the target becomes a plasma layer generated, e.g. by the rising part of the incoming laser pulse. An approximate analytic solution has been given for the system of the coupled Maxwell-Lorentz equations describing the dynamics of the surface current (representing the plasma electrons) and the composite radiation field. With the help of these solutions the Fourier components of the reflected and transmitted radiation have been calculated. The nonlinearities stemming from the relativistic kinematics lead to the appearance of higher-order harmonics in the scattered

Self-cleaning effect in high quality percussion ablating of cooling hole by picosecond ultra-short pulse laser

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Wanqin; Yu, Zhishui

2018-06-01

Comparing with the trepanning technology, cooling hole could be processed based on the percussion drilling with higher processing efficiency. However, it is widely believed that the ablating precision of hole is lower for percussion drilling than for trepanning, wherein, the melting spatter materials around the hole surface and the recast layer inside the hole are the two main issues for reducing the ablating precision of hole, especially for the recast layer, it can't be eliminated completely even through the trepanning technology. In this paper, the self-cleaning effect which is a particular property just for percussion ablating of holes has been presented in detail. In addition, the reasons inducing the self-cleaning effect have been discussed. At last, based on the self-cleaning effect of percussion drilling, high quality cooling hole without the melting spatter materials around the hole surface and recast layer inside the hole could be ablated in nickel-based superalloy by picosecond ultra-short pulse laser.

Combined lineage mapping and gene expression profiling of embryonic brain patterning using ultrashort pulse microscopy and image registration

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Holly C.; Dodson, Colin R.; Bai, Yuqiang; Lekven, Arne C.; Yeh, Alvin T.

2014-12-01

During embryogenesis, presumptive brain compartments are patterned by dynamic networks of gene expression. The spatiotemporal dynamics of these networks, however, have not been characterized with sufficient resolution for us to understand the regulatory logic resulting in morphogenetic cellular behaviors that give the brain its shape. We have developed a new, integrated approach using ultrashort pulse microscopy [a high-resolution, two-photon fluorescence (2PF)-optical coherence microscopy (OCM) platform using 10-fs pulses] and image registration to study brain patterning and morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos. As a demonstration, we used time-lapse 2PF to capture midbrain-hindbrain boundary morphogenesis and a wnt1 lineage map from embryos during brain segmentation. We then performed in situ hybridization to deposit NBT/BCIP, where wnt1 remained actively expressed, and reimaged the embryos with combined 2PF-OCM. When we merged these datasets using morphological landmark registration, we found that the mechanism of boundary formation differs along the dorsoventral axis. Dorsally, boundary sharpening is dominated by changes in gene expression, while ventrally, sharpening may be accomplished by lineage sorting. We conclude that the integrated visualization of lineage reporter and gene expression domains simultaneously with brain morphology will be useful for understanding how changes in gene expression give rise to proper brain compartmentalization and structure.

Ultrashort pulsed laser technology development program

Science.gov (United States)

Manke, Gerald C.

2014-10-01

The Department of Navy has been pursuing a technology development program for advanced, all-fiber, Ultra Short Pulsed Laser (USPL) systems via Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs. Multiple topics have been published to promote and fund research that encompasses every critical component of a standard USPL system and enable the demonstration of mJ/pulse class systems with an all fiber architecture. This presentation will summarize published topics and funded programs.

Heat generation caused by ablation of dental hard tissues with an ultrashort pulse laser (USPL) system.

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, Andreas; Krillke, Raphael Franz; Frentzen, Matthias; Bourauel, Christoph; Stark, Helmut; Schelle, Florian

2015-02-01

Heat generation during the removal of dental hard tissues may lead to a temperature increase and cause painful sensations or damage dental tissues. The aim of this study was to assess heat generation in dental hard tissues following laser ablation using an ultrashort pulse laser (USPL) system. A total of 85 specimens of dental hard tissues were used, comprising 45 specimens of human dentine evaluating a thickness of 1, 2, and 3 mm (15 samples each) and 40 specimens of human enamel with a thickness of 1 and 2 mm (20 samples each). Ablation was performed with an Nd:YVO4 laser at 1,064 nm, a pulse duration of 9 ps, and a repetition rate of 500 kHz with an average output power of 6 W. Specimens were irradiated for 0.8 s. Employing a scanner system, rectangular cavities of 1-mm edge length were generated. A temperature sensor was placed at the back of the specimens, recording the temperature during the ablation process. All measurements were made employing a heat-conductive paste without any additional cooling or spray. Heat generation during laser ablation depended on the dental hard tissue (enamel or dentine) and the thickness of the respective tissue (p dental hard tissues, heat generation has to be considered. Especially during laser ablation next to pulpal tissues, painful sensations and potential thermal injury of pulp tissue might occur.

K-shell spectra from hot dense aluminum layers buried in carbon and heated by ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eidmann, K.; Andiel, U.; Pisani, F.; Hakel, P.; Mancini, R.C.; Junkel-Vives, G.C.; Abdallah, J.; Witte, K.

2003-01-01

Ultrashort laser pulses allow for the generation of hot plasmas near solid state densities. For this purpose a Ti:Sapphire laser was used, which delivers after frequency doubling, pulses of high contrast with an energy of about 60 mJ and a duration of 150 fs at 395 nm. The typical intensity on the target was a few 10 17 W/cm 2 . To achieve a high degree of uniformity we used targets consisting of a 25 nm thin Al tracer layer buried at different depths up to 400 nm in solid carbon. Time-integrated Al K-shell spectra are presented. Characteristic features of the spectra are significant high-order satellite line emission, strong line broadening and a center-of-mass line shift to the red, which was observed in transitions from principal quantum number n=2 or 3 to 1. Accurate measurement of the shift was made possible by using the cold Si K α line as an absolute wavelength calibration. In addition to time-integrated measurements, we used an ultrafast X-ray streak camera to obtain time and spectrally resolved spectra. Typical durations of the Ly α and He α lines are in the range 2-4 ps. The experimental results are compared with a time-dependent model, which combines hydrodynamic simulations, time-dependent atomic kinetics, detailed spectral line shapes including line shifts, and radiation transport

Scattering of Femtosecond Laser Pulses on the Negative Hydrogen Ion

Science.gov (United States)

Astapenko, V. A.; Moroz, N. N.

2018-05-01

Elastic scattering of ultrashort laser pulses (USLPs) on the negative hydrogen ion is considered. Results of calculations of the USLP scattering probability are presented and analyzed for pulses of two types: the corrected Gaussian pulse and wavelet pulse without carrier frequency depending on the problem parameters.

Ultra-Short Laser Absorption In Solid Targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harfouche, A.; Bendib, A.

2008-01-01

With the rapid development and continuously improving technology of subpicosecond laser pulse generation, new interesting physical problems are now investigated. Among them the laser light absorption in solid targets. During the interaction with solid targets, high intensity laser pulses are absorbed by electrons in optical skin depths, leading to rapid ionization before that significant ablation of solid material takes place. The ultra-short laser is absorbed in the overdense plasma through the electron-ion collisions (normal skin effect) or collisionless mechanisms (anomalous skin effect or sheath inverse bremsstrahlung). These two regimes depend on the laser intensity, the plasma temperature and the ionization state Z. In this work we solve numerically the Fokker-Planck equation to compute the electron distribution function in the skin layer. In the second step we compute the surface impedance and we deduce the absorption coefficient.

Coherent control of atoms and diatomic molecules with shaped ultrashort pulses; Manipulation coherente d'atomes et de molecules diatomiques avec des impulsions mises en forme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Degert, J

2002-12-15

This thesis deals with the theoretical and experimental study of coherent control of atomic and molecular systems with shaped pulses. At first, we present several experiments of control of coherent transients in rubidium. These transients appear when a two-level system is excited by a perturbative chirped pulse, and are characterized by oscillations in the excited state population. For a strong chirp, we show that a phase step in the spectrum modifies the phase of the oscillations. Then, by direct analogy with Fresnel zone lens, we conceive a chirped pulse with a highly modulated amplitude, allowing to suppress destructive contributions to the population transfer. In a second set of experiments, we focus on quantum path interferences in two-photon transitions excited by linearly chirped pulses. Owing to the broad bandwidth of ultrashort pulses, sequential and direct excitation paths contribute to the excited state population. Oscillations resulting from interferences between these two paths are observed in atomic sodium. Moreover, we show that they are observable whatever the sign of chirp. Theoretically, we study the control of the predissociation of a benchmark diatomic molecule: NaI. Predissociation leads to matter wave interferences in the fragments distribution. First, we show that a suitably chosen probe pulse allows the observation of theses interferences. Next, using a sequence of control pulse inducing electronic transition, we demonstrate the possibility to manipulate fragment energy distribution. (author)

Split-And-Delay Unit for FEL Interferometry in the XUV Spectral Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Usenko

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this work we present a reflective split-and-delay unit (SDU developed for interferometric time-resolved experiments utilizing an (extreme ultraviolet XUV pump–XUV probe scheme with focused free-electron laser beams. The developed SDU overcomes limitations for phase-resolved measurements inherent to conventional two-element split mirrors by a special design using two reflective lamellar gratings. The gratings produce a high-contrast interference signal controlled by the grating displacement in every diffraction order. The orders are separated in the focal plane of the focusing optics, which enables one to avoid phase averaging by spatially selective detection of a single interference state of the two light fields. Interferometry requires a precise relative phase control of the light fields, which presents a challenge at short wavelengths. In our setup the phase delay is determined by an in-vacuum white light interferometer (WLI that monitors the surface profile of the SDU in real time and thus measures the delay for each laser shot. The precision of the WLI is 1 nm as determined by optical laser interferometry. In the presented experimental geometry it corresponds to a time delay accuracy of 3 as, which enables phase-resolved XUV pump–XUV probe experiments at free-electron laser (FEL repetition rates up to 60 Hz.

Production of Coherent xuv and soft-x-ray light using a transverse optical klystron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kincaid, B.M.; Freeman, R.R.

1984-01-01

This section describes the theory of the production of coherent xuv radiation and soft x rays using a transverse optical klystron (TOK). A TOK uses a high-power laser in conjunction with an undulator magnet to produce laserlike output of xuv radiation from a relativistic electron beam. 16 references, 5 figures

Theoretical study of relativistic corrections induced by an ultra-short and intense light pulse in matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinschberger Schreiber, Yannick

2012-01-01

This thesis focuses on the relativistic corrections induced by an ultra-short and intense light pulse in condensed matter. It is part of the new theme of the coherent ultra-fast demagnetization of ferromagnetic systems induced by a femtosecond laser pulse [Nature, 5, 515 (2009)] [1]. A relativistic coupling between spins and photons has been proposed to explain the experimental results obtained in [1]. The first part of this work focuses on the nonrelativistic limit of the Dirac's formalism. By means of the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation the nonrelativistic approximation of the external-electromagnetic-field Dirac equation to fifth order in powers of 1/m is obtained. Generalizing this result we postulate a general expression of the direct spin-field electronic Hamiltonian valid at any order in 1/m. A similar work is performed on a two-interacting electrons system described with the Breit Hamiltonian, whose the diagonalization at third order in 1/m illustrates an original coupling between the spin, the coulomb interaction and the time-dependent external electromagnetic field. In a second part, a classical model is developed for modeling ultrafast nonlinear coherent magneto-optical experiments performed on ferromagnetic thin films. Theoretical predictions of the Faraday rotation angles are compared to available experimental values and give meaningful insights about the physical mechanisms underlying the observed coherent magneto-optical phenomena. The crucial role played by the spin-orbit mechanism resulting from the direct interaction between the external electric field of the laser and the electron spins of the sample is underlined. (author) [fr

High-flux capillary based XUV source via the direct engineering of a laser induced ionization profile

OpenAIRE

Anderson, Patrick; Butcher, Thomas; Horak, Peter; Frey, Jeremy; Brocklesby, William S.

2011-01-01

High harmonic generation (HHG) has proven to be a fascinating and incredibly useful nonlinear optical phenomenon and has led to the realization of tabletop sources of coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation. Capillary based geometries in particular have attracted a great deal of attention due to the lengthy regions over which HHG can occur and the potential to phase match the HHG process leading to a large increase in XUV flux [1]. Until now reabsorption of XUV radiation has been a major...

FY 1999 report on the results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. Development of ultra-short pulse optoelectronics technology; 1999 nendo femutobyo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Chotan pulse hikari electronics gijutsu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

The paper described the FY 1999 results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. For the purpose of creating new industrial basement technology which supports the highly information-oriented society in the 21st century, the ultra-high speed electronics technology is indispensable which is beyond speed limits of the existing electronics technology and has new functionality. The ultra-high speed electronics basement technology is established through the R and D of the technology to control the state of light and electronics in the femtosecond time domain (10{sup -15} - 10{sup -12} second). Themes of the R and D are technology to generate/transmit femtosecond optical pulse, technology for control/distribution, and ultra-short pulse optoelectronics common basement technology. In FY 1999, a lot of results were obtained in the following: generation of the pulse train highly repeated at 500GHz in semiconductor laser; 139km transmission of 250fs optical pulse; switching movement at ultra-high speed of 150fs-1.2ps in transition among subbands of GaN base and Sb base materials; DEMUXA movement toward 160-10Gb/s in Mach-Zehnder type optical switch. (NEDO)

Multiple-Pulse Operation and Bound States of Solitons in Passive Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Komarov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We present results of our research on a multiple-pulse operation of passive mode-locked fiber lasers. The research has been performed on basis of numerical simulation. Multihysteresis dependence of both an intracavity energy and peak intensities of intracavity ultrashort pulses on pump power is found. It is shown that the change of a number of ultrashort pulses in a laser cavity can be realized by hard as well as soft regimes of an excitation and an annihilation of new solitons. Bound steady states of interacting solitons are studied for various mechanisms of nonlinear losses shaping ultrashort pulses. Possibility of coding of information on basis of soliton trains with various bonds between neighboring pulses is discussed. The role of dispersive wave emitted by solitons because of lumped intracavity elements in a formation of powerful soliton wings is analyzed. It is found that such powerful wings result in large bounding energies of interacting solitons in steady states. Various problems of a soliton interaction in passive mode-locked fiber lasers are discussed.

Nonadiabatic optical transitions as a turn-on switch for pulse shaping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashmi, F. A.; Bouchene, M. A.

2010-01-01

A strong nonresonant, asymmetric ultrashort pulse drives an atomic transition and causes a complete population inversion because of a sudden nonadiabatic jump. This jump is probed in real time by propagating a weak ultrashort pulse in the system which is resonant on an adjacent transition. The probe at the exit of the medium presents an oscillatory structure with the nonadiabatic jump marked in time by the onset of oscillations. The nonadiabatic jump thus acts as a 'turn-on' switch for the shaping of the probe.

Comparison of soft and hard tissue ablation with sub-ps and ns pulse lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Da Silva, L.B.; Stuart, B.C.; Celliers, P.M.; Feit, M.D.; Glinsky, M.E.; Heredia, N.J.; Herman, S.; Lane, S.M.; London, R.A.; Matthews, D.L.; Perry, M.D.; Rubenchik, A.M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Chang, T.D. [Veterans Administration Hospital, Martinez, CA (United States); Neev, J. [Beckman Laser Inst. and Medical Clinic, Irvine, CA (United States)

1996-05-01

Tissue ablation with ultrashort laser pulses offers several unique advantages. The nonlinear energy deposition is insensitive to tissue type, allowing this tool to be used for soft and hard tissue ablation. The localized energy deposition lead to precise ablation depth and minimal collateral damage. This paper reports on efforts to study and demonstrate tissue ablation using an ultrashort pulse laser. Ablation efficiency and extent of collateral damage for 0.3 ps and 1000 ps duration laser pulses are compared. Temperature measurements of the rear surface of a tooth section is also presented.

Ultrashort optical solitons in the cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with higher-order terms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fewo, Serge I.; Kofane, Timoleon C.; Ngabireng, Claude M.

2008-01-01

With the help of the Maxwell equations, a basic equation modeling the propagation of ultrashort optical solitons in optical fiber is derived, namely the higher-order complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (HCGLE). Considering this one-dimensional HCGLE, we obtain a set of differential equations characterizing the variation of the pulse parameters called collective variables (CVs), of a pulse propagating in dispersion-managed (DM) fiber optic-links. Equations obtained are investigated numerically in order to observe the behaviour of pulse parameters along the optical fiber. A fully numerical simulation of the one-dimensional HCGLE finally tests the results of the CV theory. A good agreement between both methods is observed. Among various behaviours, chaotic pulses, attenuate pulses and stable pulses can be obtained under certain parameter values. (author)

High-repetition-rate setup for pump-probe time-resolved XUV-IR experiments employing ion and electron momentum imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Shashank; Robatjazi, Seyyed Javad; Wright Lee, Pearson; Raju Pandiri, Kanaka; Rolles, Daniel; Rudenko, Artem

2017-04-01

J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan KS, USA We report on the development of a versatile experimental setup for XUV-IR pump-probe experiments using a 10 kHz high-harmonic generation (HHG) source and two different charged-particle momentum imaging spectrometers. The HHG source, based on a commercial KM Labs eXtreme Ultraviolet Ultrafast Source, is capable of delivering XUV radiation of less than 30 fs pulse duration in the photon energy range of 17 eV to 100 eV. It can be coupled either to a conventional velocity map imaging (VMI) setup with an atomic, molecular, or nanoparticle target; or to a novel double-sided VMI spectrometer equipped with two delay-line detectors for coincidence studies. An overview of the setup and results of first pump-probe experiments including studies of two-color double ionization of Xe and time-resolved dynamics of photoionized CO2 molecule will be presented. This project is supported in part by National Science Foundation (NSF-EPSCOR) Award No. IIA-1430493 and in part by the Chemical science, Geosciences, and Bio-Science division, Office of Basic Energy Science, Office of science, U.S. Department of Energy. K.

Intra- and intercycle interference of angle-resolved electron emission in laser-assisted XUV atomic ionization

Science.gov (United States)

Gramajo, A. A.; Della Picca, R.; López, S. D.; Arbó, D. G.

2018-03-01

A theoretical study of ionization of the hydrogen atom due to an XUV pulse in the presence of an infrared (IR) laser is presented. Well-established theories are usually used to describe the laser-assisted photoelectron effect: the well-known soft-photon approximation firstly posed by Maquet et al (2007 J. Mod. Opt. 54 1847) and Kazansky’s theory in (2010 Phys. Rev. A 82, 033420). However, these theories completely fail to predict the electron emission perpendicularly to the polarization direction. Making use of a semiclassical model (SCM), we study the angle-resolved energy distribution of PEs for the case that both fields are linearly polarized in the same direction. We thoroughly analyze and characterize two different emission regions in the angle-energy domain: (i) the parallel-like region with contribution of two classical trajectories per optical cycle and (ii) the perpendicular-like region with contribution of four classical trajectories per optical cycle. We show that our SCM is able to assess the interference patterns of the angle-resolved PE spectrum in the two different mentioned regions. Electron trajectories stemming from different optical laser cycles give rise to angle-independent intercycle interferences known as sidebands. These sidebands are modulated by an angle-dependent coarse-grained structure coming from the intracycle interference of the electron trajectories born during the same optical cycle. We show the accuracy of our SCM as a function of the time delay between the IR and the XUV pulses and also as a function of the laser intensity by comparing the semiclassical predictions of the angle-resolved PE spectrum with the continuum-distorted wave strong field approximation and the ab initio solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation.

Stellar and Laboratory XUV/EUV Line Ratios in Fe XVIII and Fe XIX

Science.gov (United States)

Träbert, Elmar; Beiersdorfer, P.; Clementson, J.

2011-09-01

A so-called XUV excess has been suspected with the relative fluxes of Fe XVIII and Fe XIX lines in XUV and EUV spectra of the star Capella as observed by the Chandra spacecraft [1] when comparing the observations with simulations of stellar spectra based on APEC or FAC. We have addressed this problem by laboratory studies using the Livermore electron beam ion trap (EBIT). Our understanding of the EBIT spectrum is founded on work by Brown et al. [2]. The electron density of the electron beam in an EBIT is compatible to the density in energetic stellar flares. In our experiments, the relative detection efficiencies of two flat-field grating spectrographs operating in the EUV (near 100 Å) and XUV (near 16 Å) ranges have been determined using the calculated branching ratio of 1-3 and 2-3 transition in the H-like spectrum O VIII. FAC calculations assuming several electron beam energies and electron densities serve to correct the EBIT observations for the Maxwellian excitation in a natural plasma. In the EUV, the line intensity pattern predicted by FAC agrees reasonably well with the laboratory and Capella observations. In the XUV wavelength range, agreement of laboratory and astrophysical line intensities is patchy. The spectral simulation results from FAC are much closer to stellar and laboratory observation than those obtained by APEC. Instead of claiming an XUV excess, the XUV/EUV line intensities can be explained by a somewhat higher temperature of Capella than the previously assumed T=6 MK. This work was performed under the auspices of the USDoE by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and was supported by the NASA under work order NNH07AF81I issued by the APRA Program. E.T. acknowledges support by DFG Germany. 1. P. Desai et al., ApJ 625, L59 (2005). 2. G. V. Brown et al., ApJS 140, 589 (2002).

Thermoacoustic Imaging and Therapy Guidance based on Ultra-short Pulsed Microwave Pumped Thermoelastic Effect Induced with Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Liewei; Yang, Sihua; Zhong, Junping; Zhou, Quan; Xing, Da

2017-01-01

Multifunctional nanoparticle-mediated imaging and therapeutic techniques are promising modalities for accurate localization and targeted treatment of cancer in clinical settings. Thermoacoustic (TA) imaging is highly sensitive to detect the distribution of water, ions or specific nanoprobes and provides excellent resolution, good contrast and superior tissue penetrability. TA therapy is a potential non-invasive approach for the treatment of deep-seated tumors. In this study, human serum albumin (HSA)-functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (HSA-SPIO) is used as a multifunctional nanoprobe with clinical application potential for MRI, TA imaging and treatment of tumor. In addition to be a MRI contrast agent for tumor localization, HSA-SPIO can absorb pulsed microwave energy and transform it into shockwave via the thermoelastic effect. Thereby, the reconstructed TA image by detecting TA signal is expected to be a sensitive and accurate representation of the HSA-SPIO accumulation in tumor. More importantly, owing to the selective retention of HSA-SPIO in tumor tissues and strong TA shockwave at the cellular level, HSA-SPIO induced TA effect under microwave-pulse radiation can be used to highly-efficiently kill cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth. Furthermore, ultra-short pulsed microwave with high excitation efficiency and deep penetrability in biological tissues makes TA therapy a highly-efficient anti-tumor modality on the versatile platform. Overall, HSA-SPIO mediated MRI and TA imaging would offer more comprehensive diagnostic information and enable dynamic visualization of nanoagents in the tumorous tissue thereby tumor-targeted therapy.

Guiding of laser pulses in plasma waveguides created by linearly-polarized femtosecond laser pulses

OpenAIRE

Lemos, N.; Cardoso, L.; Geada, J.; Figueira, G.; Albert, F.; Dias, J. M.

2018-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate that plasma waveguides produced with ultra-short laser pulses (sub-picosecond) in gas jets are capable of guiding high intensity laser pulses. This scheme has the unique ability of guiding a high-intensity laser pulse in a plasma waveguide created by the same laser system in the very simple and stable experimental setup. A hot plasma column was created by a femtosecond class laser that expands into an on-axis parabolic low density profile suitable to act as a wav...

Attosecond pulse trains from long laser-gas interaction targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauri, C.P.; Lopez-Martens, R.; Varju, K.; Ruchon, T.; Gustafsson, E.; L'Huillier, A.

2006-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. Many experiments in attosecond physics require high XUV photon flux as well as a clean attosecond pulse train (APT) temporal structure. Temporal characterization of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in long interaction targets is thus of high interest. HHG being a very inefficient process, a large effort has been made to increase the amount of XUV photons emitted per infrared laser pulse. Besides quasi phase-matching in a modulated capillary, loose driving laser focusing conditions and subsequent self-channeling have shown to significantly increase the conversion efficiency. We characterized the temporal structure of APTs generated during the self-channeling of an intense IR driving laser pulse. Our first results indicate, however, that the temporal structure of the APT generated during the HHG process might be affected by quantum path interference and spectral phase distortion due to the self-channeling process itself. In particular, our measurements show that the relative spectral phase between consecutive harmonics can strongly vary depending on the target length and the position of the laser focus with respect to the target. In general for short gas targets, no clean APT structure can be expected since the individual attosecond pulses carry significant chirp. For longer targets, however, we observe a flattening of the harmonic spectral phase, resulting in near-transform-limited attosecond pulse trains. A complete analysis of the process is complex and involves detailed knowledge of the spatial and temporal evolution of the self-channeling driver laser pulse throughout the gas target.

Simulation studies of a XUV/soft X-ray harmonic-cascade FEL for the proposed LBNL recirculating linac*

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fawley, W.M.; Barletta, W.A.; Corlett, J.N.; Zholents, A.

2003-01-01

Presently there is significant interest at LBNL in designing and building a facility for ultrafast (i.e. femtosecond time scale) x-ray science based upon a superconducting, recirculating RF linac (see Corlett et al. for more details). In addition to producing synchrotron radiation pulses in the 1-15 keV energy range, we are also considering adding one or more free-electron laser (FEL) beamlines using a harmonic cascade approach to produce coherent XUV soft X-ray emission beginning with a strong input seed at ∼200 nm wavelength obtained from a ''conventional'' laser. Each cascade is composed of a radiator together with a modulator section, separated by a magnetic chicane. The chicane temporally delays the electron beam pulse in order that a ''virgin'' pulse region (with undegraded energy spread) be brought into synchronism with the radiation pulse, which together then undergo FEL action in the modulator. We present various results obtained with the GINGER simulation code examining final output sensitivity to initial electron beam parameters. We also discuss the effects of spontaneous emission and shot noise upon this particular cascade approach which can limit the final output coherence

Generation of atto-second pulses in atoms and molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haessler, St.

2009-12-01

When a low-frequency laser pulse is focused to a high intensity into a gas, the electric field of the laser light may become of comparable strength to that felt by the electrons bound in an atom or molecule. A valence electron can then be 'freed' by tunnel ionization, accelerated by the strong oscillating laser field and can eventually re-collide and recombine with the ion. The gained kinetic energy is then released as a burst of coherent X-UV light and the macroscopic gas medium then becomes a source of X-UV light pulses of atto-second (1 as equals 10 -18 s) duration. This is the natural time-scale of electron dynamics in atoms and molecules. The largest part of this thesis deals with experiments where molecules are the harmonic generation medium and the re-colliding electron wave packet acts as a 'self-probe'. In several experiments, we demonstrate the potential of this scheme to observe or image ultra-fast intra-molecular electronic and nuclear dynamics. In particular, we have performed the first phase measurements of the high harmonic emission from aligned molecules and we have extracted the recombination dipole matrix element. This observable contains signatures of quantum interference between the continuum and bound parts of the total electronic wavefunction. It is shown how this quantum interference can be utilized to shape the atto-second light emission from the molecules. In a second part of this thesis, we use the well characterized coherent X-UV light emitted by rare gas atoms to photo-ionize molecules. Measuring the ejected photoelectron wave packet then allows to extract information on the photoionization process itself, and possibly about the initial bound and final continuum states of the electron. The last chapter of this manuscript describes studies of high harmonic and atto-second light pulse generation in a different medium: ablation plasmas. (author)

Three-dimensional simulations of an XUV free-electron laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstein, J.C.; McVey, B.D.; Newnam, B.E.

1985-01-01

Operation of free-electron lasers (FEL) at long optical wavelengths (greater than or equal to 600 nm) has now been successfully demonstrated at several laboratories. To operate an FEL at shorter wavelengths imposes constraints on the brightness of the electron beam which are difficult to achieve. Until recently, it was perceived that only an electron storage ring could satisfy these beam requirements. However, our previous 1-D theoretical calculations revealed that modest improvements in the emittance available from rf-linear accelerators would be sufficient to allow operation of an FEL in the XUV spectral range (greater than or equal to 50 nm). We shall present new theoretical results for the design of a linac-driven XUV FEL derived from an improved simulation model. The model is fully three-dimensional in its treatment of the undulator magnetic field, the optical radiation field, and the motion of electrons in a finite-emittance beam. Furthermore, the model computes self-consistently the motion of the electrons and the amplification, diffraction, and the refraction of the light within the undulator magnet. Propagation of the optical beam and reflection at the mirrors of the optical resonator are incorporated in the model so that a complete laser oscillator solution can be generated. The computed performance parameters of a particular XUV FEL oscillator design will be compared with the output of synchrotron radiation sources. 26 refs., 8 figs

Pulsed laser ablation and deposition of niobium carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sansone, M.; De Bonis, A.; Santagata, A.; Rau, J.V.; Galasso, A.; Teghil, R.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We have deposited in vacuum niobium carbide films by fs and ns PLD. • We have compared PLD performed by ultra-short and short laser pulses. • The films deposited by fs PLD of NbC are formed by nanoparticles. • The structure of the films produced by fs PLD at 500 °C corresponds to NbC. - Abstract: NbC crystalline films have been deposited in vacuum by ultra-short pulsed laser deposition technique. The films have been characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopies and by X-ray diffraction. To clarify the ablation–deposition mechanism, the plasma produced by the ablation process has been characterized by optical emission spectroscopy and fast imaging. A comparison of the results with those obtained by ns pulsed deposition of the same target has been carried out.

Reemission spectra and inelastic processes at interaction of attosecond and shorter duration electromagnetic pulses with atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makarov, D.N.; Matveev, V.I.

2017-01-01

Inelastic processes and the reemission of attosecond and shorter electromagnetic pulses by atoms have been considered within the analytical solution of the Schrödinger equation in the sudden perturbation approximation. A method of calculations with the exact inclusion of spatial inhomogeneity of the field of an ultrashort pulse and the momenta of photons in the reemission processes has been developed. The probabilities of inelastic processes and spectra of reemission of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by one- and many-electron atoms have been calculated. The results have been presented in the form of analytical formulas.

Probing temporal aspects of high-order harmonic pulses via multi-colour, multi-photon ionization processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mauritsson, J [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States); Johnsson, P [Department of Physics, Lund Institute of Technology, PO Box 118, SE-22100 Lund (Sweden); Lopez-Martens, R [Department of Physics, Lund Institute of Technology, PO Box 118, SE-22100 Lund (Sweden); Varju, K [Department of Physics, Lund Institute of Technology, PO Box 118, SE-22100 Lund (Sweden); L' Huillier, A [Department of Physics, Lund Institute of Technology, PO Box 118, SE-22100 Lund (Sweden); Gaarde, M B [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States); Schafer, K J [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States)

2005-07-14

High-order harmonics generated through the interaction of atoms and strong laser fields are a versatile, laboratory-scale source of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation on a femtosecond or even attosecond time-scale. In order to be a useful experimental tool, however, this radiation has to be well characterized, both temporally and spectrally. In this paper we discuss how multi-photon, multi-colour ionization processes can be used to completely characterize either individual harmonics or attosecond pulse trains. In particular, we discuss the influence of the intensity and duration of the probe laser, and how these parameters effect the accuracy of the XUV characterization.

Probing temporal aspects of high-order harmonic pulses via multi-colour, multi-photon ionization processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauritsson, J; Johnsson, P; Lopez-Martens, R; Varju, K; L'Huillier, A; Gaarde, M B; Schafer, K J

2005-01-01

High-order harmonics generated through the interaction of atoms and strong laser fields are a versatile, laboratory-scale source of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation on a femtosecond or even attosecond time-scale. In order to be a useful experimental tool, however, this radiation has to be well characterized, both temporally and spectrally. In this paper we discuss how multi-photon, multi-colour ionization processes can be used to completely characterize either individual harmonics or attosecond pulse trains. In particular, we discuss the influence of the intensity and duration of the probe laser, and how these parameters effect the accuracy of the XUV characterization

Development of ultra-short high voltage pulse technology using magnetic pulse compression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Byung Heon; Kim, S. G.; Nam, S. M.; Lee, B. C.; Lee, S. M.; Jeong, Y. U.; Cho, S. O.; Jin, J. T.; Choi, H. L

1998-01-01

The control circuit for high voltage switches, the saturable inductor for magnetic assist, and the magnetic pulse compression circuit were designed, constructed, and tested. The core materials of saturable inductors in magnetic pulse compression circuit were amorphous metal and ferrite and total compression stages were 3. By the test, in high repetition rate, high pulse compression were certified. As a result of this test, it became possible to increase life-time of thyratrons and to replace thyratrons by solid-state semiconductor switches. (author). 16 refs., 16 tabs.

Development of ultra-short high voltage pulse technology using magnetic pulse compression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Byung Heon; Kim, S. G.; Nam, S. M.; Lee, B. C.; Lee, S. M.; Jeong, Y. U.; Cho, S. O.; Jin, J. T.; Choi, H. L.

1998-01-01

The control circuit for high voltage switches, the saturable inductor for magnetic assist, and the magnetic pulse compression circuit were designed, constructed, and tested. The core materials of saturable inductors in magnetic pulse compression circuit were amorphous metal and ferrite and total compression stages were 3. By the test, in high repetition rate, high pulse compression were certified. As a result of this test, it became possible to increase life-time of thyratrons and to replace thyratrons by solid-state semiconductor switches. (author). 16 refs., 16 tabs

Texturing in titanium grade 2 surface irradiate with ultrashort pulse laser; Texturizacao em superficies de titanio grau 2 irradiadas com laser com pulsos ultracurtos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogueira, Alessandro Francelino

2015-07-01

The texturing laser micromachining is an important alternative to improve the bonding adhesion between composites and titanium, which are applied to structural components in the aerospace industry. The texturing running on titanium plates is due to the fact that the preferred joining technique for many composite materials is the adhesive bonding. In this work, titanium plates were texturized using laser ultrashort pulses temporal widths of femtoseconds. This process resulted in minimal heat transfer to the material, avoiding deformation of the titanium plate surface as well as the formation of resolidified material in the ablated region. These drawbacks have occurred with the use of nanoseconds pulses. Were performed three types of texturing using laser with femtosecond pulses, with variations in the distances between the machined lines. The analysis of the obtained surfaces found that the wettability increases when there is the increased distance between the texturing lines. Advancing in the analysis by optical profilometry of textured surfaces was observed that there is substantial increase in the volume available for penetration of structural adhesive when the distances between the textured lines are diminished. In tensile tests conducted it was observed that there is an increase in shear strength of the adhesive joint by reducing the distance between the textured lines. (author)

Statistical Analysis of Coherent Ultrashort Light Pulse CDMA With Multiple Optical Amplifiers Using Additive Noise Model

Science.gov (United States)

Jamshidi, Kambiz; Salehi, Jawad A.

2005-05-01

This paper describes a study of the performance of various configurations for placing multiple optical amplifiers in a typical coherent ultrashort light pulse code-division multiple access (CULP-CDMA) communication system using the additive noise model. For this study, a comprehensive performance analysis was developed that takes into account multiple-access noise, noise due to optical amplifiers, and thermal noise using the saddle-point approximation technique. Prior to obtaining the overall system performance, the input/output statistical models for different elements of the system such as encoders/decoders,star coupler, and optical amplifiers were obtained. Performance comparisons between an ideal and lossless quantum-limited case and a typical CULP-CDMA with various losses exhibit more than 30 dB more power requirement to obtain the same bit-error rate (BER). Considering the saturation effect of optical amplifiers, this paper discusses an algorithm for amplifiers' gain setting in various stages of the network in order to overcome the nonlinear effects on signal modulation in optical amplifiers. Finally, using this algorithm,various configurations of multiple optical amplifiers in CULP-CDMA are discussed and the rules for the required optimum number of amplifiers are shown with their corresponding optimum locations to be implemented along the CULP-CDMA system.

Ultrashort pulsed laser ablation for decollation of solid state lithium-ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Hördemann, C.; Anand, H.; Gillner, A.

2017-08-01

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes are the main energy source for many electronic devices that we use in our everyday lives. However, one of the main drawbacks of this energy storage technology is the use of liquid electrolyte, which can be hazardous to the user as well as the environment. Moreover, lithium-ion batteries are limited in voltage, energy density and operating temperature range. One of the most novel and promising battery technologies available to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks is the Solid-State Lithium-Ion Battery (SSLB). This battery type can be produced without limitations to the geometry and is also bendable, which is not possible with conventional batteries1 . Additionally, SSLBs are characterized by high volumetric and gravimetric energy density and are intrinsically safe since no liquid electrolyte is used2-4. Nevertheless, the manufacturing costs of these batteries are still high. The existing production-technologies are comparable to the processes used in the semiconductor industry and single cells are produced in batches with masked-deposition at low deposition rates. In order to decrease manufacturing costs and to move towards continuous production, Roll2Roll production methods are being proposed5, 6. These methods offer the possibility of producing large quantities of substrates with deposited SSLB-layers. From this coated substrate, single cells can be cut out. For the flexible decollation of SSLB-cells from the substrate, new manufacturing technologies have to be developed since blade-cutting, punching or conventional laser-cutting processes lead to short circuiting between the layers. Here, ultra-short pulsed laser ablation and cutting allows the flexible decollation of SSLBs. Through selective ablation of individual layers, an area for the cutting kerf is prepared to ensure a shortcut-free decollation.

Investigation of attosecond ionization dynamics in gases and solids with intense few-cycle laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitrofanov, A. V.

2011-01-01

the temporal dynamics of ionization in transparent solids. It can also be considered as an all-optical alternative to the methods of attosecond metrology based on the detection of charged particles. The experiments on the optical-field-ionization in solids are discussed along with the description of the main technologies used in generation and characterization of few-cycle near-IR laser pulses. Characterization of ultra-broadband ultra-short pulses is a separate important problem. A new bandwidth unlimited pulse measurement technique based on quasi-linear temporal phase modulation in a gas weakly ionized by a long pump pulse is presented in this thesis. The most direct way to investigate the electron dynamics in different systems with a high temporal resolution is to employ time-resolved spectroscopy where the initiating and probing optical events are substantially shorter then the characteristic time of the process under investigation. The substantial progress in the development of XUV technologies and attosecond science in the recent years resulted in a remarkable success in studying ionization dynamics in atoms and molecules with a sub-femtosecond time resolution. The closing part of this thesis is dedicated to the time- and energy-resolved measurements of Auger decay in Krypton and Xenon using attosecond XUV-pump-IR-probe spectroscopic technique. (author)

Characterization of X-UV multilayers by grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nevot, L.; Pardo, B.; Corno, J.

1988-01-01

The performance of multilayers at the X-UV wavelengths depends upon the structural and geometrical imperfections of the deposited materials. These two respective contributions are not easily separated when only one Bragg peak is recorded, as is usually the case in the X-UV range, so a prediction of the performance at other wavelengths appears rather doubtful. We show how grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry (using Cu Kα 1 radiation) allows the precise evaluation of both interfacial roughnesses and thickness errors, as well as their variations through the stacks. As examples, we analyse three (W/C) multilayers with periods between 3 to 6 nm and up to 40 layers

A focal plane camera for celestial XUV sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huizenga, H.

1980-01-01

This thesis describes the development and performance of a new type of X-ray camera for the 2-250 0 A wavelength range (XUV). The camera features high position resolution (FWHM approximately 0.2 mm at 2 A, -13 erg/cm 2 s in a one year mission. (Auth.)

Method for the determination of the three-dimensional structure of ultrashort relativistic electron bunches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geloni, Gianluca; Ilinski, Petr; Saldin, Evgeni; Schneidmiller, Evgeni; Yurkov, Mikhail

2009-05-15

We describe a novel technique to characterize ultrashort electron bunches in Xray Free-Electron Lasers. Namely, we propose to use coherent Optical Transition Radiation to measure three-dimensional (3D) electron density distributions. Our method relies on the combination of two known diagnostics setups, an Optical Replica Synthesizer (ORS) and an Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) imager. Electron bunches are modulated at optical wavelengths in the ORS setup.When these electron bunches pass through a metal foil target, coherent radiation pulses of tens MW power are generated. It is thereafter possible to exploit advantages of coherent imaging techniques, such as direct imaging, diffractive imaging, Fourier holography and their combinations. The proposed method opens up the possibility of real-time, wavelength-limited, single-shot 3D imaging of an ultrashort electron bunch. (orig.)

Electron in the ultrashort laser pulse

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pardy, Miroslav

2003-01-01

Roč. 42, č. 1 (2003), s. 99-110 ISSN 0020-7748 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A100 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z2043910 Keywords : laser pulse, Volkov solution, compton effect Subject RIV: BE - The oretical Physics Impact factor: 0.476, year: 2003

Double ionization of molecule H2 in intense ultrashort laser fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le, Thu-Thuy; Nguyen, Ngoc-Ty

2015-01-01

By solving numerically the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), we have calculated the double ionization probability when a vibrating hydrogen molecule interacts with intense ultrashort laser pulses. The results show that in the case of vibrating nuclei the double ionization probability is higher than that of the fixed nuclei. Additionally, the double ionization probability is larger if the molecule is vibrating in a higher level. This is due to the decreasing of ionization potential when the inter-nuclei separation increases. (paper)

Supercomputations and big-data analysis in strong-field ultrafast optical physics: filamentation of high-peak-power ultrashort laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Voronin, A. A.; Panchenko, V. Ya; Zheltikov, A. M.

2016-06-01

High-intensity ultrashort laser pulses propagating in gas media or in condensed matter undergo complex nonlinear spatiotemporal evolution where temporal transformations of optical field waveforms are strongly coupled to an intricate beam dynamics and ultrafast field-induced ionization processes. At the level of laser peak powers orders of magnitude above the critical power of self-focusing, the beam exhibits modulation instabilities, producing random field hot spots and breaking up into multiple noise-seeded filaments. This problem is described by a (3  +  1)-dimensional nonlinear field evolution equation, which needs to be solved jointly with the equation for ultrafast ionization of a medium. Analysis of this problem, which is equivalent to solving a billion-dimensional evolution problem, is only possible by means of supercomputer simulations augmented with coordinated big-data processing of large volumes of information acquired through theory-guiding experiments and supercomputations. Here, we review the main challenges of supercomputations and big-data processing encountered in strong-field ultrafast optical physics and discuss strategies to confront these challenges.

Trichromatic π-Pulse for Ultrafast Total Inversion of a Four-Level Ladder System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carles Serrat

2015-11-01

Full Text Available We present a numerical solution for complete population inversion in a four-level ladder system obtained by using a full π-pulse illumination scheme with resonant ultrashort phase-locked Gaussian laser pulses. We find that a set of pulse areas such as √3π , √2π , and √3π completely inverts the four-level system considering identical effective dipole coupling coefficients. The solution is consistent provided the involved electric fields are not too strong and it is amply accurate also in the case of diverse transition dipole moments. We study the effect of detuning and chirp of the laser pulses on the complete population inversion using the level structure of atomic sodium interacting with ps and fs pulses as an example. Our result opens the door for multiple applications such as efficient ultrashort pulse lasing in the UV or the engineering of quantum states for quantum computing.

Propagation of femtosecond laser pulses through water in the linear absorption regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Naveira, Lucas M; Strycker, Benjamin D; Wang, Jieyu; Ariunbold, Gombojav O; Sokolov, Alexei V; Kattawar, George W

2009-04-01

We investigate the controversy regarding violations of the Bouguer-Lambert-Beer (BLB) law for ultrashort laser pulses propagating through water. By working at sufficiently low incident laser intensities, we make sure that any nonlinear component in the response of the medium is negligible. We measure the transmitted power and spectrum as functions of water cell length in an effort to confirm or disprove alleged deviations from the BLB law. We perform experiments at two different laser pulse repetition rates and explore the dependence of transmission on pulse duration. Specifically, we vary the laser pulse duration either by cutting its spectrum while keeping the pulse shape near transform-limited or by adjusting the pulses chirp while keeping the spectral intensities fixed. Over a wide range of parameters, we find no deviations from the BLB law and conclude that recent claims of BLB law violations are inconsistent with our experimental data. We present a simple linear theory (based on the BLB law) for propagation of ultrashort laser pulses through an absorbing medium and find our experimental results to be in excellent agreement with this theory.

Multiloop soliton and multibreather solutions of the short pulse model equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuno, Yoshimasa

2007-01-01

We develop a systematic procedure for constructing the multisoliton solutions of the short pulse (SP) model equation which describes the propagation of ultra-short pulses in nonlinear medica. We first introduce a novel hodograph transformation to convert the SP equation into the sine-Gordon (sG) equation. With the soliton solutions of the sG equation, the system of linear partial differential equations governing the inverse mapping can be integrated analytically to obtain the soliton solutions of the SP equation in the form of the parametric representation. By specifying the soliton parameters, we obtain the multiloop and multibreather solutions. We investigate the asymptotic behavior of both solutions and confirm their solitonic feature. The nonsingular breather solutions may play an important role in studying the propagation of ultra-short pulses in an optical fibre. (author)

Langmuir probe measurement of the bismuth plasma plume formed by an extreme-ultraviolet pulsed laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pira, P; Burian, T; Kolpaková, A; Tichý, M; Kudrna, P; Daniš, S; Wild, J; Juha, L; Lančok, J; Vyšín, L; Civiš, S; Zelinger, Z; Kubát, P

2014-01-01

Properties of the plasma plume produced on a bismuth (Bi) target irradiated by a focused extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) capillary-discharge laser beam were investigated. Langmuir probes were used in both single- and double-probe arrangements to determine the electron temperature and the electron density, providing values of 1–3 eV and ∼10 13 –10 14  m −3 , respectively. Although the temperatures seem to be comparable with values obtained in ablation plasmas produced by conventional, long-wavelength lasers, the density is significantly lower. This finding indicates that the desorption-like phenomena are responsible for the plume formation rather than the ablation processes. A very thin Bi film was prepared on an MgO substrate by pulsed XUV laser deposition. The non-uniform, sub-monolayer character of the deposited bismuth film confirms the Langmuir probe's observation of the desorption-like erosion induced by the XUV laser on the primary Bi target. (paper)

Interaction of ultra-short ultra-intense laser pulses with under-dense plasmas; Interaction d'impulsions laser ultra-courtes et ultra-intenses avec des plasmas sous denses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solodov, A

2000-12-15

Different aspects of interaction of ultra-short ultra-intense laser pulses with underdense plasmas are studied analytically and numerically. These studies can be interesting for laser-driven electron acceleration in plasma, X-ray lasers, high-order harmonic generation, initial confinement fusion with fast ignition. For numerical simulations a fully-relativistic particle code WAKE was used, developed earlier at Ecole Polytechnique. It was modified during the work on the thesis in the part of simulation of ion motion, test electron motion, diagnostics for the field and plasma. The studies in the thesis cover the problems of photon acceleration in the plasma wake of a short intense laser pulse, phase velocity of the plasma wave in the Self-Modulated Laser Wake-Field Accelerator (SM LWFA), relativistic channeling of laser pulses with duration of the order of a plasma period, ion dynamics in the wake of a short intense laser pulse, plasma wave breaking. Simulation of three experiments on the laser pulse propagation in plasma and electron acceleration were performed. Among the main results of the thesis, it was found that reduction of the plasma wave phase velocity in the SM LWFA is crucial for electron acceleration, only if a plasma channel is used for the laser pulse guiding. Self-similar structures describing relativistic guiding of short laser pulses in plasmas were found and relativistic channeling of initially Gaussian laser pulses of a few plasma periods in duration was demonstrated. It was shown that ponderomotive force of a plasma wake excited by a short laser pulse forms a channel in plasma and plasma wave breaking in the channel was analyzed in detail. Effectiveness of electron acceleration by the laser field and plasma wave was compared and frequency shift of probe laser pulses by the plasma waves was found in conditions relevant to the current experiments. (author)

Isolated sub-100-attosecond pulse generation via controlling electron dynamics

OpenAIRE

Lan, Pengfei; Lu, Peixiang; Cao, Wei; Li, Yuhua; Wang, Xinlin

2007-01-01

A new method to coherently control the electron dynamics is proposed using a few-cycle laser pulse in combination with a controlling field. It is shown that this method not only broadens the attosecond pulse bandwidth, but also reduces the chirp, then an isolated 80-as pulse is straightforwardly obtained and even shorter pulse is achievable by increasing the intensity of the controlling field. Such ultrashort pulses allow one to investigate ultrafast electronic processes which have never be a...

Laser plasma as a source of intense attosecond pulses via high-order harmonic generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozaki, T.

2013-01-01

The incredible progress in ultrafast laser technology and Ti:sapphire lasers have lead to many important applications, one of them being high-order harmonic generation (HHG). HHG is a source of coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation, which has opened new frontiers in science by extending nonlinear optics and time-resolved spectroscopy to the XUV region, and pushing ultrafast science to the attosecond domain. Progress in attosecond science has revealed many new phenomena that have not been seen with femtosecond pulses. Clearly, the next frontier is to study nonlinear effects at the attosecond timescale and in the XUV. However, a problem with present-day attosecond pulses is that they are just too weak to induce measurable nonlinearities, which severely limits the application of this source. While HHG from solid targets has shown promise for higher conversion efficiency, there is no experiment so far that demonstrates isolated attosecond pulse generation. The generation of isolated, several 100-as pulses with few-µJ energy will enable us to enter a completely new phase in attoscience. In past works, we have demonstrated that high-order harmonics from lowly ionized plasma is a highly efficient method to generate coherent XUV pulses. For example, indium plasma has been shown to generate intense 13th harmonic of the Ti:sapphire laser, with conversion efficiency of 10-4. However, the quasi-monochromatic nature of indium harmonics would make it difficult to generate attosecond pulses. We have also demonstrated that one could increase the harmonic yield by using nanoparticle targets. Specifically, we showed that by using indium oxide nanoparticles or C60 film, we could obtain intense harmonics between wavelengths of 50 to 90 nm. The energy in each of these harmonic orders was measured to be a few µJ, which is sufficient for many applications. However, the problem of using nanoparticle or film targets is the rapid decrease in the harmonic intensity, due to the rapid

Third order effects generated by refractive lenses on sub 20 femtosecond optical pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estrada-Silva, F C; Rosete-Aguilar, M; Garduno-Mejia, J; Gonzalez-Galicia, M A; Bruce, N C; Ortega-Martinez, R

2011-01-01

When using lenses to focus ultra-short pulses, chromatic aberration produces pulse spreading, after propagation through the lens. The focusing of ultra-short pulses has been analyzed by using Fourier optics where the field amplitude of the pulse is evaluated around the focal region of the lens by performing a third order expansion on the wave number around the central frequency of the carrier. In the literature, the pulse focusing in the neighborhood of the focal region of the lens has been calculated by expanding the wave number up to second order. The second order approximation works for pulses with a duration greater than 20fs, or pulses propagating through low dispersion materials; but, it is necessary to do third order approximation for pulses with a shorter duration, or propagating through highly dispersive materials. In this paper we analyze 15fs and 20fs pulses, with a carrier wavelength of 810nm, at the paraxial focal plane of singlets and achromatic doublets. The analysis includes the third order GVD and the results are compared with those obtained when the wave number is expanded up to second order.

Longitudinal phase space manipulation of an ultrashort electron beam via THz IFEL interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moody, J. T.; Li, R. K.; Musumeci, P.; Scoby, C. M.; To, H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles California, 90095 (United States)

2012-12-21

A scheme where a laser locked THz source is used to manipulate the longitudinal phase space of an ultrashort electron beam using an IFEL interaction is investigated. The efficiency of THz source based on the pulse front tilt optical rectification scheme is increased by cryogenic cooling to achieve sufficient THz power for compression and synchronization. Start-to-end simulations describing the evolution of the beam from the cathode to the compression point after the undulator are presented.

Longitudinal phase space manipulation of an ultrashort electron beam via THz IFEL interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moody, J. T.; Li, R. K.; Musumeci, P.; Scoby, C. M.; To, H.

2012-01-01

A scheme where a laser locked THz source is used to manipulate the longitudinal phase space of an ultrashort electron beam using an IFEL interaction is investigated. The efficiency of THz source based on the pulse front tilt optical rectification scheme is increased by cryogenic cooling to achieve sufficient THz power for compression and synchronization. Start-to-end simulations describing the evolution of the beam from the cathode to the compression point after the undulator are presented.

High-power parametric amplification of 11.8-fs laser pulses with carrier-envelope phase control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zinkstok, R.T.; Witte, S.; Hogervorst, W.; Eikema, K.S.E.

2005-01-01

Phase-stable parametric chirped-pulse amplification of ultrashort pulses from a carrier-envelope phase-stabilized mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator (11.0 fs) to 0.25 mJ/pulse at 1 kHz is demonstrated. Compression with a grating compressor and a LCD shaper yields near-Fourier-limited 11.8-fs pulses

Controlling semiconductor nanoparticle size distributions with tailored ultrashort pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hergenroeder, R; Miclea, M; Hommes, V

2006-01-01

The laser generation of size-controlled semiconductor nanoparticle formation under gas phase conditions is investigated. It is shown that the size distribution can be changed if picosecond pulse sequences of tailored ultra short laser pulses (<200 fs) are employed. By delivering the laser energy in small packages, a temporal energy flux control at the target surface is achieved, which results in the control of the thermodynamic pathway the material takes. The concept is tested with silicon and germanium, both materials with a predictable response to double pulse sequences, which allows deduction of the materials' response to complicated pulse sequences. An automatic, adaptive learning algorithm was employed to demonstrate a future strategy that enables the definition of more complex optimization targets such as particle size on materials less predictable than semiconductors

TIMED solar EUV experiment: preflight calibration results for the XUV photometer system

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Thomas N.; Rodgers, Erica M.; Bailey, Scott M.; Eparvier, Francis G.; Ucker, Gregory J.

1999-10-01

The Solar EUV Experiment (SEE) on the NASA Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) mission will measure the solar vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectral irradiance from 0.1 to 200 nm. To cover this wide spectral range two different types of instruments are used: a grating spectrograph for spectra between 25 and 200 nm with a spectral resolution of 0.4 nm and a set of silicon soft x-ray (XUV) photodiodes with thin film filters as broadband photometers between 0.1 and 35 nm with individual bandpasses of about 5 nm. The grating spectrograph is called the EUV Grating Spectrograph (EGS), and it consists of a normal- incidence, concave diffraction grating used in a Rowland spectrograph configuration with a 64 X 1024 array CODACON detector. The primary calibrations for the EGS are done using the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF-III) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In addition, detector sensitivity and image quality, the grating scattered light, the grating higher order contributions, and the sun sensor field of view are characterized in the LASP calibration laboratory. The XUV photodiodes are called the XUV Photometer System (XPS), and the XPS includes 12 photodiodes with thin film filters deposited directly on the silicon photodiodes' top surface. The sensitivities of the XUV photodiodes are calibrated at both the NIST SURF-III and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) electron storage ring called BESSY. The other XPS calibrations, namely the electronics linearity and field of view maps, are performed in the LASP calibration laboratory. The XPS and solar sensor pre-flight calibration results are primarily discussed as the EGS calibrations at SURF-III have not yet been performed.

Cell Fragmentation and Permeabilization by a 1 ns Pulse Driven Triple-Point Electrode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enbo Yang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Ultrashort electric pulses (ns-ps are useful in gaining understanding as to how pulsed electric fields act upon biological cells, but the electric field intensity to induce biological responses is typically higher than longer pulses and therefore a high voltage ultrashort pulse generator is required. To deliver 1 ns pulses with sufficient electric field but at a relatively low voltage, we used a glass-encapsulated tungsten wire triple-point electrode (TPE at the interface among glass, tungsten wire, and water when it is immersed in water. A high electric field (2 MV/cm can be created when pulses are applied. However, such a high electric field was found to cause bubble emission and temperature rise in the water near the electrode. They can be attributed to Joule heating near the electrode. Adherent cells on a cover slip treated by the combination of these stimuli showed two major effects: (1 cells in a crater (<100 μm from electrode were fragmented and the debris was blown away. The principal mechanism for the damage is presumed to be shear forces due to bubble collapse; and (2 cells in the periphery of the crater were permeabilized, which was due to the combination of bubble movement and microstreaming as well as pulsed electric fields. These results show that ultrashort electric fields assisted by microbubbles can cause significant cell response and therefore a triple-point electrode is a useful ablation tool for applications that require submillimeter precision.

Time resolved 3D momentum imaging of ultrafast dynamics by coherent VUV-XUV radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sturm, F. P., E-mail: fpsturm@lbl.gov [Ultrafast X-Ray Science Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Institut für Kernphysik, Universität Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 1, D-60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Wright, T. W.; Ray, D.; Zalyubovskaya, I.; Shivaram, N.; Slaughter, D. S.; Belkacem, A.; Weber, Th. [Ultrafast X-Ray Science Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Ranitovic, P. [Ultrafast X-Ray Science Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); ELI-ALPS, ELI-Hu Nkft, Dugonics ter 13, Szeged H6720 (Hungary)

2016-06-15

We present a new experimental setup for measuring ultrafast nuclear and electron dynamics of molecules after photo-excitation and ionization. We combine a high flux femtosecond vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) source with an internally cold molecular beam and a 3D momentum imaging particle spectrometer to measure electrons and ions in coincidence. We describe a variety of tools developed to perform pump-probe studies in the VUV-XUV spectrum and to modify and characterize the photon beam. First benchmark experiments are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the system.

Isolated sub-100-as pulse generation via controlling electron dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lan Pengfei; Lu Peixiang; Cao Wei; Li Yuhua; Wang Xinlin

2007-01-01

A method to coherently control electron dynamics is proposed using a few-cycle laser pulse in combination with a controlling field. It is shown that this method not only broadens the attosecond pulse bandwidth, but also reduces the chirp; thus an isolated 80-as pulse is straightforwardly obtained, and even shorter pulses are achievable by increasing the intensity of the controlling field. Such ultrashort pulses allow one to investigate ultrafast electronic processes. In addition, the few-cycle synthesized pulse is expected to be useful for manipulating a wide range of laser-atom interactions

Generation of high harmonics and attosecond pulses with ultrashort ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

input Gaussian pulse into a non-diffractive and non-dispersive conical wavepacket [4,5], source of secondary radiation [6], and remote actions to mention a few. ... gas before propagation of the ionizing pulse: NAr(t → −∞) = N0. e and me ...

Modeling short-pulse laser excitation of dielectric materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wædegaard, Kristian Juncher; Sandkamm, Ditte Både; Haahr-Lillevang, Lasse

2014-01-01

A theoretical description of ultrashort-pulse laser excitation of dielectric materials based on strong-field excitation in the Keldysh picture combined with a multiple-rateequation model for the electronic excitation including collisional processes is presented. The model includes light attenuation...

Intensity dependence of nonsequential double ionization of helium in IR+XUV two-color laser fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Facheng; Wang, Bingbing; Chen, Jing; Yang, Yujun; Yan, Zong-Chao

2016-01-01

By applying the frequency-domain theory, we investigate the dependence of momentum spectra on laser intensity in a nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) process of helium in infrared (IR) and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) two-color laser fields. We find that the two-color laser fields play distinct roles in an NSDI process, where the IR laser field mainly determines the width of each band, and the XUV laser field mainly plays a role on the NSDI probability. Furthermore, an NSDI process can be decoupled into a two-step process: an above-threshold ionization (ATI), followed by a laser-assisted collision (LAC). It is found that, the IR laser field is responsible for broadening the peak in the ATI process and providing additional momenta to the two ionized electrons in the LAC process; while the XUV laser field plays a crucial role on the strength of the spectrum in the ATI process, and influences the radii of orbits in momentum space in the LAC process. (paper)

Ionization of a multilevel atom by ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreev, A. V.; Stremoukhov, S. Yu.; Shutova, O. A.

2010-01-01

Specific features of ionization of single atoms by laser fields of a near-atomic strength are investigated. Calculations are performed for silver atoms interacting with femtosecond laser pulses with wavelengths λ = 800 nm (Ti:Sapphire) and λ = 1.064 μm (Nd:YAG). The dependences of the probability of ionization and of the form of the photoelectron energy spectra on the field of laser pulses for various values of their duration are considered. It is shown that the behavior of the probability of ionization in the range of subatomic laser pulse fields is in good agreement with the Keldysh formula. However, when the field strength attains values close to the atomic field strength, the discrepancies in these dependences manifested in a decrease in the ionization rate (ionization stabilization effect) or in its increase (accelerated ionization) are observed. These discrepancies are associated with the dependence of the population dynamics of excited discrete energy levels of the atom on the laser pulse field amplitude.

Laser wakefield electron acceleration. A novel approach employing supersonic microjets and few-cycle laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, Karl

2011-01-01

This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. This process, known as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), relies on strongly driven plasma waves for the generation of accelerating gradients in the vicinity of several 100 GV/m, a value four orders of magnitude larger than that attainable by conventional accelerators. This thesis demonstrates that laser pulses with an ultrashort duration of 8 fs and a peak power of 6 TW allow the production of electron energies up to 50 MeV via LWFA. The special properties of laser accelerated electron pulses, namely the ultrashort pulse duration, the high brilliance, and the high charge density, open up new possibilities in many applications of these electron beams. (orig.)

Langmuir probe measurement of the bismuth plasma plume formed by an extreme-ultraviolet pulsed laser

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pira, P.; Burian, T.; Kolpaková, A.; Tichý, M.; Kudrna, P.; Daniš, S.; Juha, Libor; Lančok, Ján; Vyšín, Luděk; Civiš, Svatopluk; Zelinger, Zdeněk; Kubát, Pavel; Wild, J.

2014-01-01

Roč. 47, č. 40 (2014), 1-6 ISSN 0022-3727 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/11/1312 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 ; RVO:61388955 Keywords : XUV laser * pulsed laser deposition * Langmuir probe * plasma plume Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 2.721, year: 2014

Electron beam requirements for soft x-ray/XUV free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstein, J.C.

1987-01-01

A discussion of the electron beam quality (peak current, energy spread, and transverse emittance) required to drive short wavelength free-electron lasers in the XUV (10-100 nm) and soft x-ray (<10 nm) optical wavelength ranges is presented

Carrier-envelope phase-stabilized attosecond pulses from asymmetric molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lan Pengfei; Lu Peixiang; Cao Wei; Li Yuhua; Wang Xinlin

2007-01-01

High-order harmonic generation from asymmetric molecules is investigated, and the concept of phase-stabilized infrared ultrashort laser pulses is extended to the extreme ultraviolet regime. It is shown that the ionization symmetry in consecutive half optical cycles is broken for asymmetric molecules, and both even and odd harmonics with comparable intensity are produced. In the time domain, only one attosecond pulse is generated in each cycle of the driving field, and the carrier-envelope phases of the attosecond pulses are equal. Consequently, a clean attosecond pulse train with the same carrier-envelope phase from pulse to pulse is obtained in the extreme ultraviolet regime

Multi-photon ionization of atoms and molecules by intense XUV-FEL light. Application to methanol and ethanol molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Takahiro; Iwasaki, Atsushi; Okino, Tomoya; Yamanouchi, Kaoru; Yagishita, Akira; Yazawa, Hiroki; Kannari, Fumihiko; Aoyama, Makoto; Yamakawa, Koichi; Midorikawa, Katsumi; Nakano, Hidetoshi; Yabashi, Makina; Nagasono, Mitsuru; Higashiya, Atsushi; Togashi, Tadashi; Ishikawa, Tetsuya

2009-01-01

The photo-ionization processes of methanol (CH 3 OH, CD 3 OH) and ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH) and their dependences on the wavelength and the light-field intensity were investigated using intense XUV light at 51 and 61 nm at the XUV free electron laser facility of RIKEN SPring-8 Center. The light field intensity achieved at 51 nm was found to be intense enough to generate Ar 7+ from Ar. It was confirmed that (1) the stable dications, CH 2 OH 2+ and CH 2 OD 2+ , were produced respectively from CH 3 OH and CD 3 OH, and C 2 H 2 OH 2+ from CH 2 H 5 OH via the direct and/or stepwise two-photon absorption, and (2) C + and CH + were produced from C 2 H 5 OH via the stepwise two-photon absorption of the XUV light. It was also confirmed by the formation of H 3 O + from CH 3 OH and C 2 H 5 OH, and HOD 2 + from CD 3 OH that hydrogen migration processes were induced by the irradiation of the intense XUV light. (author)

A new XUV optical end-station to characterize compact and flexible photonic devices using synchrotron radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Marcelli, A.; Mazuritskiy, M. I.; Dabagov, S. B.; Hampai, D.; Lerer, A. M.; Izotova, E. A.; D'Elia, A.; Turchini, S.; Zema, N.; Zuccaro, F.; de Simone, M.; Javad Rezvani, S.; Coreno, M.

2018-03-01

In this contribution we present the new experimental end-station to characterize XUV diffractive optics, such as Micro Channel Plates (MCPs) and other polycapillary optics, presently under commission at the Elettra synchrotron radiation laboratory (Trieste, Italy). To show the opportunities offered by these new optical devices for 3rd and 4th generation radiation sources, in this work we present also some patterns collected at different energies of the primary XUV radiation transmitted by MCP optical devices working in the normal incidence geometry.

High-throughput beamline for attosecond pulses based on toroidal mirrors with microfocusing capabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frassetto, F.; Poletto, L.; Trabattoni, A.; Anumula, S.; Sansone, G.; Calegari, F.; Nisoli, M.

2014-01-01

We have developed a novel attosecond beamline designed for attosecond-pump/attosecond probe experiments. Microfocusing of the Extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation is obtained by using a coma-compensated optical configuration based on the use of three toroidal mirrors controlled by a genetic algorithm. Trains of attosecond pulses are generated with a measured peak intensity of about 3 × 10 11 W/cm 2

Exploring ultrashort high-energy electron-induced damage in human carcinoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rigaud, O.; Fortunel, N.O.; Vaigot, P.; Cadio, E.; Martin, M.T.; Lundh, O.; Faure, J.; Rechatin, C.; Malka, V.; Gauduel, Y.A.

2010-01-01

In conventional cancer therapy or fundamental radiobiology research, the accumulated knowledge on the complex responses of healthy or diseased cells to ionizing radiation is generally obtained with low-dose rates. Under these radiation conditions, the time spent for energy deposition is very long compared with the dynamics of early molecular and cellular responses. The use of ultrashort pulsed radiation would offer new perspectives for exploring the 'black box' aspects of long irradiation profiles and favouring the selective control of early damage in living targets. Several attempts were previously performed using nanosecond or picosecond pulsed irradiations on various mammalian cells and radiosensitive mutants at high dose rate. The effects of single or multi-pulsed radiations on cell populations were generally analyzed in the framework of dose survival curves or characterized by 2D imaging of γ-H2AX foci and no increase in cytotoxicity was shown compared with a delivery at a conventional dose rate. Moreover, when multi-shot irradiations were performed, the overall time needed to obtain an integrated dose of several Grays again overlapped with the multi-scale dynamics of bio-molecular damage-repair sequences and cell signalling steps. Ideally, a single-shot irradiation delivering a well-defined energy profile, via a very short temporal window, would permit the approach of a real-time investigation of early radiation induced molecular damage within the confined spaces of cell compartments. Owing to the potential applications of intense ultrashort laser for radiation therapy, the model of the A431 carcinoma cell line was chosen. An ultrafast single-shot irradiation strategy was carried out with these radio-resistant human skin carcinoma cells, using the capacity of an innovating laser-plasma accelerator to generate quasi mono-energetic femtosecond electron bunches in the MeV domain and to deliver a very high dose rate of 10 13 Gy s -1 per pulse. The alkaline comet

Feasibility of an XUV FEL Oscillator Driven by a SCRF Linear Accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lumpkin, A. H.; Freund, H. P.; Reinsch, M.

2014-01-01

The Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA) facility is currently under construction at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Using a1-ms-long macropulse composed of up to 3000 micropulses, and with beam energies projected from 45 to 800 MeV, the possibility for an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser oscillator (FELO) with the higher energy is evaluated. We have used both GINGER with an oscillator module and the MEDUSA/OPC code to assess FELO saturation prospects at 120 nm, 40 nm, and 13.4 nm. The results support saturation at all of these wavelengths which are also shorter than the demonstrated shortest wavelength record of 176 nm from a storage-ring-based FELO. This indicates linac-driven FELOs can be extended into this XUV wavelength regime previously only reached with single-pass FEL configurations.

Thin film and multilayer optics for XUV spectral domain (1 nm to 60 nm)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delmotte, Franck

2010-02-01

The XUV spectral domain (1-60 nm wavelength range) has experienced rapid growth in recent years. On one side, the sources (synchrotron radiation, harmonic generation, x-ray laser, free-electron laser...) require ever more efficient optics, on the other hand, applications (diagnostics of hot plasma, solar physics, x-ray microscopy, EUV lithography, x-ray analysis...) provide new constraints on the design of multilayer stacks. The multilayer mirrors are the only way to achieve efficient optics operating at non-grazing incidence angles in this spectral range. Our work within the team XUV Optics at Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique focuses on the study of materials in thin layers correlated to the study of optical properties of multilayers. The objective is to achieve new multilayer components previously unavailable in the XUV domain, through a better understanding of physical phenomena in these nano-layer stacks. We show through several examples of how we have managed both to improve the performance of multilayer mirrors in a broad spectral range, and secondly, to develop new optical functions: beam splitters, broadband mirrors, dual-band mirrors or phase compensation mirrors. (author)

Asymmetry of light absorption upon propagation of focused femtosecond laser pulses with spatiotemporal coupling through glass materials

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukov, Vladimir P.; Bulgakova, Nadezhda M.

2017-05-01

Ultrashort laser pulses are usually described in terms of temporal and spatial dependences of their electric field, assuming that the spatial dependence is separable from time dependence. However, in most situations this assumption is incorrect as generation of ultrashort pulses and their manipulation lead to couplings between spatial and temporal coordinates resulting in various effects such as pulse front tilt and spatial chirp. One of the most intriguing spatiotemporal coupling effects is the so-called "lighthouse effect", the phase front rotation with the beam propagation distance [Akturk et al., Opt. Express 13, 8642 (2005)]. The interaction of spatiotemporally coupled laser pulses with transparent materials have interesting peculiarities, such as the effect of nonreciprocal writing, which can be used to facilitate microfabrication of photonic structures inside optical glasses. In this work, we make an attempt to numerically investigate the influence of the pulse front tilt and the lighthouse effect on the absorption of laser energy inside fused silica glass. The model, which is based on nonlinear Maxwell's equations supplemented by the hydrodynamic equations for free electron plasma, is applied. As three-dimensional solution of such a problem would require huge computational resources, a simplified two-dimensional model has been proposed. It has enabled to gain a qualitative insight into the features of propagation of ultrashort laser pulses with the tilted front in the regimes of volumetric laser modification of transparent materials, including directional asymmetry upon direct laser writing in glass materials.

Generation of quasiequally spaced ultrashort microbunches in a photocathode rf gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Zhigang; Xu, Yuanfang; Li, Weiwei; Jia, Qika

2015-01-01

A photocathode rf gun can generate trains of THz subpicosecond electron bunches by illuminating the cathode with trains of laser pulses, but it suffers from the increasing charge in the beam. The THz structure blurs and tends to disappear when the longitudinal space charge forces begin to play a significant role in the beam evolution. In this paper, we propose a scheme to restrain the space charge forces by expanding the transverse size of the laser pulses to reduce the charge density and adopting a multicell gun to increase the beam energy. Thus, quasiequally spaced ultrashort microbunches with relatively high charges can be generated according to our studies. Postacceleration can be used to freeze the longitudinal phase space dynamics. The proposed scheme is in principle able to generate intense multi-color narrow-band THz radiation and offers a promising way towards the tunable intense narrow-band THz sources

How can attosecond pulse train interferometry interrogate electron dynamics?

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, C. L.; Isinger, M.; Busto, D.; Guénot, D.; Nandi, S.; Zhong, S.; Dahlström, J. M.; Gisselbrecht, M.; l'Huillier, A.

2018-04-01

Light pulses of sub-100 as (1 as=10-18 s) duration, with photon energies in the extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) spectral domain, represent the shortest event in time ever made and controlled by human beings. Their first experimental observation in 2001 has opened the door to investigating the fundamental dynamics of the quantum world on the natural time scale for electrons in atoms, molecules and solids and marks the beginning of the scientific field now called attosecond science.

Galactoseismology: From The Milky Way To XUV Disks

Science.gov (United States)

Chakrabarti, Sukanya

The variety of discrepancies between observations and simulations on galactic scales, from the anisotropic distribution of dwarf galaxies to the "too big to fail" problem (where massive satellites in simulations are too dense relative to observations), suggests that we may not yet fully understand galaxy formation. If these satellites exist, they would leave traces of their passage in extended HI disks. Extended HI disks of galaxies reach to several times the optical radius, presenting the largest possible cross-section for interaction with sub-halos at large distances (where theoretical models expect them to be). We will provide definitive constraints on the distribution of dark matter in spiral galaxies by building on our ongoing work in characterizing galactic satellites from analysis of disturbances in extended HI disks with respect to hydrodynamical simulations. Spiral galaxies in the Local Volume (from the Milky Way to the XUV disks discovered by GALEX) exhibit a wealth of unexplained morphology, but these morphological signatures have not yet been used to place constraints on the evolution of HI disks and the dark matter distribution. We are now poised to make significant progress in Galactoseismology, i.e. connect morphological disturbances with the mass distribution. By using the FIRE model for explicit star formation and feedback, we will also develop a better understanding for the star formation history of our Galaxy and XUV Disks. Our Milky Way models will be informed by the HST proper motions, and will match the observed planar disturbances, the warp, and vertical waves recently discovered by the RAVE and LAMOST surveys. We are also carrying high resolution simulations with the Gizmo code that incorporates the FIRE model to develop a comprehensive understanding of the star formation history and star formation rate (that matches Spitzer observations) of the Milky Way. These models will provide a much needed interpretative framework for JWST and WFIRST

Frequency-resolved pump-probe characterization of femtosecond infrared pulses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yeremenko, S.; Baltuška, A.; Haan, F. de; Pshenichnikov, M.S.; Wiersma, D.A.

2002-01-01

A novel method for ultrashort IR pulse characterization is presented. The technique utilizes a frequency-resolved pump-probe geometry that is common in applications of ultrafast spectroscopy, without any modifications of the setup. The experimental demonstration of the method was carried out to

Methods for Free-Space Ultra-Short Solitary EMP Measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Drexler

2006-01-01

Full Text Available There are some suitable methods for ultra-short solitary electromagnetic pulses (EMP measurement. The EMPs are generated by high power microwave generators. The characteristic of EMPs is high power level (Pmax = 250 MW and very short time duration (tp Î <1, 60> ns. Special requirements for measurement methods are placed because of the specific EMPs properties.Two suitable methods for this application are presented in the paper. The first – calorimetric method, utilizes the thermal impacts of microwave absorption. The second method presented – magneto-optic method, use the Faraday’s magneto-optic effect as a sensor principle. It was realized combined calorimetric sensor and there were made some experimental EMP measurements with good results. The sensor utilizing magneto-optic method is in development.

Studies on pulsed hollow cathode capillary discharges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, P; Dumitrescu-Zoita, C; Larour, J; Rous, J [Ecole Polytechnique, 91 - Palaiseau (France). Lab. de Physique des Milieux Ionises; Favre, M; Moreno, J; Chuaqui, H; Wyndham, E [Pontificia Univ. Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile). Facultad de Fisica; Zambra, M [Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear, Santiago (Chile); Wong, C S [Univ. of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Plasma Research Lab

1997-12-31

Preliminary results on radiation characteristics of pulsed hollow cathode capillary discharges are presented. The device combines the on axis electron beam assisted ionization capabilities of the transient hollow cathode discharge with a novel high voltage low inductance geometrical design, which integrates the local energy storage into the electrode system. A nanosecond regime high temperature plasma is produced in a long, high aspect ratio capillary, with light emission in the UV to XUV region. The discharge is operated from near vacuum to pressure in the 1000 mTorr range. (author). 2 figs., 7 refs.

High-throughput beamline for attosecond pulses based on toroidal mirrors with microfocusing capabilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frassetto, F.; Poletto, L., E-mail: poletto@dei.unipd.it [National Research Council, Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, via Trasea 7, 35131 Padova (Italy); Trabattoni, A.; Anumula, S.; Sansone, G. [Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Calegari, F. [National Research Council, Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Nisoli, M. [Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); National Research Council, Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy)

2014-10-15

We have developed a novel attosecond beamline designed for attosecond-pump/attosecond probe experiments. Microfocusing of the Extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation is obtained by using a coma-compensated optical configuration based on the use of three toroidal mirrors controlled by a genetic algorithm. Trains of attosecond pulses are generated with a measured peak intensity of about 3 × 10{sup 11} W/cm{sup 2}.

Controllable delay of ultrashort pulses in a quantum dot optical amplifier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poel, Mike van der; Mørk, Jesper; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

2005-01-01

Optical and electrical tuning of the propagation time of 170 fs pulses in a quantum dot semiconductor amplifier at room temperature is demonstrated. Both pulse slowdown and advancement is possible and we achieve fractional delays (delay divided with pulse duration) of up to 40%. The results...

Strong-field QED processes in short laser pulses. One- and two-photon Compton scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seipt, Daniel

2012-12-20

The purpose of this thesis is to advance the understanding of strong-field QED processes in short laser pulses. The processes of non-linear one-photon and two-photon Compton scattering are studied, that is the scattering of photons in the interaction of relativistic electrons with ultra-short high-intensity laser pulses. These investigations are done in view of the present and next generation of ultra-high intensity optical lasers which are supposed to achieve unprecedented intensities of the order of 10{sup 24} W/cm{sup 2} and beyond, with pulse lengths in the order of some femtoseconds. The ultra-high laser intensity requires a non-perturbative description of the interaction of charged particles with the laser field to allow for multi-photon interactions, which is beyond the usual perturbative expansion of QED organized in powers of the fine structure constant. This is achieved in strong-field QED by employing the Furry picture and non-perturbative solutions of the Dirac equation in the presence of a background laser field as initial and final state wave functions, as well as the laser dressed Dirac-Volkov propagator. The primary objective is a realistic description of scattering processes with regard to the finite laser pulse duration beyond the common approximation of infinite plane waves, which is made necessary by the ultra-short pulse length of modern high-intensity lasers. Non-linear finite size effects are identified, which are a result of the interplay between the ultra-high intensity and the ultra-short pulse length. In particular, the frequency spectra and azimuthal photon emission spectra are studied emphasizing the differences between pulsed and infinite laser fields. The proper description of the finite temporal duration of the laser pulse leads to a regularization of unphysical infinities (due to the infinite plane-wave description) of the laser-dressed Dirac-Volkov propagator and in the second-order strong-field process of two-photon Compton

Table-top instrumentation for time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy of solids excited by nanosecond pulse of soft X-ray source and/or UV laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruza, Petr; Fidler, Vlastimil; Nikl, Martin

2011-01-01

The practical applicability of the rare-earth doped scintillators in high-speed detectors is limited by the slow decay components in the temporal response of a scintillator. The study of origin and properties of material defects that induce the slow decay components is of major importance for the development of new scintillation materials. We present a table-top, time-domain UV-VIS luminescence spectrometer, featuring extended time and input sensitivity ranges and two excitation sources. The combination of both soft X-ray/XUV and UV excitation source allows the comparative measurements of luminescence spectra and decay kinetics of scintillators to be performed under the same experimental conditions. The luminescence of emission centers of a doped scintillator can be induced by conventional N 2 laser pulse, while the complete scintillation process can be initiated by a soft X-ray/XUV pulse excitation from the laser-produced plasma in gas puff target of 4 ns duration. In order to demonstrate the spectrometer, the UV-VIS luminescence spectra and decay kinetics of cerium doped Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 single crystal (LuAG:Ce) scintillator excited by XUV and UV radiation were acquired. Luminescence of the doped Ce 3+ ions was studied under 2.88 nm (430 eV) XUV excitation from the laser-produced nitrogen plasma, and compared with the luminescence under 337 nm (3.68 eV) UV excitation from nitrogen laser. In the former case the excitation energy is deposited in the LuAG host, while in the latter the 4f-5d 2 transition of Ce 3+ is directly excited. Furthermore, YAG:Ce and LuAG:Ce single crystals luminescence decay profiles are compared and discussed.

Control of ultrafast pulses in a hydrogen-filled hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber by Raman coherence

Science.gov (United States)

Belli, F.; Abdolvand, A.; Travers, J. C.; Russell, P. St. J.

2018-01-01

We present the results of an experimental and numerical investigation into temporally nonlocal coherent interactions between ultrashort pulses, mediated by Raman coherence, in a gas-filled kagome-style hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber. A pump pulse first sets up the Raman coherence, creating a refractive index spatiotemporal grating in the gas that travels at the group velocity of the pump pulse. Varying the arrival time of a second, probe, pulse allows a high degree of control over its evolution as it propagates along the fiber through the grating. Of particular interest are soliton-driven effects such as self-compression and dispersive wave (DW) emission. In the experiments reported, a DW is emitted at ˜300 nm and exhibits a wiggling effect, with its central frequency oscillating periodically with pump-probe delay. The results demonstrate that a strong Raman coherence, created in a broadband guiding gas-filled kagome photonic-crystal fiber, can be used to control the nonlinear dynamics of ultrashort probe pulses, even in difficult-to-access spectral regions such as the deep and vacuum ultraviolet.

Multi-photon ionization of atoms and molecules by intense XUV-FEL light. Application to methanol and ethanol molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sato, Takahiro; Iwasaki, Atsushi; Okino, Tomoya; Yamanouchi, Kaoru [Tokyo Univ., School of Science, Tokyo (Japan); Yagishita, Akira [Institute of Materials Structure Science, Photon Factory, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Yazawa, Hiroki; Kannari, Fumihiko [Keio Univ., Graduate School of Science and Technology, Yokohama, Kanagawa (Japan); Aoyama, Makoto; Yamakawa, Koichi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Kansai Photon Science Inst., Kizugawa, Kyoto (Japan); Midorikawa, Katsumi [RIKEN, Laser Technology Laboratory, Wako, Saitama (Japan); Nakano, Hidetoshi [NTT Corp., NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Atsugi, Kanagawa (Japan); Yabashi, Makina; Nagasono, Mitsuru; Higashiya, Atsushi; Togashi, Tadashi; Ishikawa, Tetsuya [RIKEN SPring-8 XFEL Project, Sayo, Hyogo (Japan)

2009-12-15

The photo-ionization processes of methanol (CH{sub 3}OH, CD{sub 3}OH) and ethanol (C{sub 2}H{sub 5}OH) and their dependences on the wavelength and the light-field intensity were investigated using intense XUV light at 51 and 61 nm at the XUV free electron laser facility of RIKEN SPring-8 Center. The light field intensity achieved at 51 nm was found to be intense enough to generate Ar{sup 7+} from Ar. It was confirmed that (1) the stable dications, CH{sub 2}OH{sup 2+} and CH{sub 2}OD{sup 2+}, were produced respectively from CH{sub 3}OH and CD{sub 3}OH, and C{sub 2}H{sub 2}OH{sup 2+} from CH{sub 2}H{sub 5}OH via the direct and/or stepwise two-photon absorption, and (2) C{sup +} and CH{sup +} were produced from C{sub 2}H{sub 5}OH via the stepwise two-photon absorption of the XUV light. It was also confirmed by the formation of H{sub 3}O{sup +} from CH{sub 3}OH and C{sub 2}H{sub 5}OH, and HOD{sub 2}{sup +} from CD{sub 3}OH that hydrogen migration processes were induced by the irradiation of the intense XUV light. (author)

Modal effects on pump-pulse propagation in an Ar-filled capillary

OpenAIRE

Chapman, Richard T.; Butcher, Thomas J.; Horak, Peter; Poletti, Francesco; Frey, Jeremy G.; Brocklesby, William S.

2010-01-01

Accurate three-dimensional modelling of nonlinear pulse propagation within a gas-filled capillary is essential for understanding and improving the XUV yield in high harmonic generation. We introduce both a new model based on a multimode generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation and a novel spatio-spectral measurement technique to which the model can be compared. The theory shows excellent agreement with the measured output spectrum and the spatio-spectral measurement reveals that the model c...

Attosecond Time Delay in Photoionization of Noble-Gas and Halogen Atoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang-Wen Pi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Ultrafast processes are now accessible on the attosecond time scale due to the availability of ultrashort XUV laser pulses. Noble-gas and halogen atoms remain important targets due to their giant dipole resonance and Cooper minimum. Here, we calculate photoionization cross section, asymmetry parameter and Wigner time delay using the time-dependent local-density approximation (TDLDA, which includes the electron correlation effects. Our results are consistent with experimental data and other theoretical calculations. The asymmetry parameter provides an extra layer of access to the phase information of the photoionization processes. We find that halogen atoms bear a strong resemblance on cross section, asymmetry parameter and time delay to their noble-gas neighbors. Our predicted time delay should provide a guidance for future experiments on those atoms and related molecules.

Generation of spectrally stable 6.5-fs visible pulses via filamentation in krypton

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Keisuke Kaneshima; Kengo Takeuchi; Nobuhisa Ishii; Jiro Itatani

2016-01-01

We produced 5-μJ, 6.5-fs visible pulses at a repetition rate of 1 kHz using filamentation in a gas cell filled with krypton followed by spectral selection and phase compensation by a combination of dielectric mirrors. The visible pulses have a smooth spectrum from 520 to 650 nm with a shot-to-shot stability in each spectral component of better than 2%(standard deviation). This pulse compression scheme is simple and robust, and can be easily integrated into intense ultrashort-pulse laser systems.

Ultrashort and coherent single-electron pulses for diffraction at ultimate resolutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchner, Friedrich Oscar

2013-01-01

Ultrafast electron diffraction is a powerful tool for studying structural dynamics with femtosecond temporal and sub-aangstroem spatial resolutions. It benefits from the high scattering cross-sections of electrons compared X-rays and allows the examination of thin samples, surfaces and gases. One of the main challenges in ultrafast electron diffraction is the generation of electron pulses with a short duration and a large transverse coherence. The former limits the temporal resolution of the experiment while the latter determines the maximum size of the scattering structures that can be studied. In this work, we strive to push the limits of electron diffraction towards higher temporal and spatial resolutions. The decisive step in our approach is to eliminate all detrimental effects caused by Coulomb repulsion between the electrons by reducing the number of electrons per pulse to one. In this situation, the electrons' longitudinal and transverse velocity distributions are determined solely by the photoemission process. By reducing the electron source size on the photocathode, we make use of the small transverse velocity spread to produce electron pulses with a transverse coherence length of 20 nm, which is about an order of magnitude larger than the reported values for comparable experiments. The energy distribution of an ensemble of single-electron pulses from a photoemission source is directly linked to the mismatch between the photon energy and the cathode's work function. This excess energy can be reduced by using a photon energy close to the material's work function. Using a tunable source of ultraviolet pulses, we demonstrate the reduction of the velocity spread of the electrons, resulting in a shorter duration of the electron pulses. The reduced electron pulse durations achieved by a tunable excitation or by other approaches require new characterization techniques for electron pulses. We developed a novel method for the characterization of electron pulses at

Spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy using femtosecond extreme ultraviolet light pulses from high-order harmonic generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plötzing, M.; Adam, R., E-mail: r.adam@fz-juelich.de; Weier, C.; Plucinski, L.; Schneider, C. M. [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-6), 52425 Jülich (Germany); Eich, S.; Emmerich, S.; Rollinger, M.; Aeschlimann, M. [University of Kaiserslautern and Research Center OPTIMAS, 67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany); Mathias, S. [Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, I. Physikalisches Institut, 37077 Göttingen (Germany)

2016-04-15

The fundamental mechanism responsible for optically induced magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic thin films has been under intense debate since almost two decades. Currently, numerous competing theoretical models are in strong need for a decisive experimental confirmation such as monitoring the triggered changes in the spin-dependent band structure on ultrashort time scales. Our approach explores the possibility of observing femtosecond band structure dynamics by giving access to extended parts of the Brillouin zone in a simultaneously time-, energy- and spin-resolved photoemission experiment. For this purpose, our setup uses a state-of-the-art, highly efficient spin detector and ultrashort, extreme ultraviolet light pulses created by laser-based high-order harmonic generation. In this paper, we present the setup and first spin-resolved spectra obtained with our experiment within an acquisition time short enough to allow pump-probe studies. Further, we characterize the influence of the excitation with femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses by comparing the results with data acquired using a continuous wave light source with similar photon energy. In addition, changes in the spectra induced by vacuum space-charge effects due to both the extreme ultraviolet probe- and near-infrared pump-pulses are studied by analyzing the resulting spectral distortions. The combination of energy resolution and electron count rate achieved in our setup confirms its suitability for spin-resolved studies of the band structure on ultrashort time scales.

Ultrashort turbo spinecho versus turbo spinecho in the evaluation of musculoskeletal diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breitenseher, M.; Kontaxis, G.; Fleischmann, D.; Rand, T.H.; Imhof, H.; Trattnig, S.

1995-01-01

Ultrashort turbo spin-echo sequence (TSE) has the advantage of shorter scan times, minimizing motion artifacts, but has the disadvantage of a lower signal-to-noise ratio and suffers from different artifacts. T2-weighted ultrashort TSE (echo train 24) and TSE (echo train 11) were compared in degenerative lesions of the spine (n=9) and ligamentous lesions associated with sprained ankle injuries (n=5). The imaging quality of ultrashort TSE was very similar to TSE. There was no difference in diagnostic reliability with ultrashort TSE compared to TSE in the spine or ankle. With regard to contrast properties a higher signal intensity of fatty bone marrow was obtained with ultrashort TSE, with consecutive lower contrast between fluid and edema on the one hand and fatty tissue on the other. (orig.) [de

High-power pre-chirp managed amplification of femtosecond pulses at high repetition rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yang; Li, Wenxue; Zhao, Jian; Bai, Dongbi; Luo, Daping; Zeng, Heping

2015-01-01

Femtosecond pulses at 250 MHz repetition rate from a mode-locked fiber laser are amplified to high power in a pre-chirp managed amplifier. The experimental strategy offers a potential towards high-power ultrashort laser pulses at high repetition rates. By investigating the laser pulse evolution in the amplification processes, we show that self-similar evolution, finite gain bandwidth and mode instabilities determine pulse characteristics in different regimes. Further average power scaling is limited by the mode instabilities. Nevertheless, this laser system enables us to achieve sub-50 fs pulses with an average power of 93 W. (letter)

Photoelectron emission from metal surfaces by ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faraggi, M. N.; Gravielle, M. S.; Silkin, V. M.

2006-01-01

Electron emission from metal surfaces produced by short laser pulses is studied within the framework of the distorted-wave formulation. The proposed approach, named surface-Volkov (SV) approximation, makes use of the band-structure based (BSB) model and the Volkov phase to describe the interaction of the emitted electron with the surface and the external electric field, respectively. The BSB model provides a realistic representation of the surface, based on a model potential that includes the main features of the surface band structure. The SV method is applied to evaluate the photoelectron emission from the valence band of Al(111). Angular and energy distributions are investigated for different parameters of the laser pulse, keeping in all cases the carrier frequency larger than the plasmon one

Ultrashort pulse laser machining of metals and alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Michael D.; Stuart, Brent C.

2003-09-16

The invention consists of a method for high precision machining (cutting, drilling, sculpting) of metals and alloys. By using pulses of a duration in the range of 10 femtoseconds to 100 picoseconds, extremely precise machining can be achieved with essentially no heat or shock affected zone. Because the pulses are so short, there is negligible thermal conduction beyond the region removed resulting in negligible thermal stress or shock to the material beyond approximately 0.1-1 micron (dependent upon the particular material) from the laser machined surface. Due to the short duration, the high intensity (>10.sup.12 W/cm.sup.2) associated with the interaction converts the material directly from the solid-state into an ionized plasma. Hydrodynamic expansion of the plasma eliminates the need for any ancillary techniques to remove material and produces extremely high quality machined surfaces with negligible redeposition either within the kerf or on the surface. Since there is negligible heating beyond the depth of material removed, the composition of the remaining material is unaffected by the laser machining process. This enables high precision machining of alloys and even pure metals with no change in grain structure.

Experimental verification of high spectral entanglement for pulsed waveguided spontaneous parametric down-conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avenhaus, M.; Chekhova, M. V.; Krivitsky, Leonid

2009-01-01

We study the spectral properties of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a periodically poled waveguided structure of potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) crystal pumped by ultrashort pulses. Our theoretical analysis reveals a strongly entangled and asymmetric structure of the two...

XUV laser-produced plasma sheet beam and microwave agile mirror

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, W.; Scharer, J.E.; Porter, B.; Lam, N.T.

1994-01-01

An excimer-laser (λ = 193 nm) produced plasma in an organic gas (TMAE) has been generated and studied. These studies have determined the ion-electron recombination coefficient and the photon absorption cross-section, of the neutral gas. The dependences of wave transmission, reflection and absorption on plasma density are obtained. A new optical system with an array of cylindrical XUV coated lenses has been implemented to form a plasma sheet to study its usage as agile mirror microwave reflector. The lens system expands the incident laser beam in X direction and compresses it in Y direction to form a sheet beam. The expanded beam then passes through a vacuum chamber filled with TMAE at 50--500 nTorr to produce the plasma sheet. Space-time measurements of the plasma density and temperature as measured by a Langmuir probe are presented. XUV optical measurements of the laser beam as measured by a photodiode are presented. Initial experiments have generated a plasma sheet of 5--10 mm x 11 cm with peak plasma density of 5 x 10 13 cm -3 . A microwave source will be utilized to study the agile mirror character of the plasma sheet. Modeling of the microwave reflection from the plasma profile will also be discussed

Hybrid Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Sawyer; Trujillo, Skyler; Fort Lewis College Laser Group Team

This work concerns the novel design of an inexpensive pulsed Nd:YAG laser, consisting of a hybrid Kerr Mode Lock (KLM) and Q-switch pulse. The two pulse generation systems work independently, non simultaneously of each other, thus generating the ability for the user to easily switch between ultra-short pulse widths or large energy density pulses. Traditionally, SF57 glass has been used as the Kerr medium. In this work, novel Kerr mode-locking mediums are being investigated including: tellurite compound glass (TeO2), carbon disulfide (CS2), and chalcogenide glass. These materials have a nonlinear index of refraction orders of magnitude,(n2), larger than SF57 glass. The Q-switched pulse will utilize a Pockels cell. As the two pulse generation systems cannot be operated simultaneously, the Pockels cell and Kerr medium are attached to kinematic mounts, allowing for quick interchange between systems. Pulse widths and repetition rates will vary between the two systems. A goal of 100 picosecond pulse widths are desired for the mode-locked system. A goal of 10 nanosecond pulse widths are desired for the Q-switch system, with a desired repetition rate of 50 Hz. As designed, the laser will be useful in imaging applications.

Applications of high order harmonic radiation to UVX-solids interaction: high excitation density in electronic relaxation dynamics and surface damaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Grazia, M.

2007-12-01

The new sources of radiation in the extreme-UV (X-UV: 10-100 nm), which deliver spatially coherent, ultra-short and intense pulses, allow studying high flux processes and ultra-fast dynamics in various domains. The thesis work presents two applications of the high-order laser harmonics (HH) to solid state physics. In Part I, we describe the optimization of the harmonic for studies of X-UV/solids interaction. In Part II, we investigate effects of high excitation density in the dynamics of electron relaxation in dielectric scintillator crystals - tungstates and fluorides, using time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Quenching of luminescence at short time gives evidence of the competition between radiative and non-radiative recombination of self-trapped excitons (STE). The non-radiative channel is identified to mutual interaction of STE at high excitation density. In Part III, we study the X-UV induced damage mechanism in various materials, either conductor (amorphous carbon) or insulators (organic polymers, e.g., PMMA). In PMMA-Plexiglas, in the desorption regime (0.2 mJ/cm 2 , i.e., below damage threshold), the surface modifications reflect X-UV induced photochemical processes that are tentatively identified, as a function of dose: at low dose, polymer chain scission followed by the blow-up of the volatile, low-molecular fragments leads to crater formation; at high dose, cross-linking in the near-surface layer of remaining material leads to surface hardening. These promising results have great perspectives considering the performances already attained and planned in the next future in the development of the harmonic sources. (author)

Attosecond ionization gating for isolated attosecond electron wave packet and broadband attosecond xuv pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lan Pengfei; Lu Peixiang; Cao Wei; Li Yuhua; Wang Xinlin

2007-01-01

An attosecond ionization gating is achieved using a few-cycle laser pulse in combination with its second harmonic. With this gating, the generation of the electron wave packet (EWP) is coherently controlled, and an isolated EWP of about 270 as is generated. An isolated broadband attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulse with a bandwidth of about 75 eV can also be generated using this gating, which can be used for EWP measurements as efficiently as a 50-as pulse, allowing one to measure a wide range of ultrafast dynamics not normally accessible before

Nonlinear Theory of Nonparaxial Laser Pulse Propagation in Plasma Channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esarey, E.; Schroeder, C. B.; Shadwick, B. A.; Wurtele, J. S.; Leemans, W. P.

2000-01-01

Nonparaxial propagation of ultrashort, high-power laser pulses in plasma channels is examined. In the adiabatic limit, pulse energy conservation, nonlinear group velocity, damped betatron oscillations, self-steepening, self-phase modulation, and shock formation are analyzed. In the nonadiabatic limit, the coupling of forward Raman scattering (FRS) and the self-modulation instability (SMI) is analyzed and growth rates are derived, including regimes of reduced growth. The SMI is found to dominate FRS in most regimes of interest. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

High-energy-throughput pulse compression by off-axis group-delay compensation in a laser-induced filament

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voronin, A. A.; Alisauskas, S.; Muecke, O. D.; Pugzlys, A.; Baltuska, A.; Zheltikov, A. M.

2011-01-01

Off-axial beam dynamics of ultrashort laser pulses in a filament enable a radical energy-throughput improvement for filamentation-assisted pulse compression. We identify regimes where a weakly diverging wave, produced on the trailing edge of the pulse, catches up with a strongly diverging component, arising in the central part of the pulse, allowing sub-100-fs millijoule infrared laser pulses to be compressed to 20-25-fs pulse widths with energy throughputs in excess of 70%. Theoretical predictions have been verified by experimental results on filamentation-assisted compression of 70-fs, 1.5-μm laser pulses in high-pressure argon.

Determination of the absolute two-photon ionization cross section of He by an XUV free electron laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Takahiro; Iwasaki, Atsushi; Ishibashi, Kazuki; Okino, Tomoya; Yamanouchi, Kaoru; Adachi, Junichi; Yagishita, Akira; Yazawa, Hiroki; Aoyma, Makoto; Yabashi, Makina; Nagasono, Mitsuru; Higashiya, Atsushi; Ishikawa, Tetsuya; Kannari, Fumihiko; Yamakawa, Koichi; Midorikawa, Katsumi; Nakano, Hidetoshi

2011-01-01

The resonant and non-resonant two-photon single ionization processes of He were investigated using intense free electron laser light in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) region (53.4-61.4 nm) covering the 1s-2p and 1s-3p resonant transitions of He. On the basis of the dependences of the yield of He + on the XUV light-field intensity at 53.4, 58.4, 56.0 and 61.4 nm, the absolute values of the two-photon ionization cross sections of He at the four different wavelengths and their dependence on the light-field intensity were determined for the first time. (fast track communication)

The XUV environments of exoplanets from Jupiter-size to super-Earth

Science.gov (United States)

King, George W.; Wheatley, Peter J.; Salz, Michael; Bourrier, Vincent; Czesla, Stefan; Ehrenreich, David; Kirk, James; Lecavelier des Etangs, Alain; Louden, Tom; Schmitt, Jürgen; Schneider, P. Christian

2018-05-01

Planets that reside close-in to their host star are subject to intense high-energy irradiation. Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray radiation (together, XUV) is thought to drive mass loss from planets with volatile envelopes. We present XMM-Newton observations of six nearby stars hosting transiting planets in tight orbits (with orbital period, Porb < 10 d), wherein we characterise the XUV emission from the stars and subsequent irradiation levels at the planets. In order to reconstruct the unobservable EUV emission, we derive a new set of relations from Solar TIMED/SEE data that are applicable to the standard bands of the current generation of X-ray instruments. From our sample, WASP-80b and HD 149026b experience the highest irradiation level, but HAT-P-11b is probably the best candidate for Ly α evaporation investigations because of the system's proximity to the Solar System. The four smallest planets have likely lost a greater percentage of their mass over their lives than their larger counterparts. We also detect the transit of WASP-80b in the near ultraviolet with the Optical Monitor on XMM-Newton

Impact of pumping configuration on all-fibered femtosecond chirped pulse amplification

Science.gov (United States)

Lecourt, Jean-Bernard; Duterte, Charles; Bertrand, Anthony; Liégeois, Flavien; Hernandez, Yves; Giannone, Domenico

2008-04-01

We experimentally compared the co- and counter-propagative pumping scheme for the amplification of ultra-short optical pulses. According to pumping direction we show that optical pulses with a duration of 75 fs and 100mW of average output power can be obtained for co-propagative pumping, while pulse duration is never shorter than 400 fs for the counter-propagative case. We show that the impact of non-linear effects on pulse propagation is different for the two pumping configurations. We assume that Self Phase Modulation (SPM) is the main effect in the copropagative case, whereas the impact of Stimulated Raman Scattering is bigger for the counter-propagative case.

Photonics at the frontiers. Generation of few-cycle light pulses via NOPCPA and real-time probing of charge transfer in hybrid photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrmann, Daniel

2011-11-11

In the first part of this thesis the methodics of the non-collinear, optically parametric amplification of chirped light pulses (NOPCPA) for the generation of few-cycle light pulses in the visible (Vis) and near infrared (NIR) with of 5-8 fs half-width are essential further developed. Fundamental parametric influences, like the existence of a parametrically induced phase and the generation of optically parametric fluorescence (OPF), are studied both by theoretical analyses and numerical simulations and by concrete experiments. Experimentally in the framework of this thesis fwe-cycle light pulses with a pulse width of 7.9 fs, 130 mJ energy, at 805 nm central wavelength and a very high seed-pulse-limited prepulse contrast of 11 and 8 orders of magnitude are reached at 30 ps and approximately 3 ps. One the one hand it has been succeeded to accelerate with the broad-band pulse amplifier quasi-monoenergetic electrons with energies of up to 50 MeV. For this the light pulse is focussed to relativistic intensities of several W/cm{sup 2} in a helium gas jet. On the other hand XUV light was produced up to the 20th harmonic of the generated light pulse from the broad-band pulse amplifier by its sub-cycle interaction with solid surfaces. In the framework of this thesis furthermore new, extended concepts for still broader-band NOPCPA over one octave were developed and characterized, which contain the application of two pump pulses in one NOPCPA stage and the application of two different pump wavelength in two subsequent NOPCPA stages. In the second part of this thesis broad-band white-light spectra and by means of NOPCPA spectrally tunable light pulses are applied in order to realize a transient absorption spectrometer with multichannel detection. This new excitation-query construction combines a very broad-band UV-Vis-NIR query with a high time resolution of 40 fs and high sensitivity for the transient change of the optical density of less than 10{sup -4}. By this it has in

Third-harmonic generation and self-channeling in air using high-power femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akoezbek, N.; Iwasaki, A.; Chin, S.L.; Becker, A.; Scalora, M.; Bowden, C.M.

2002-01-01

It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that during laser pulse filamentation in air an intense ultrashort third-harmonic pulse is generated forming a two-colored filament. The third-harmonic pulse maintains both its peak intensity and energy over distances much longer than the characteristic coherence length. We argue that this is due to a nonlinear phase-locking mechanism between the two pulses in the filament and is independent of the initial material wave-vector mismatch. A rich spatiotemporal propagation dynamics of the third-harmonic pulse is predicted. Potential applications of this phenomenon to other parametric processes are discussed

Unidirectional, dual-comb lasing under multiple pulse formation mechanisms in a passively mode-locked fiber ring laser

OpenAIRE

Liu, Ya; Zhao, Xin; Hu, Guoqing; Li, Cui; Zhao, Bofeng; Zheng, Zheng

2016-01-01

Dual-comb lasers from which asynchronous ultrashort pulses can be simultaneously generated have recently become an interesting research subject. They could be an intriguing alternative to the current dual-laser optical-frequency-comb source with highly sophisticated electronic control systems. If generated through a common light path traveled by all pulses, the common-mode noises between the spectral lines of different pulse trains could be significantly reduced. Therefore, coherent dual-comb...

Berlin Electron Storage Ring BESSY: a dedicated XUV synchrotron radiation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muelhaupt, G.; Bradshaw, A.M.

1985-01-01

In response to national requirements in the fields of basic research, metrology and x-ray lithography it was decided in late 1977 to build a dedicated XUV synchrotron radiation source in Berlin. The history of the BESSY project, the user-oriented factors that determined the design parameters, the construction and commissioning of the facility as well as user operation and funding issues are reviewed

Dichroism in the photoionisation of atoms at XUV free-electron lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazza, T., E-mail: tommaso.mazza@xfel.eu [European XFEL GmbH, Albert-Einstein-Ring 19, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany); Gryzlova, E.V.; Grum-Grzhimailo, A.N. [Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Kazansky, A.K. [Departamento de Fisica de Materiales, UPV/EHU, E-20018 San Sebastian/Donostia (Spain); IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, E-48011 Bilbao (Spain); Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), E-20018 San Sebastian/Donostia (Spain); Kabachnik, N.M. [European XFEL GmbH, Albert-Einstein-Ring 19, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany); Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), E-20018 San Sebastian/Donostia (Spain); Meyer, M., E-mail: michael.meyer@xfel.eu [European XFEL GmbH, Albert-Einstein-Ring 19, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • We studied 2-color photoionization of He by angle-resolved electron spectroscopy. • Beta-parameters contain information about the symmetry of outgoing electron waves. • Experiments are compared to strong field approximation and perturbation theory. • 2-Photon measurements can be used to characterize FEL radiation properties. • Non-dipole contributions are predicted to produce new features in the dichroism. - Abstract: Two-color photoionization of atomic He has been investigated by angle-integrated and angle-resolved electron spectroscopy. The combined action of intense radiation pulses from the XUV free-electron laser (FEL), FERMI or FLASH, and a synchronized optical laser on the target atom gives rise to a rich sideband structure in the photoemission spectrum. Measurements of the angular distribution parameters and the determination of the circular and linear dichroism for the two-color photoionization enable a detailed analysis of the symmetry of the outgoing electron waves and of the dynamics underlying the multi-photon processes. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with theoretical results obtained using perturbation theory (low intensity regime) and the strong field approximation. For the particular case of two-photon ionization the measurements represent an ideal tool for characterizing certain FEL parameters, here for example the degree and the sign of circular polarization. Finally, new features of the dichroism are theoretically predicted originating from the non-dipole contribution into the photoionization amplitudes.

Instantaneous nonvertical electronic transitions with shaped femtosecond laser pulses: Is it possible?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Niels Engholm; Møller, Klaus Braagaard

2003-01-01

In molecular electronic transitions, a vertical transition can be induced by an ultrashort laser pulse. That is, a replica of the initial nuclear state-times the transition dipole moment of the electronic transition-can be created instantaneously (on the time scale of nuclear motion) in the excited...

Simulation of condensed matter dynamics in strong femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wachter, G.

2014-01-01

Ultrashort custom-tailored laser pulses can be employed to observe and control the motion of electrons in atoms and small molecules on the (sub-) femtosecond time scale. Very recently, efforts are underway to extend these concepts to solid matter. This monograph theoretically explores first applications of electron control by ultrashort laser pulses in three paradigmatic systems of solid-state density: a metal nano-structure (nanometric metal tip), a bulk dielectric (quartz glass), and the buckminsterfullerene molecule (C60) as arguably the smallest possible nano-particle. The electron motion is resolved on the atomic length and time scale by ab-initio simulations based on time-dependent density functional theory. Our quantum simulations are complemented by classical and semi-classical models elucidating the underlying mechanisms. We compare our results to experiments where already available and find good agreement. With increasing laser intensity, we find a transition from vertical photoexcitation to tunneling-like excitation. For nanostructures, that leads to temporally confined electron photoemission and thereby to quantum interferences in the energy spectra of emitted electrons. Similarly, tunneling can be induced between neighboring atoms inside an insulator. This provides a mechanism for ultrafast light-field controlled currents and modification of the optical properties of the solid, promising to eventually realize light-field electronic devices operating on the femtosecond time scale and nanometer length scale. Electron-electron interaction leads to near field enhancement and spatial localization of the non-linear response and is investigated both classically by solving the Maxwell equations near a nanostructure as well as quantum mechanically for the fullerene molecule. For the latter, we discuss scrutiny of the molecular near-field by the attosecond streaking technique. Our results demonstrate that ultrashort laser pulses can be employed to steer the

Mode-locked thin-disk lasers and their potential application for high-power terahertz generation

Science.gov (United States)

Saraceno, Clara J.

2018-04-01

The progress achieved in the last few decades in the performance of ultrafast laser systems with high average power has been tremendous, and continues to provide momentum to new exciting applications, both in scientific research and technology. Among the various technological advances that have shaped this progress, mode-locked thin-disk oscillators have attracted significant attention as a unique technology capable of providing ultrashort pulses with high energy (tens to hundreds of microjoules) and at very high repetition rates (in the megahertz regime) from a single table-top oscillator. This technology opens the door to compact high repetition rate ultrafast sources spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the XUV to the terahertz regime, opening various new application fields. In this article, we focus on their unexplored potential as compact driving sources for high average power terahertz generation.

Ultrashort electromagnetic clusters formation by two-stream superheterodyne free electron lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kulish, Viktor V.; Lysenko, Alexander V.; Volk, Iurii I.

2016-01-01

A cubic nonlinear self-consistent theory of multiharmonic two-stream superheterodyne free electron lasers (TSFEL) of a klystron type, intended to form powerful ultrashort clusters of an electromagnetic field is constructed. Plural three-wave parametric resonant interactions of wave harmonics have...... been taken into account. An amplitude, phase and spectral analyses of the processes occurring in such devices have been carried out. The conditions necessary for the forming of the ultrashort clusters of an electromagnetic field have been found out. The possibility of the ultrashort electromagnetic...

Time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with optimized high-harmonic pulses using frequency-doubled Ti:Sapphire lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eich, S.; Stange, A.; Carr, A.V.; Urbancic, J.; Popmintchev, T.; Wiesenmayer, M.; Jansen, K.; Ruffing, A.; Jakobs, S.; Rohwer, T.; Hellmann, S.; Chen, C.; Matyba, P.; Kipp, L.; Rossnagel, K.; Bauer, M.; Murnane, M.M.; Kapteyn, H.C.; Mathias, S.; Aeschlimann, M.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We present a scheme to generate high intensity XUV pulses from HHG with variable time-bandwidth product. • Shorter-wavelength driven high-harmonic XUV trARPES provides higher photon flux and increased energy resolution. • High-quality high-harmonic XUV trARPES data with sub 150 meV energy and sub 30 fs time resolution is presented. - Abstract: Time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (trARPES) using femtosecond extreme ultraviolet high harmonics has recently emerged as a powerful tool for investigating ultrafast quasiparticle dynamics in correlated-electron materials. However, the full potential of this approach has not yet been achieved because, to date, high harmonics generated by 800 nm wavelength Ti:Sapphire lasers required a trade-off between photon flux, energy and time resolution. Photoemission spectroscopy requires a quasi-monochromatic output, but dispersive optical elements that select a single harmonic can significantly reduce the photon flux and time resolution. Here we show that 400 nm driven high harmonic extreme-ultraviolet trARPES is superior to using 800 nm laser drivers since it eliminates the need for any spectral selection, thereby increasing photon flux and energy resolution to <150 meV while preserving excellent time resolution of about 30 fs

Picosecond and subpicosecond pulsed laser deposition of Pb thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Gontad

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Pb thin films were deposited on Nb substrates by means of pulsed laser deposition (PLD with UV radiation (248 nm, in two different ablation regimes: picosecond (5 ps and subpicosecond (0.5 ps. Granular films with grain size on the micron scale have been obtained, with no evidence of large droplet formation. All films presented a polycrystalline character with preferential orientation along the (111 crystalline planes. A maximum quantum efficiency (QE of 7.3×10^{-5} (at 266 nm and 7 ns pulse duration was measured, after laser cleaning, demonstrating good photoemission performance for Pb thin films deposited by ultrashort PLD. Moreover, Pb thin film photocathodes have maintained their QE for days, providing excellent chemical stability and durability. These results suggest that Pb thin films deposited on Nb by ultrashort PLD are a noteworthy alternative for the fabrication of photocathodes for superconductive radio-frequency electron guns. Finally, a comparison with the characteristics of Pb films prepared by ns PLD is illustrated and discussed.

Population Transfer between Two Quantum States by Piecewise Chirping of Femtosecond Pulses: Theory and Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhdanovich, S.; Shapiro, E. A.; Shapiro, M.; Hepburn, J. W.; Milner, V.

2008-01-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the method of population transfer by piecewise adiabatic passage between two quantum states. Coherent excitation of a two-level system with a train of ultrashort laser pulses is shown to reproduce the effect of an adiabatic passage, conventionally achieved with a single frequency-chirped pulse. By properly adjusting the amplitudes and phases of the pulses in the excitation pulse train, we achieve complete and robust population transfer to the target state. The piecewise nature of the process suggests a possibility for the selective population transfer in complex quantum systems

Short Pulse High Brightness X-ray Production with the PLEIADES Thomson Scattering Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, S.G.; Barty, C.P.J.; Betts, S.M.; Brown, W.J.; Crane, J.K.; Cross, R.R.; Fittinghoff, D.N.; Gibson, D.J.; Hartemann, F.V.; Kuba, J.; LaSage, G.P.; Rosenzweig, J.B.; Slaughter, D.R.; Springer, P.T.; Tremaine, A.M.

2003-01-01

We describe PLEIADES, a compact, tunable, high-brightness, ultra-short pulse, Thomson x-ray source. The peak brightness of the source is expected to exceed 10 20 photons/s/0.1% bandwidth/mm 2 /mrad 2 . Initial results are reported and compared to theoretical calculations

Optical circular deflector with attosecond resolution for ultrashort electron beam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen Zhang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available A novel method using high-power laser as a circular deflector is proposed for the measurement of femtosecond (fs and sub-fs electron beam. In the scheme, the electron beam interacts with a laser pulse operating in a radially polarized doughnut mode (TEM_{01^{*}} in a helical undulator, generating angular kicks along the beam in two directions at the same time. The phase difference between the two angular kicks makes the beam form a ring after a propagation section with appropriate phase advance, which can reveal the current profile of the electron beam. Detailed theoretical analysis of the method and numerical results with reasonable parameters are both presented. It is shown that the temporal resolution can reach up to ∼100 attosecond, which is a significant improvement for the diagnostics of ultrashort electron beam.

Rabi oscillations in extreme ultraviolet ionization of atomic argon

Science.gov (United States)

Flögel, Martin; Durá, Judith; Schütte, Bernd; Ivanov, Misha; Rouzée, Arnaud; Vrakking, Marc J. J.

2017-02-01

We demonstrate Rabi oscillations in nonlinear ionization of argon by an intense femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) laser field produced by high-harmonic generation. We monitor the formation of A r2 + as a function of the time delay between the XUV pulse and an additional near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser pulse, and show that the population of an A r+* intermediate resonance exhibits strong modulations both due to an NIR laser-induced Stark shift and XUV-induced Rabi cycling between the ground state of A r+ and the A r+* excited state. Our experiment represents a direct experimental observation of a Rabi-cycling process in the XUV regime.

High-order harmonics from an ultraintense laser pulse propagating inside a fiber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulanov, S.V.; Esirkepov, T. Zh.; Naumova, N.M.; Sokolov, I.V.

2003-01-01

A strong effect of high harmonic radiation during the propagation of a high intensity short laser pulse in a thin wall hollow channel ('fiber') is found and studied via relativistic particle-in-cell simulations. The fiber has finite width walls comprised of an overdense plasma. Only the harmonic radiation with the harmonic number above critical value, for which the fiber walls are transparent, propagates outwards in the form of a coherent ultrashort pulse with very short wavelength

Studying dense plasmas with coherent XUV pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stabile, H.

2006-12-01

The investigation of dense plasma dynamic requires the development of diagnostics able to ensure the measurement of electronic density with micro-metric space resolution and sub-nanosecond, or even subpicosecond, time resolution (indeed this must be at least comparable with the characteristic tune scale of plasma evolution). In contrast with low-density plasmas, dense plasmas cannot be studied using optical probes in the visible domain, the density range accessible being limited to the critical density (N c equals 1.1*10 21 λ -2 (μm) ∼ 10 21 cm -3 for infrared). In addition, light is reflected even at smaller densities if the medium exhibits sharp density gradients. Hence probing of dense plasmas, for instance those produced by laser irradiation of solids, requires using shorter wavelength radiation. Thanks to their physical properties, high order harmonics generated in rare gases are particularly adapted to the study of dense plasmas. Indeed, they can naturally be synchronized with the generating laser and their pulse duration is very short, which makes it possible to use them in pump-probe experiments. Moreover, they exhibit good spatial and temporal coherencies. Two types of diagnostics were developed during this thesis. The first one was used to study the instantaneous creation of hot-solid-density plasma generated by focusing a femtosecond high-contrast laser on an ultra-thin foil (100 nm) in the 10 18 W/cm 2 intensity regime. The use of high order harmonics, providing a probe beam of sufficiently short wavelengths to penetrate such a medium, enables the study of its dynamics on the 100 fs time scale. The second one uses the harmonics beam as probe beam (λ equals 32 nm) within an interferometric device. This diagnostic was designed to ensure a micro-metric spatial resolution and a temporal resolution in the femtosecond range. The first results in presence of plasma created by irradiation of an aluminum target underline the potentialities of this new

Prepulse effect on intense femtosecond laser pulse propagation in gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giulietti, Antonio; Tomassini, Paolo; Galimberti, Marco; Giulietti, Danilo; Gizzi, Leonida A.; Koester, Petra; Labate, Luca; Ceccotti, Tiberio; D'Oliveira, Pascal; Auguste, Thierry; Monot, Pascal; Martin, Philippe

2006-01-01

The propagation of an ultrashort laser pulse can be affected by the light reaching the medium before the pulse. This can cause a serious drawback to possible applications. The propagation in He of an intense 60-fs pulse delivered by a Ti:sapphire laser in the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) mode has been investigated in conditions of interest for laser-plasma acceleration of electrons. The effects of both nanosecond amplified spontaneous emission and picosecond pedestals have been clearly identified. There is evidence that such effects are basically of refractive nature and that they are not detrimental for the propagation of a CPA pulse focused to moderately relativistic intensity. The observations are fully consistent with numerical simulations and can contribute to the search of a stable regime for laser acceleration

Ultrashort pulse laser deposition of thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Michael D.; Banks, Paul S.; Stuart, Brent C.

2002-01-01

Short pulse PLD is a viable technique of producing high quality films with properties very close to that of crystalline diamond. The plasma generated using femtosecond lasers is composed of single atom ions with no clusters producing films with high Sp.sup.3 /Sp.sup.2 ratios. Using a high average power femtosecond laser system, the present invention dramatically increases deposition rates to up to 25 .mu.m/hr (which exceeds many CVD processes) while growing particulate-free films. In the present invention, deposition rates is a function of laser wavelength, laser fluence, laser spot size, and target/substrate separation. The relevant laser parameters are shown to ensure particulate-free growth, and characterizations of the films grown are made using several diagnostic techniques including electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and Raman spectroscopy.

Multiphoton interactions in molecules with picosecond laser pulses. Progress report, July 15, 1985-July 14, 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwok, H.S.

1986-01-01

The phenomena of superexcitation is discussed for C 2 F 5 Cl. This phenomena, which was first observed for SF 6 , is the excitation of very high levels of molecules by ultrashort pulses. For the same fluence, picosecond pulses were found to deposit more energy into the molecule than longer duration pulses. A second experimental result is discussed. The effect of collisions and pulse duration on the absorption spectrum of C 3 F 7 I. In this experiment it is observed that the linewidth decreases with pulse length. A red shift is observed with increased pressure. 2 refs., 2 figs

Ultra-short laser interactions with nanoparticles in different media: from electromagnetic to thermal and electrostatic effects

Science.gov (United States)

Itina, Tatiana E.

2017-02-01

Key issues of the controlled synthesis of nanoparticles and nanostructures, as well as laser-particle interactions are considered in the context of the latest applications appearing in many fields such as photonics, medicine, 3D printing, etc. The results of a multi-physics numerical study of laser interaction with nanoparticles will be presented in the presence of several environments. In particular, attention will be paid to the numerical study of laser interactions with heterogeneous materials (eg. colloidal liquids and/or nanoparticles in a dielectric medium) and the aggregation/sintering/fragmentation processes induced by ultra-short laser pulses.

Pulse Retrieval Algorithm for Interferometric Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating Based on Differential Evolution

OpenAIRE

Hyyti, Janne; Escoto, Esmerando; Steinmeyer, Günter

2017-01-01

A novel algorithm for the ultrashort laser pulse characterization method of interferometric frequency-resolved optical gating (iFROG) is presented. Based on a genetic method, namely differential evolution, the algorithm can exploit all available information of an iFROG measurement to retrieve the complex electric field of a pulse. The retrieval is subjected to a series of numerical tests to prove robustness of the algorithm against experimental artifacts and noise. These tests show that the i...

Erbium:ytterbium fiber-laser system delivering watt-level femtosecond pulses using divided pulse amplification

Science.gov (United States)

Herda, Robert; Zach, Armin

2015-03-01

We present an Erbium:Ytterbium codoped fiber-amplifer system based on Divided-Pulses-Amplification (DPA) for ultrashort pulses. The output from a saturable-absorber mode-locked polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber oscillator is amplified in a PM normal-dispersion Erbium-doped fiber. After this stage the pulses are positively chirped and have a duration of 2.0 ps at an average power of 93 mW. A stack of 5 birefringent Yttrium-Vanadate crystals divides these pulses 32 times. We amplify these pulses using a double-clad Erbium:Ytterbium codoped fiber pumped through a multimode fiber combiner. The pulses double pass the amplifier and recombine in the crystals using non-reciprocal polarization 90° rotation by a Faraday rotating mirror. Pulses with a duration of 144 fs are obtained after separation from the input beam using a polarizing beam splitter cube. These pulses have an average power of 1.85 W at a repetition rate of 80 MHz. The generation of femtosecond pulses directly from the amplifier was enabled by a positively chirped seed pulse, normally dispersive Yttrium-Vanadate crystals, and anomalously dispersive amplifier fibers. Efficient frequency doubling to 780 nm with an average power of 725 mW and a pulse duration of 156 fs is demonstrated. In summary we show a DPA setup that enables the generation of femtosecond pulses at watt-level at 1560 nm without the need for further external dechirping and demonstrate a good pulse quality by efficient frequency doubling. Due to the use of PM fiber components and a Faraday rotator the setup is environmentally stable.

Superintense fields from multiple ultrashort laser pulses retroreflected in circular geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Ooi, C. H. Raymond

2010-02-01

Laser field with superintensity beyond 1029 W/cm2 can be generated by coherent superposition of multiple 100 fs laser pulses in circular geometry setup upon retroreflection by a ring mirror. We have found the criteria for attaining such intensities using broadband ring mirror within the practical damage threshold and paraxial focusing regime. Simple expressions for the intensity enhancement factor are obtained, providing insight for achieving unlimited laser intensity. Higher intensities can be achieved by using few-cycle laser pulses.

Ultrashort-pulse laser machining system employing a parametric amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Michael D.

2004-04-27

A method and apparatus are provided for increasing the energy of chirped laser pulses to an output in the range 0.001 to over 10 millijoules at a repetition rate 0.010 to 100 kHz by using a two stage optical parametric amplifier utilizing a bulk nonlinear crystal wherein the pump and signal beam size can be independently adjusted in each stage.

Zero photon dissociation of CS2+ in intense ultrashort laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Severt, Travis; Betsch, K. J.; Zohrabi, M.; Ablikim, U.; Jochim, Bethany; Carnes, K. D.; Esry, B. D.; Ben-Itzhak, I.

2013-05-01

We measured the dissociation of a CS2+ molecular ion beam in intense laser pulses ( C+ + S+. We speculate that a pump-dump process occurs whereby the vibrational wavepacket in the electronic ground state of CS2+ is pumped into the electronic first excited state's continuum by a single photon during the laser pulse. Once this continuum vibrational wavepacket passes the potential barrier in the ground electronic potential, the emission of a second photon is stimulated by the same laser pulse, most likely when the wavepacket moves through the internuclear distance where the two electronic states are in resonance with the driving field. A comparison is made to ZPD and ATD in the isovalent CO2+ species. Curiously, ATD is the favored mechanism in CO2+. The underlying molecular structure and dynamics determining this preference will be discussed. Supported by Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy.

Amplitude and phase control of attosecond light pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Martens, Rodrigo; Varju, Katalin; Johnsson, Per; Mauritsson, Johan; Persson, Anders; Svanberg, Sune; Wahlstroem, Claes-Goeran; L'Huillier, Anne; Mairesse, Yann; Salieres, Pascal; Gaarde, Mette B.; Schafer, Kenneth J.

2005-01-01

We report the generation, compression, and delivery on target of ultrashort extreme-ultraviolet light pulses using external amplitude and phase control. Broadband harmonic radiation is first generated by focusing an infrared laser with a carefully chosen intensity into a gas cell containing argon atoms. The emitted light then goes through a hard aperture and a thin aluminum filter that selects a 30-eV bandwidth around a 30-eV photon energy and synchronizes all of the components, thereby enabling the formation of a train of almost Fourier-transform-limited single-cycle 170 attosecond pulses. Our experiment demonstrates a practical method for synthesizing and controlling attosecond waveforms

Synchronization of sub-picosecond electron and laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenzweig, J.B.; Le Sage, G.P.

1999-01-01

Sub-picosecond laser-electron synchronization is required to take full advantage of the experimental possibilities arising from the marriage of modern high intensity lasers and high brightness electron beams in the same laboratory. Two particular scenarios stand out in this regard, injection of ultra-short electron pulses in short wavelength laser-driven plasma accelerators, and Compton scattering of laser photons from short electron pulses. Both of these applications demand synchronization, which is sub-picosecond, with tens of femtosecond synchronization implied for next generation experiments. The design of a microwave timing modulator system is now being investigated in more detail. (AIP) copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

XUV radiation from gaseous nitrogen and argon target laser plasmas

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vrba, Pavel; Vrbová, M.; Brůža, P.; Pánek, D.; Krejčí, F.; Kroupa, M.; Jakůbek, J.

2012-01-01

Roč. 370, č. 1 (2012), s. 012049 ISSN 1742-6588. [Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics (LAWPP 2011)/14/. Mar del Plata, 20.11.2011-25.11.2011] R&D Projects: GA MŠk LA08024; GA MŠk(CZ) LC528 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20430508 Keywords : Laser plasma source of XUV radiation in water window range * RHMD Z* engine code Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/370/1/012049/pdf/1742-6596_370_1_012049.pdf

Characterization of Ultrafast Laser Pulses using a Low-dispersion Frequency Resolved Optical Grating Spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Whitelock, Hope; Bishop, Michael; Khosravi, Soroush; Obaid, Razib; Berrah, Nora

2016-05-01

A low dispersion frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) spectrometer was designed to characterize ultrashort (non-colinear optical parametric amplifier. This instrument splits a laser pulse into two replicas with a 90:10 intensity ratio using a thin pellicle beam-splitter and then recombines the pulses in a birefringent medium. The instrument detects a wavelength-sensitive change in polarization of the weak probe pulse in the presence of the stronger pump pulse inside the birefringent medium. Scanning the time delay between the two pulses and acquiring spectra allows for characterization of the frequency and time content of ultrafast laser pulses, that is needed for interpretation of experimental results obtained from these ultrafast laser systems. Funded by the DoE-BES, Grant No. DE-SC0012376.

Ultrashort pulse-propagation effects in a semiconductor optical amplifier: Microscopic theory and experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hughes, S.; Borri, P.; Knorr, A.

2001-01-01

We present microscopic modeling and experimental measurements of femtosecond-pulse interactions in a semiconductor optical amplifier. Two novel nonlinear propagation effects are demonstrated: pulse breakup in the gain regime and pulse compression in the transparency regime. These propagation phen...... phenomena highlight the microscopic origin and important role of adiabatic following in semiconductor optical amplifiers. Fundamental light-matter interactions are discussed in detail and possible applications are highlighted....

Molecular photoelectron holography with circularly polarized laser pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Weifeng; Sheng, Zhihao; Feng, Xingpan; Wu, Miaoli; Chen, Zhangjin; Song, Xiaohong

2014-02-10

We investigate the photoelectron momentum distribution of molecular-ion H2+driven by ultrashort intense circularly polarized laser pulses. Both numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) and a quasiclassical model indicate that the photoelectron holography (PH) with circularly polarized pulses can occur in molecule. It is demonstrated that the interference between the direct electron wave and rescattered electron wave from one core to its neighboring core induces the PH. Moreover, the results of the TDSE predict that there is a tilt angle between the interference pattern of the PH and the direction perpendicular to the molecular axis. Furthermore, the tilt angle is sensitively dependent on the wavelength of the driven circularly polarized pulse, which is confirmed by the quasiclassical calculations. The PH induced by circularly polarized laser pulses provides a tool to resolve the electron dynamics and explore the spatial information of molecular structures.

Development of a coherent THz radiation source based on the ultra-short electron beam and its applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuroda, R.; Yasumoto, M.; Toyokawa, H.; Sei, N.; Koike, M.; Yamada, K.

2011-01-01

At the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), a coherent terahertz (THz) radiation source has been developed based on an ultra-short electron beam using an S-band compact electron linac. The designed THz pulse has a high peak power of more than 1 kW in the frequency range 0.1-2 THz. The entire system is located in one research room of about 10 m square. The linac consists of a laser photocathode rf gun (BNL type) with a Cs 2 Te photocathode load-lock system and two 1.5-m-long S-band accelerator tubes. The electron beam can be accelerated up to approximately 42 MeV. The electron bunch was compressed to less than 1 ps (rms) with a magnetic bunch compressor. The coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) of the THz region was generated from the ultra-short electron bunch at the 90 o bending magnet, and it was extracted from a z-cut quartz window for THz applications. In this work, the THz scanning transmission imaging was successfully demonstrated for measuring the freshness of a vegetable leaf over a period of time.

Two-photon double ionization of the helium atom by ultrashort pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palacios, Alicia; Horner, Daniel A.; Rescigno, Thomas N.; McCurdy, C. William

2010-01-01

Two-photon double ionization of the helium atom was the subject of early experiments at FLASH and will be the subject of future benchmark measurements of the associated electron angular and energy distributions. As the photon energy of a single femtosecond pulse is raised from the threshold for two-photon double ionization at 39.5 eV to beyond the sequential ionization threshold at 54.4 eV, the electron ejection dynamics change from the highly correlated motion associated with nonsequential absorption to the much less correlated sequential ionization process. The signatures of both processes have been predicted in accurate ab initio calculations of the joint angular and energy distributions of the electrons, and those predictions contain some surprises. The dominant terms that contribute to sequential ionization make their presence apparent several eV below that threshold. In two-color pump probe experiments with short pulses whose central frequencies require that the sequential ionization process necessarily dominates, a two-electron interference pattern emerges that depends on the pulse delay and the spin state of the atom.

MULTI-LAYER MIRROR FOR RADIATION IN THE XUV WAVELENGHT RANGE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE THEREOF

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijkerk, Frederik; Louis, Eric; Kessels, M.J.H.; Verhoeven, Jan; Den Hartog, Harmen Markus Johannes

2002-01-01

Multi-layer mirror for radiation with a wavelength in the wavelength range between 0.1 nm and 30 nm (the so-called XUV range), comprising a stack of thin films substantially comprising scattering particles which scatter the radiation, which thin films are separated by separating layers with a

Imaging microchannel plate detectors for XUV sky survey experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barstow, M.A.; Fraser, G.W.; Milward, S.R.

1986-01-01

Attention is given to the development of microchannel plate detectors for the Wide Field Camera (WFC) XUV (50-300 A) sky survey experiment on Rosat. A novel feature of the detector design is that the microchannel plates and their resistive anode readout are curved to the same radius as the WFC telescope focal surface. It is shown that curving the channel plates is not detrimental to gain uniformity. The paper describes the design of a curved resistive anode readout element and contrasts the present measurements of spatial resolution, global and local uniformity and temperature coefficient of resistance with the poor performance recently ascribed to resistive anodes in the literature. 18 references

An ultrashort-pulse reconstruction software: GROG, applied to the FLAME laser system

Science.gov (United States)

Galletti, Mario

2016-03-01

The GRENOUILLE traces of FLAME Probe line pulses (60mJ, 10mJ after compression, 70fs, 1cm FWHM, 10Hz) were acquired in the FLAME Front End Area (FFEA) at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF), Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). The complete characterization of the laser pulse parameters was made using a new algorithm: GRenouille/FrOG (GROG). A characterization with a commercial algorithm, QUICKFrog, was also made. The temporal and spectral parameters came out to be in great agreement for the two kinds of algorithms. In this experimental campaign the Probe line of FLAME has been completely characterized and it has been showed how GROG, the developed algorithm, works as well as QuickFrog algorithm with this type of pulse class.

A search for the sulphur hexafluoride cation with intense, few cycle laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dota, Krithika; Mathur, Deepak, E-mail: atmol1@tifr.res.in [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1 Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005 (India); Centre for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal University, Manipal 576 104 (India); Dharmadhikari, Aditya K. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1 Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005 (India); Dharmadhikari, Jayashree A. [Centre for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal University, Manipal 576 104 (India); Patra, Kaustuv; Tiwari, Ashwani K. [Indian Institute of Science Education and Research - Kolkata, Mohanpur 741 252 (India)

2013-11-21

It is well established that upon ionization of sulphur hexafluoride, the SF{sub 6}{sup +} ion is never observed in mass spectra. Recent work with ultrashort intense laser pulses has offered indications that when strong optical field are used, the resulting “bond hardening” can induce changes in the potential energy surfaces of molecular cations such that molecular ions that are normally unstable may, indeed, become metastable enough to enable their detection by mass spectrometry. Do intense, ultrashort laser pulses permit formation of SF{sub 6}{sup +}? We have utilized intense pulses of 5 fs, 11 fs, and 22 fs to explore this possibility. Our results are negative: no evidence is discovered for SF{sub 6}{sup +}. However, multiply charged sulphur and fluorine ions from highly charged SF{sub 6}{sup q+} ions are observed that enable us to resolve the controversy regarding the kinetic energy release accompanying formation of F{sup +} fragment ions. Quantum chemical computations of field-distorted potential energy curves of SF{sub 6} and its molecular ion enable us to rationalize our non-observation of SF{sub 6}{sup +}. Our findings have implications for high harmonic generation from SF{sub 6} in the few-cycle regime.

Generation of a few femtoseconds pulses in seeded FELs using a seed laser with small transverse size

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Heting, E-mail: liheting@ustc.edu.cn; Jia, Qika

2016-09-11

We propose a simple method to generate a few femtosecond pulses in seeded FELs. We use a longitudinal energy-chirped electron beam passing through a dogleg where transverse dispersion will generate a horizontal energy chirp, then in the modulator, a seed laser with narrow beam radius will only modulate the center portion of the electron beam and then short pulses at high harmonics will be generated in the radiator. Using a representative realistic set of parameters, we show that 30 nm XUV pulse based on the HGHG scheme and 9 nm soft x-ray pulse based on the EEHG scheme with duration of about 8 fs (FWHM) and peak power of GW level can be generated from a 180 nm UV seed laser with beam waist of 75 μm. This new scheme can provide an optional operation mode for the existing seeded FEL facilities to meet the requirement of short-pulse FEL.

Ultrafast Processes in Atoms and Molecules: Integrated treatment of electronic and nuclear motion in ultrashort XUV pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCurdy, C. William [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of

2017-12-14

This project made use of Multiconfiguration Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock method developed earlier in the McCurdy group in a series of novel applications of the method to ultrafast spectroscopic processes. MCTDHF treats the dynamics of a molecule or atom under the influence of an external field in manner that has all electrons active. That property distinguishes this method from the more popular (and much less computationally demanding) approaches for treating the electron dynamics of atoms and molecules in fields, such as the time-dependent “Configuration Interaction Singles” approximation or approaches that limit the treatment to either one or two-electron models.

Thermally controlled femtosecond pulse shaping using metasurface based optical filters

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Eesa; Şendur, Kürşat

2018-02-01

Shaping of the temporal distribution of the ultrashort pulses, compensation of pulse deformations due to phase shift in transmission and amplification are of interest in various optical applications. To address these problems, in this study, we have demonstrated an ultra-thin reconfigurable localized surface plasmon (LSP) band-stop optical filter driven by insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide. A Joule heating mechanism is proposed to control the thermal phase transition of the material. The resulting permittivity variation of vanadium dioxide tailors spectral response of the transmitted pulse from the stack. Depending on how the pulse's spectrum is located with respect to the resonance of the band-stop filter, the thin film stack can dynamically compress/expand the output pulse span up to 20% or shift its phase up to 360°. Multi-stacked filters have shown the ability to dynamically compensate input carrier frequency shifts and pulse span variations besides their higher span expansion rates.

Attosecond time-energy structure of X-ray free-electron laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann, N.; Hartmann, G.; Heider, R.; Wagner, M. S.; Ilchen, M.; Buck, J.; Lindahl, A. O.; Benko, C.; Grünert, J.; Krzywinski, J.; Liu, J.; Lutman, A. A.; Marinelli, A.; Maxwell, T.; Miahnahri, A. A.; Moeller, S. P.; Planas, M.; Robinson, J.; Kazansky, A. K.; Kabachnik, N. M.; Viefhaus, J.; Feurer, T.; Kienberger, R.; Coffee, R. N.; Helml, W.

2018-04-01

The time-energy information of ultrashort X-ray free-electron laser pulses generated by the Linac Coherent Light Source is measured with attosecond resolution via angular streaking of neon 1s photoelectrons. The X-ray pulses promote electrons from the neon core level into an ionization continuum, where they are dressed with the electric field of a circularly polarized infrared laser. This induces characteristic modulations of the resulting photoelectron energy and angular distribution. From these modulations we recover the single-shot attosecond intensity structure and chirp of arbitrary X-ray pulses based on self-amplified spontaneous emission, which have eluded direct measurement so far. We characterize individual attosecond pulses, including their instantaneous frequency, and identify double pulses with well-defined delays and spectral properties, thus paving the way for X-ray pump/X-ray probe attosecond free-electron laser science.

Development and application of sub-nanosecond pulse-repeatable hard X-ray source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quan Lin; Fan Yajun; Tu Jing

2013-01-01

A multipurpose X-ray source was developed to meet the needs of multitask application such as radiation detection, radiation imaging and so on. The multipurpose X-ray source has characteristic of adjustable width and energy, pulse-repetition operation, ultra-short pulse and fine stability. Its rising time is close to 98.6 ps, the operation voltage reaches 425 kV, and the peak fluence rate exceeds 2.07 × 10 18 cm -2 · s -1 at 10 cm, which provides an ideal radiation environment for relevant application. (authors)

Study on high gain broadband optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, S.K.; Fujita, M.; Yamanaka, C.; Yoshida, H.; Kodama, R.; Fujita, H.; Nakatsuka, M.; Izawa, Y.

2000-01-01

Optical parametric chirped pulse amplification has apparent advantages over the current schemes for high energy ultrashort pulse amplification. High gain in a single pass amplification, small B-integral, low heat deposition, high contrast ratio and, especially the extremely broad gain bandwidth with large-size crystals available bring people new hope for over multi-PW level at which the existing Nd:glass systems suffered difficulties. In this paper we present simulation and experimental studies for a high gain optical parametric chirped pulse amplification system which may be used as a preamplifier to replace the current complicated regenerative system or multi-pass Ti:sapphire amplifiers. Investigations on the amplification bandwidth and gain with BBO are performed. Analysis and discussions are also given. (author)

Alignment and pulse-duration effects in two-photon double ionization of H2 by femtosecond XUV laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Xiaoxu; Bartschat, Klaus; Schneider, Barry I.; Koesterke, Lars

2014-10-01

We present calculations for the dependence of the two-photon double ionization (DI) of H2 on the relative orientation of the linear laser polarization to the internuclear axis and the length of the pulse. We use the fixed-nuclei approximation at the equilibrium distance of 1.4 a0, where a0=0.529 ×10-10m is the Bohr radius. Central photon energies cover the entire direct DI domain from 26.5 to 34.0 eV. In contrast to the parallel geometry studied earlier [X. Guan, K. Bartschat, B. I. Schneider, and L. Koesterke, Phys. Rev. A 83, 043403 (2011), 10.1103/PhysRevA.83.043403], the effect of the pulse duration is almost negligible for the case when the two axes are perpendicular to each other. This is a consequence of the symmetry rules for dipole excitation in the two cases. In the parallel geometry, doubly excited states of 1Σu+ symmetry affect the cross section, while in the perpendicular geometry only much longer-lived 1Πu states are present. This accounts for the different convergence patterns observed in the calculated cross sections as a function of the pulse length. When the photon energy approaches the threshold of sequential DI, a sharp increase of the generalized total cross section (GTCS) with increasing pulse duration is also observed in the perpendicular geometry, very similar to the case of the molecular axis being oriented along the laser polarization direction. Our results differ from those of Colgan et al. [J. Colgan, M. S. Pindzola, and F. Robicheaux, J. Phys. B 41, 121002 (2008), 10.1088/0953-4075/41/12/121002] and Morales et al. [F. Morales, F. Martín, D. A. Horner, T. N. Rescigno, and C. W. McCurdy, J. Phys. B 42, 134013 (2009), 10.1088/0953-4075/42/13/134013], but are in excellent agreement with the GTCSs of Simonsen et al. [A. S. Simonsen, S. A. Sørngård, R. Nepstad, and M. Førre, Phys. Rev. A 85, 063404 (2012), 10.1103/PhysRevA.85.063404] over the entire domain of direct DI.

Single flux pulses affecting the ensemble of superconducting qubits

Science.gov (United States)

Denisenko, M. V.; Klenov, N. V.; Satanin, A. M.

2018-02-01

The present study is devoted to development of a technique for numerical simulation of the wave function dynamics the single Josephson qubits and arrays of noninteracting qubits controlled by ultra-short pulses. We wish to demonstrate the feasibility of a new principle of basic logical operations on the picosecond timescale. The influence of the unipolar pulse ("fluxon") form on the evolution of the state during the execution of the quantum one-qubit operations - "NOT", "READ" and " √{N O T } " - is investigated in the presence of decoherence. In the array of non interacting qubits, the question of the influence of the spread of their energy parameters (tunnel constants) is studied. It is shown that a single unipolar pulse can control a huge array of artificial atoms with 10% spread of geometric parameters in the array.

Unveiling the excited state energy transfer pathways in peridinin-chlorophyll a-protein by ultrafast multi-pulse transient absorption spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Redeckas, Kipras; Voiciuk, Vladislava; Zigmantas, Donatas; Hiller, Roger G; Vengris, Mikas

2017-04-01

Time-resolved multi-pulse methods were applied to investigate the excited state dynamics, the interstate couplings, and the excited state energy transfer pathways between the light-harvesting pigments in peridinin-chlorophyll a-protein (PCP). The utilized pump-dump-probe techniques are based on perturbation of the regular PCP energy transfer pathway. The PCP complexes were initially excited with an ultrashort pulse, resonant to the S 0 →S 2 transition of the carotenoid peridinin. A portion of the peridinin-based emissive intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state was then depopulated by applying an ultrashort NIR pulse that perturbed the interaction between S 1 and ICT states and the energy flow from the carotenoids to the chlorophylls. The presented data indicate that the peridinin S 1 and ICT states are spectrally distinct and coexist in an excited state equilibrium in the PCP complex. Moreover, numeric analysis of the experimental data asserts ICT→Chl-a as the main energy transfer pathway in the photoexcited PCP systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of high current electron source using photoemission from metals with ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsang, T.; Srinivasan-Rao, T.; Fischer, J.

1990-10-01

We summarize the studies of photoemission from metal photocathodes using picosecond pulses in the UV (4.66 eV) wavelength and femtosecond laser pulses in the visible (2 eV) wavelengths. To achieve high current density yield from metal photocathodes, multiphoton photoemission using femtosecond laser pulses are suggested. Electron yield improvement incorporating surface photoemission and surface plasmon resonance in metals and metal films are demonstrated. We examine the possibility of the nonlinear photoemission process overtaking the linear process, and identity some possible complexity. To extract the large amount of electrons free of space charge, a pulsed high voltage is designed; the results of the preliminary test are presented. Finally, for the first time, the width of the electron temporal profiles are measured, utilizing the nonlinear photoelectric effect, to below 100 fsec time regime. The results indicated that the electron pulse duration follows the laser pulses and are not limited by the material. 8 refs., 15 figs

Ultrashort pulse chirp measurement via transverse second-harmonic generation in strontium barium niobate crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trull, J.; Wang, B.; Parra, A.; Vilaseca, R.; Cojocaru, C. [Departament de Física i Enginyeria Nuclear, Universitat Politècnica Catalunya, Terrassa 08222 (Spain); Sola, I. [Grupo de Investigación en Óptica Extrema (GIOE), Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universidad de Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced s/n, 37008 Salamanca (Spain); Krolikowski, W. [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia); Science Program, Texas A and M University at Qatar, Doha (Qatar); Sheng, Y. [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

2015-06-01

Pulse compression in dispersive strontium barium niobate crystal with a random size and distribution of the anti-parallel orientated nonlinear domains is observed via transverse second harmonic generation. The dependence of the transverse width of the second harmonic trace along the propagation direction allows for the determination of the initial chirp and duration of pulses in the femtosecond regime. This technique permits a real-time analysis of the pulse evolution and facilitates fast in-situ correction of pulse chirp acquired in the propagation through an optical system.

Ultrashort pulse chirp measurement via transverse second-harmonic generation in strontium barium niobate crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trull, J.; Wang, B.; Parra, A.; Vilaseca, R.; Cojocaru, C.; Sola, I.; Krolikowski, W.; Sheng, Y.

2015-01-01

Pulse compression in dispersive strontium barium niobate crystal with a random size and distribution of the anti-parallel orientated nonlinear domains is observed via transverse second harmonic generation. The dependence of the transverse width of the second harmonic trace along the propagation direction allows for the determination of the initial chirp and duration of pulses in the femtosecond regime. This technique permits a real-time analysis of the pulse evolution and facilitates fast in-situ correction of pulse chirp acquired in the propagation through an optical system

256 fs, 2 nJ soliton pulse generation from MoS2 mode-locked fiber laser

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zike; Chen, Hao; Li, Jiarong; Yin, Jinde; Wang, Jinzhang; Yan, Peiguang

2017-12-01

We demonstrate an Er-doped fiber laser (EDFL) mode-locked by a MoS2 saturable absorber (SA), delivering a 256 fs, 2 nJ soliton pulse at 1563.4 nm. The nonlinear property of the SA prepared by magnetron sputtering deposition (MSD) is measured with a modulation depth (MD) of ∼19.48% and a saturable intensity of 4.14 MW/cm2. To the best of our knowledge, the generated soliton pulse has the highest pulse energy of 2 nJ among the reported mode-locked EDFLs based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Our results indicate that MSD-grown SAs could offer an exciting platform for high pulse energy and ultrashort pulse generation.

Comparative study of the dissociative ionization of 1,1,1-trichloroethane using nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Du Plessis, A

2010-03-01

Full Text Available , but different fragmentation patterns. A general trend is that when using femtosecond laser pulses for ionization, the parent molecular ion is observed but not for nanosecond laser ionization. There is also a fundamental interest in laser...-molecule interactions at the high intensities available from femtosecond lasers [12,13]. These papers describe the multiphoton ionization mechanisms termed ladder climbing and ladder switching, which explain the presence of parent molecular ion in ultrashort pulse...

Measurement of multilayer mirror reflectivity and stimulated emission in the XUV spectral region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keane, C.; Nam, C.H.; Meixler, L.; Milchberg, H.; Skinner, C.H.; Suckewer, S.; Voorhees, D.; Barbee, T.

1986-03-01

We present measurements of multilayer mirror reflectivity and stimulated emission in the XUV spectral region. A molybdenum-silicon multilayer mirror with 12% measured reflectivity at 182 A was found to produce a 120% enhancement of the C VI 182 A line (3 → 2 transition) in a strongly recombining plasma. No such enhancement of the CV 186.7 A line was seen, demonstrating amplification of stimulated emission at 182 A

Self-action of few-cycle pulses in a dispersive medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balakin, A. A.; Litvak, A. G.; Mironov, V. A.; Skobelev, S. A.

2009-01-01

Basing on the nonlinear wave equation as the reflection-free approximation, we study the self-focusing dynamics of laser pulses under rather general assumptions about media dispersion. The methods for qualitative investigation of the self-action dynamics of ultrashort pulses are developed. It is shown that a new effect here is steepening of the longitudinal pulse profile, which is determined by the dependence of group velocity on the amplitude. Results of numerical simulation in media without dispersion and with anomalous dispersion confirm the conclusion about outrunning formation of a shock wave during pulse self-focusing. The formation of a power spectrum of the field, which is characteristic for a shock wave, is retained also when medium ionization is taken into account. In the case of a normal-dispersion medium, nonlinear dispersion leads to a violation of the symmetry in the longitudinal splitting of the pulse in the process of self-focusing. The possibility of tuning of the optical-pulse frequency into the short-wave area is shown for the pulse self-action near the zero-dispersion point.

Controlling the porosity of collagen, gelatin and elastin biomaterials by ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daskalova, A.; Nathala, Chandra S.R.; Bliznakova, I.; Stoyanova, E.; Zhelyazkova, A.; Ganz, T.; Lueftenegger, S.; Husinsky, W.

2014-01-01

We report on the structural investigation of self-organized micropores generated in thin gelatin, collagen, and collagen–elastin films after single and multishot irradiation with pulse durations ranging from 30–100 fs at 800 nm. We systematically studied the effect of laser parameters: laser energy, number of pulses, and pulse duration on the development of the micropores. This work showed that applying laser pulses at different rates significantly modified the thin film surface. The results clearly revealed that femtosecond laser treatment of thin films of biomaterials: gelatin, collagen and collagen–elastin, results in creation of micro/nanopores with different size of cavity formations. Experimentally, it is demonstrated that it is possible to influence the dimensions of the pore sizes, ranging from 100 nm to 2 μm by tuning the laser parameters. We are currently further exploring the possibility of structuring these biomaterials by applying a time delay between separate pulses. First results from cell culture experiments on laser created surface foam of collagen–elastin were successfully obtained, showing the potential of the method to cultivate cells on superficial porous substrates and the preferable selectivity of the cells to proliferate on the laser modified parts of the biopolymer substrate.

Controlling the porosity of collagen, gelatin and elastin biomaterials by ultrashort laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daskalova, A., E-mail: a_daskalova@code.bg [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72, Tsarigradsko Chaussee blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Nathala, Chandra S.R. [IAP, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10, 1040 Vienna (Austria); Femtolasers Productions GmbH, Fernkorngasse10, 1100 Vienna (Austria); Bliznakova, I. [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72, Tsarigradsko Chaussee blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Stoyanova, E. [IBIR, Department of Molecular Immunology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 73, Tzarigradsko Chaussee blvd., 1113 Sofia (Bulgaria); Zhelyazkova, A. [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72, Tsarigradsko Chaussee blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Ganz, T. [Femtolasers Productions GmbH, Fernkorngasse10, 1100 Vienna (Austria); Lueftenegger, S.; Husinsky, W. [IAP, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10, 1040 Vienna (Austria)

2014-02-15

We report on the structural investigation of self-organized micropores generated in thin gelatin, collagen, and collagen–elastin films after single and multishot irradiation with pulse durations ranging from 30–100 fs at 800 nm. We systematically studied the effect of laser parameters: laser energy, number of pulses, and pulse duration on the development of the micropores. This work showed that applying laser pulses at different rates significantly modified the thin film surface. The results clearly revealed that femtosecond laser treatment of thin films of biomaterials: gelatin, collagen and collagen–elastin, results in creation of micro/nanopores with different size of cavity formations. Experimentally, it is demonstrated that it is possible to influence the dimensions of the pore sizes, ranging from 100 nm to 2 μm by tuning the laser parameters. We are currently further exploring the possibility of structuring these biomaterials by applying a time delay between separate pulses. First results from cell culture experiments on laser created surface foam of collagen–elastin were successfully obtained, showing the potential of the method to cultivate cells on superficial porous substrates and the preferable selectivity of the cells to proliferate on the laser modified parts of the biopolymer substrate.

Peculiarities of the propagation of multidimensional extremely short optical pulses in germanene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhukov, Alexander V., E-mail: alex_zhukov@sutd.edu.sg [Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, 487372 Singapore (Singapore); Bouffanais, Roland [Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, 487372 Singapore (Singapore); Konobeeva, Natalia N. [Volgograd State University, 400062 Volgograd (Russian Federation); Belonenko, Mikhail B. [Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Volgograd Institute of Business, 400048 Volgograd (Russian Federation); Volgograd State University, 400062 Volgograd (Russian Federation)

2016-09-07

Highlights: • Established dynamics of ultra-short pulses in germanene. • Studied balance between dispersive and nonlinear effects in germanene. • Spin–orbit interaction effect onto pulse propagation. - Abstract: In this Letter, we study the propagation characteristics of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional extremely short optical pulses in germanene. A distinguishing feature of germanene—in comparison with other graphene-like structures—is the presence of a significant spin–orbit interaction. The account of this interaction has a significant impact on the evolution of extremely short pulses in such systems. Specifically, extremely short optical pulses, consisting of two electric field oscillations, cause the appearance of a tail associated with the excitation of nonlinear waves. Due to the large spin–orbit interaction in germanene, this tail behind the main pulse is much smaller in germanene-based samples as compared to graphene-based ones, thereby making germanene a preferred material for the stable propagation of pulses along the sample.

Soliton filtering from a supercontinuum: a tunable femtosecond pulse source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Licea-Rodriguez, Jacob; Rangel-Rojo, Raul [Centro de Investigacion CientIfica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Apartado Postal 2732, Ensenada B.C., 22860 (Mexico); Garay-Palmett, Karina, E-mail: rrangel@cicese.mx [Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 70-543, Mexico DF. 04510 (Mexico)

2011-01-01

In this article we report experimental results related with the generation of a supercontinuum in a microstructured fiber, from which the soliton with the longest wavelength is filtered out of the continuum and is used to construct a tunable ultrashort pulses source by varying the pump power. Pulses of an 80 fs duration (FWHM) from a Ti:sapphire oscillator were input into a 2 m long fiber to generate the continuum. The duration of the solitons at the fiber output was preserved by using a zero dispersion filtering system, which selected the longest wavelength soliton, while avoiding temporal spreading of the solitons. We present a complete characterization of the filtered pulses that are continuously tunable in the 850-1100 nm range. We also show that the experimental results have a qualitative agreement with theory. An important property of the proposed near-infrared pulsed source is that the soliton pulse energies obtained after filtering are large enough for applications in nonlinear microscopy.

Thermally controlled femtosecond pulse shaping using metasurface based optical filters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahimi Eesa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Shaping of the temporal distribution of the ultrashort pulses, compensation of pulse deformations due to phase shift in transmission and amplification are of interest in various optical applications. To address these problems, in this study, we have demonstrated an ultra-thin reconfigurable localized surface plasmon (LSP band-stop optical filter driven by insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide. A Joule heating mechanism is proposed to control the thermal phase transition of the material. The resulting permittivity variation of vanadium dioxide tailors spectral response of the transmitted pulse from the stack. Depending on how the pulse’s spectrum is located with respect to the resonance of the band-stop filter, the thin film stack can dynamically compress/expand the output pulse span up to 20% or shift its phase up to 360°. Multi-stacked filters have shown the ability to dynamically compensate input carrier frequency shifts and pulse span variations besides their higher span expansion rates.

Ultrafast two-photon absorption optical thresholding of spectrally coded pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Z.; Shen, S.; Sardesai, H.; Chang, C.-C.; Marsh, J. H.; Karkhanehchi, M. M.; Weiner, A. M.

1999-08-01

We report studies on two-photon absorption (TPA) GaAs p-i-n waveguide photodetectors as optical thresholders for proposed ultrashort pulse optical code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. For either chirped optical pulses or spectrally phase coded pseudonoise bursts, the TPA photocurrent response reveals a strong pulseshape dependence and shows good agreement with theoretical predictions and results from conventional SHG measurements. The performance limits of the TPA optical thresholders set by the encoded bandwidth in the spectral encoding-decoding process are also discussed based on numerical simulations. Our results show the feasibility of applying such devices as nonlinear intensity discriminators in ultrahigh-speed optical network applications.

Controllable nonlocal behaviour by cascaded second-harmonic generation of fs pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Morten; Bang, Ole; Krolikowski, Wieslaw

2008-01-01

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) of ultra-short pulses can act as a prototypical nonlocal nonlinear model, since the strength and nature of the temporal nonlocality can be controlled through the phase-mismatch parameter. The presence of a group-velocity mismatch namely implies that when the phase...... mismatch is small the nonlocal response function becomes oscillatory, while for large phase mismatch it becomes localized. In the transition between the two regimes the strength of the nonlocality diverges, and the system goes from a weakly nonlocal to a strongly nonlocal state. When simulating soliton...... compression to few-cycle pulses in the cascaded quadratic soliton compressor, the spectral content of the full coupled SHG model is predicted by the nonlocal model even when few-cycle pulses are interacting....

Generalization of the Rabi population inversion dynamics in the sub-one-cycle pulse limit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doslic, N.

2006-01-01

We consider the population inversion in a two-level system generated by a sub-one-cycle pulse excitation. Specifically, we explore the effect that the time derivative of the pulse envelope has on the Rabi dynamics. Our analysis is based on a combination of analytical, perturbative, and nonperturbative treatments and is complemented by numerical simulations. We find a shortening of the Rabi inversion period and show that complete inversion is unobtainable under resonant, ultrashort pulse conditions. The impact of nonresonant and carrier-envelope phase-dependent effects on the dynamics of two-level and multilevel systems is studied numerically, and conditions for complete population inversion are derived

Effects of ultrashort laser pulses on angular distributions of photoionization spectra.

Science.gov (United States)

Ooi, C H Raymond; Ho, W L; Bandrauk, A D

2017-07-27

We study the photoelectron spectra by intense laser pulses with arbitrary time dependence and phase within the Keldysh framework. An efficient semianalytical approach using analytical transition matrix elements for hydrogenic atoms in any initial state enables efficient and accurate computation of the photoionization probability at any observation point without saddle point approximation, providing comprehensive three dimensional photoelectron angular distribution for linear and elliptical polarizations, that reveal the intricate features and provide insights on the photoionization characteristics such as angular dispersions, shift and splitting of photoelectron peaks from the tunneling or above threshold ionization(ATI) regime to non-adiabatic(intermediate) and multiphoton ionization(MPI) regimes. This facilitates the study of the effects of various laser pulse parameters on the photoelectron spectra and their angular distributions. The photoelectron peaks occur at multiples of 2ħω for linear polarization while  odd-ordered peaks are suppressed in the direction perpendicular to the electric field. Short pulses create splitting and angular dispersion where the peaks are strongly correlated to the angles. For MPI and elliptical polarization with shorter pulses the peaks split into doublets and the first peak vanishes. The carrier envelope phase(CEP) significantly affects the ATI spectra while the Stark effect shifts the spectra of intermediate regime to higher energies due to interference.

Ponderomotive Generation and Detection of Attosecond Free-Electron Pulse Trains

Science.gov (United States)

Kozák, M.; Schönenberger, N.; Hommelhoff, P.

2018-03-01

Atomic motion dynamics during structural changes or chemical reactions have been visualized by pico- and femtosecond pulsed electron beams via ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy. Imaging the even faster dynamics of electrons in atoms, molecules, and solids requires electron pulses with subfemtosecond durations. We demonstrate here the all-optical generation of trains of attosecond free-electron pulses. The concept is based on the periodic energy modulation of a pulsed electron beam via an inelastic interaction, with the ponderomotive potential of an optical traveling wave generated by two femtosecond laser pulses at different frequencies in vacuum. The subsequent dispersive propagation leads to a compression of the electrons and the formation of ultrashort pulses. The longitudinal phase space evolution of the electrons after compression is mapped by a second phase-locked interaction. The comparison of measured and calculated spectrograms reveals the attosecond temporal structure of the compressed electron pulse trains with individual pulse durations of less than 300 as. This technique can be utilized for tailoring and initial characterization of suboptical-cycle free-electron pulses at high repetition rates for stroboscopic time-resolved experiments with subfemtosecond time resolution.

Molecular isomerization induced by ultrashort infrared pulses. II. Pump-dump isomerization using pairs of time-delayed half-cycle pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Uiberacker, Christoph; Jakubetz, Werner

2004-06-22

We investigate population transfer across the barrier in a double-well potential, induced by a pair of time-delayed single-lobe half-cycle pulses. We apply this setup both to a one-dimensional (1D) quartic model potential and to a three-dimensional potential representing HCN-->HNC isomerization. Overall the results for the two systems are similar, although in the 3D system some additional features appear not seen in the 1D case. The generic mechanism of population transfer is the preparation by the pump pulse of a wave packet involving delocalized states above the barrier, followed by the essentially 1D motion of the delocalized part of wave packet across the barrier, and the eventual de-excitation by the dump pulse to localized states in the other well. The correct timing is given by the well-to-well passage time of the wave packet and its recurrence properties, and by the signs of the field lobes which determine the direction and acceleration or deceleration of the wave packet motion. In the 3D system an additional pump-pump-dump mechanism linked to wave packet motion in the reagent well can mediate isomerization. Since the transfer time and the pulse durations are of the same order of magnitude, there is also a marked dependence of the dynamics and the transfer yield on the pulse duration. Our analysis also sheds light on the pronounced carrier envelope phase dependence previously observed for isomerization and molecular dissociation with one-cycle and sub-one-cycle pulses. (c) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Broadband noise limit in the photodetection of ultralow jitter optical pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wenlu; Quinlan, Franklyn; Fortier, Tara M; Deschenes, Jean-Daniel; Fu, Yang; Diddams, Scott A; Campbell, Joe C

2014-11-14

Applications with optical atomic clocks and precision timing often require the transfer of optical frequency references to the electrical domain with extremely high fidelity. Here we examine the impact of photocarrier scattering and distributed absorption on the photocurrent noise of high-speed photodiodes when detecting ultralow jitter optical pulses. Despite its small contribution to the total photocurrent, this excess noise can determine the phase noise and timing jitter of microwave signals generated by detecting ultrashort optical pulses. A Monte Carlo simulation of the photodetection process is used to quantitatively estimate the excess noise. Simulated phase noise on the 10 GHz harmonic of a photodetected pulse train shows good agreement with previous experimental data, leading to the conclusion that the lowest phase noise photonically generated microwave signals are limited by photocarrier scattering well above the quantum limit of the optical pulse train.

The simultaneous generation of soliton bunches and Q-switched-like pulses in a partially mode-locked fiber laser with a graphene saturable absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhenhong; Wang, Zhi; Liu, Yan-ge; He, Ruijing; Wang, Guangdou; Yang, Guang; Han, Simeng

2018-05-01

We experimentally report the coexistence of soliton bunches and Q-switched-like pulses in a partially mode-locked fiber laser with a microfiber-based graphene saturable absorber. The soliton bunches, like isolated spikes with extreme amplitude and ultrashort duration, randomly generate in the background of the Q-switched-like pulses. The soliton bunches have some pulse envelopes in which pulses operate at a fundamental repetition rate in the temporal domain. Further investigation shows that the composite pulses are highly correlated with the noise-like pulses. Our work can make a further contribution to enrich the understanding of the nonlinear dynamics in fiber lasers.

A Report on the Workshop on the Uses and Generation of Femtosecond Radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, A.

1998-01-01

We describe the proceedings of the Workshop on the Uses and Generation of Femtosecond Radiation, held at the E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), in February 1998, and some of the ideas that were generated subsequent to the workshop. The motivation for this workshop was to bring together accelerator physicists interested in the generation of ultra-short (< 200 fs) pulses of XUV and x-ray radiation, and scientists interested in using them. The primary purpose of the workshop was to educate the accelerator physicists about the source characteristics necessary to carry out specific experiments, and to inform the user community of ideas currently being explored by the accelerator community. A second objective was to develop a set of parameters and requirements that could form the basis for a broad-based femtoscience user facility. In this paper we describe some of the ideas and techniques that accelerator physicists are pursuing to ilfill the diverse requirements of this expanding community

Hollow-core fibers for high power pulse delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michieletto, Mattia; Lyngsø, Jens K.; Jakobsen, Christian

2016-01-01

We investigate hollow-core fibers for fiber delivery of high power ultrashort laser pulses. We use numerical techniques to design an anti-resonant hollow-core fiber having one layer of non-touching tubes to determine which structures offer the best optical properties for the delivery of high power...... picosecond pulses. A novel fiber with 7 tubes and a core of 30 mu m was fabricated and it is here described and characterized, showing remarkable low loss, low bend loss, and good mode quality. Its optical properties are compared to both a 10 mu m and a 18 mu m core diameter photonic band gap hollow......-core fiber. The three fibers are characterized experimentally for the delivery of 22 picosecond pulses at 1032nm. We demonstrate flexible, diffraction limited beam delivery with output average powers in excess of 70W. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America...

Electron Acceleration and the Propagation of Ultrashort High-Intensity Laser Pulses in Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)