In contrast to the usual laser fusion scheme with spherical irradiation and very high compression and ignition of fuel, the alternative scheme with side-on ignition of uncompressed solid density of fuel (Chu) may lead to a solution by using the now available picosecond laser pulses with higher than petawatt power. A necessary condition is to use clean laser pulses with better than 108 contrast ratio for suppression of relativistic self-focusing. When updating the analysis of Chu for fusion of deuterium-tritium and proton-11B, one problem is that the correct use of the stopping power of the alpha particles had to be solved. Discrepancies are evaluated in view of the stopping power at the low temperature range of the plasmas where the change of the emitted bremsstrahlung is involved.

The nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation governing the evolution of the complex envelope in the slowly varying envelope approximation is solved using the variational approach. The basic nonlinear phenomena of relativistic and ponderomotive self-focusing in a plasma channel are taken into account. Self-focusing, self-phase modulation as well as self-trapping of laser beam is studied in a variety of situations. Further, in the absence of dissipation mechanisms, the stability of the beam is also studied.

The electric field intensity distribution and the phase velocity distribution of a slit in laser beams with different parameters are analyzed. Using three-dimensional test particle simulation, the laser beam with a slit induced acceleration of electrons with different initial momenta is investigated. Contrary to anticipation, the maximum net energy gain is not monotone increasing as the incoming momentum increasing. Based on the field structure and analysis, we gave an explanation for this.

It is proposed that single attosecond pulses be generated via electron's Thomson scattering of two counter-propagating laser pulses. In the case of linear polarization, the generation of a single attosecond pulse is highly sensitive to the carrier envelope phase (CEP). However, in the case of circular polarization, it is completely independent on the CEP, which will make circular polarization favorable to generate a stable attosecond X-ray pulse. For either linear or circular polarization, the radiation obtained by using two counter-propagating pulses can be much more intense than that obtained by only using one of these two pulses.

As the pulse power and high power microwave source technologies gradually matured, technologies for enhancing the output capacities of high power microwaves are becoming more and more attractive. In this paper, two different methods for the increasing of X band microwave powers are discussed: diplexers based on microwave filter and photonic crystal. For the case of diplexer based on microwave filter, the dual channel X band microwaves transmit through the filters with high efficiencies, the polarization and radiation directions for the microwaves are the same. With the application of metal photonic crystal, the reflection and transmission of TE/TM polarized X band microwaves are realized simultaneously; thus, the dual channel microwaves have the same radiation direction. A pulse of 25 ns, 3.9 GW has been successfully obtained. However, according to the experimental results, the internal breakdown in these devices limits their power handling capacities when the peak power and pulse duration of the microwaves increase. In the end, several methods for enhancing the power handling capacities the diplexer have been proposed.

The dependence of nanoparticle size distributions on laser intensity profile was determined during infrared femtosecond laser ablation of silver targets in air. Laser parameters were adjusted to ablate at the same peak fluence with spatially homogeneous (flat-top) and inhomogeneous (Gaussian) intensity distributions formed by diffractive optical elements. Aerodynamic particle size was measured online by an electric low-pressure cascade impactor. Narrower size distributions were detected for the flat-top intensity profile in the fluence range from 0.6 to 4.4 J/cm2, while the Gaussian beam produced broad and bimodal distributions. The aerodynamic number frequency of the primary nanoparticulate fraction (40 nm) was equal to the number frequency of the submicron agglomerate fraction (200 nm) at laser fluence of 1 J/cm2. The Feret diameter of primary particles was 80 nm. Geometrical interpretation of the irradiated spots at the corresponding laser fluence regimes explains the formation of bimodal (submicron and nanoparticulate) size distribution in the case of Gaussian beams. The bimodality is attributed to different thermalization pathways during laser ablation.

A fast photo imaging technique has been used to characterize the expansion dynamics of a laser generated silver plasma propagating through background inert gases (He and Ar) at different pressures. The time evolution of the expanding plasma was investigated in the framework of currently available phenomenological models. Mixed-propagation model gives an accurate description of the initial and late plasma expansion stages in Ar when proper input parameters are taken into account. In He, only the initial quasi-linear expansion and shock wave formation were observed along the space available to plasma motion.

Proximity wall stabilized, fast (>4 × 1011 A/s), high current (>40 kA) discharges are capable to create long, dense, hot, stable, non-equilibrium plasma column, suitable e.g., for radiation amplification or even for lasing in extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray region. Exploding wire in water resembles a metal-vapor-filled capillary with liquid, ever fresh wall (without any metallic deposit). Modeling of wire explosion (inclusive melting and boiling phase transitions, thermal diffusion, and variable conductivity) by the originally skinned driving current is described. Modeling results are compared with measurement of the discharge current and with side-on and end-on monitoring of H-alpha line emission. Analysis of H-alpha line profile is used for diagnostic of water-vapor layer around the wire. The differences between model and reality are attributed to the fact that the pressure dependence of material constants was neglected in the first approximation.

We show experimental evidence that, for the intense high-order harmonics from nanoparticles, there is a strong contribution from neutral atoms. We present the results of studies on the harmonics generated in laser-produced plasmas containing various nanoparticles, including Cr2O3, In2O3, Ag, MnTiO3, Sn, Cu, and Au. These results are compared with the harmonics generated from plasma produced on the surface of bulk targets. The harmonic spectrum from nanoparticle and bulk In2O3 show that there is a lack in the resonant enhancement of the 13th harmonic for the former. Along with the relatively low cut-off for nanoparticle harmonics, these results show that it is the neutral atom in the nanoparticle that emits the intense harmonics. Structural studies of plasma debris confirm the presence and integrity of nanoparticles in the plasma plumes.

In ignition targets designs, U or U based cocktail hohlraum are usually used because the Rosseland mean opacity of U is higher than for Au at the radiation temperature for ignition. However, it should be noted that the opacity of U is obviously lower than for Au when the radiation temperature falls into a low temperature region. Because the depth penetrated by radiation is only several micrometers under a 300eV drive, and also because there is a prepulse longer than 10 ns prepulse at temperatures lower than 170 eV in the radiation drive of ignition target designs. Therefore we propose an Au + U + Au sandwich hohlraum for ignition targets in this work. Compared to the cocktail, the sandwich not only remarkably simplifies the fabrication and uses less depleted U material, but also increases the albedo during the prepulse.

The radiative reaction effect of an electron is usually very small and can be neglected in most cases. But for an ultra intensity laser-electron interaction region, the radiation can become large. The influence of the radiative reaction effect of an electron interacting with an ultra intense laser pulses in vacuum on electron dynamics is investigated within the classical relativistic Lorentz-Dirac approach. A predictor-corrector method is proposed to numerically solve the equation of motion with the electron radiative reaction included. We study the counter-propagating case (for Thomson scattering scheme) and the same direction propagating cases (for laser acceleration). Our simulation results show that radiation can have great effect in the counter-propagating case. But in the vacuum laser electron acceleration regime, both the ponderomotive acceleration scenario case and the capture and acceleration scenario, radiative reaction effect can totally be ignored for laser intensity available presently or in the near-future.

A laser transmission experiment is conducted to examine atmospheric turbulence-induced angle-of-arrival fluctuations over an 11.8 km urban path. The variance of fluctuations, probability density function, power spectrum, and Fried coherence length are investigated based on the analysis of the experimental data collected in each season of a year, respectively. In addition, the daily variations characteristic of path-averaged optical turbulence intensity Cn2 is also studied. At last, the aperture averaging theory is validated. It is anticipated that this work is helpful to the research of optical wave atmospheric propagation and the design of free-space laser optics communication systems.

Here we report on the production of highly directed ion blocks by plasma interaction of ultraviolet wavelength light produced from a KrF laser. This may support the requirement to produce a fast ignition deuterium-tritium fusion at densities not much higher than the solid state by a single shot petawatt-picoseconds ultraviolet laser pulse. Using double Rayleigh initial density profiles, we are studying numerically how the nonlinear force necessary to accelerate plasma blocks may reach the highest possible thickness. Propagation of plasma blocks and the volumetric hot electrons can be shown in detail. Results of computations for wavelengths of two lasers are compared, which show that the block current density for a KrF laser is approximately four times bigger than for the Nd-glass lasers. This is in good agreement with the number predicted by theory.

In the present article, the experimental investigation of optical breakdown induced by ns/mJ pulses at two wavelengths, 1064 nm and 532 nm, in air of atmospheric pressure is reported and discussed. The obtained breakdown thresholds were compared with theory and are in good agreement. The generated plasmas have been characterized by their amount of scattered laser light, energy transmission, and change of the transmitted temporal shape. Laser-induced plasma formation in a gas, in air, also generates an acoustic pressure wave. The acoustic energy is compared to the laser pulse energy and is found to be linearly dependent. Moreover, the frequency distribution of the characteristic acoustic pressure wave was analyzed. The experiments described were accomplished in order to optimize a laser ignition system with regard to efficiency and costs. The laser system employed for these investigations is a compact high peak power, passively Q-switched, longitudinally diode-pumped solid-state laser. Such a “laser spark plug” should replace conventional spark plugs in internal combustion engines because conventional ignition has reached its limits in terms of efficiency and durability. Thereby, a reduction of pollutant emission should also be feasible.

The effect of a variable magnetic field on Li plasma produced by laser-blow-off technique has been studied experimentally. Enhancement in the intensity of the spectral lines from neutrals was observed, which varied with the magnetic field. The enhancement in emission from Li I was found to differ for the two different transitions viz. 670.8 nm (2s 2S1/2 ← 2p 2P3/2,1/2) and 610.3 nm (2p 2P1/2,3/2 ← 3d 2P3/2,5/2), which is more prominent for 670.8 nm. Conventionally, the enhancement in emission in the presence of the magnetic field has been explained in terms of radiative recombination. However, the atomic analysis by computing photon emissivity coefficients in the present case has revealed for the first time that it is due to electron impact excitation.

We present two contrasting cases of the interaction of a high intensity laser beam with overdense plasma, namely the case of a circular polarization, and the case of a linear polarization of the laser beam. An Eulerian-Vlasov code is used for the numerical solution of the one-dimensional relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell set of equations, for both electrons and ions. The laser beam is incident normally on the plasma surface. We consider the case when the laser wave free space wavelength λ0 is greater than the scale length of the jump in the plasma density at the plasma edge Ledge (λ0 ≫ Ledge) and the ratio of the plasma density to the critical density is such that n/ncr ≫ 1. The incident high intensity laser radiation is pushing the electrons at the plasma surface through the ponderomotive pressure, producing a sharp density gradient at the plasma surface. There is a build-up of the electron density at this sharp edge that creates a space-charge, giving rise to a longitudinal electric field. The results obtained differ substantially in several aspects when circular or linear polarization for the incident laser wave is considered. In the case of a circular polarization, the radiation pressure is pushing the sharp edge in the forward direction, and the ions are accelerated and reach a free streaming expansion phase where they are neutralized by the electrons. For the case of a linear polarization, there is a standing structure with a sharp edge that forms at the wave front, and in this case, the electrons at the plasma edge oscillate nonlinearly in the field of the wave, which periodically goes to zero. This results in an important distorsion in the reflected electromagnetic wave that includes the generation of harmonics. We present two simulations to illustrate the differences between these two cases. The generation and propagation of collisionless shock waves in these systems are investigated. The results underline the importance of including the ion dynamics in the interaction of high intensity laser waves with overdense plasmas.

In this paper, measurement of various plasma parameters during pulsed laser deposition of ZnO thin films on Si (100) substrates is reported. The variations of electron number density and electron temperature with ambient pressure and target substrate distance is obtained via spectroscopic measurements. The structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and photoluminescence and then correlated with spectroscopic results to find optimum conditions for the deposition of high quality ZnO thin films.

An improved two-temperature model to describe femtosecond laser ablation of metal target was presented. The temperature-dependent heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the electron, as well as electron temperature-dependent absorption coefficient and absorptivity are all considered in this two-temperature model. The tailored two-temperature model is solved using a finite difference method for copper target. The time-dependence of lattice and electron temperature of the surface for different laser fluence are performed, respectively. The temperature distribution of the electron and lattice along with space and time for a certain laser fluence is also presented. Moreover, the variation of ablation rate per pulse with laser fluence is obtained. The satisfactory agreement between our numerical results and experimental data indicates that the temperature dependence of heat capacity, thermal conductivity, absorption coefficient and absorptivity in femtosecond laser ablation of metal target must not be neglected. The present model will be helpful for the further experimental investigation of application of the femtosecond laser.

A reduced mathematical model for the transport of high current relativistic electron beams in a dense collisional plasma is developed. Based on the hypothesis that the density of relativistic electrons is much less than the plasma density and their energy is much higher than the plasma temperature, a model with two energy scales is proposed, where the beam and plasma electrons are considered as two coupled sub-systems, which exchange the energy and particles due to collisions. The process of energy exchange is described in the Fokker-Planck approximation, where the pitch angle electron-ion and electron-electron collisions dominate. The process of particle exchange between populations, leading to the production of secondary energetic electrons, is described with a Boltzmann term. The electron-electron collisions with small impact parameters make an important contribution in the overall dynamics of the beam electrons.