We demonstrate that short laser pulse self-guiding over distances of many Rayleigh lengths can be achieved in the absence of any focusing nonlinearity as a result of trapping of a leaking wave in a plasma channel produced by field-induced ionization in the saturation regime. A detailed computational study of the new self-guiding effect in both cases of comparatively long laser pulses, when the traditional approximation of the slowly varying complex amplitude is valid, and of high intense ultrashort laser pulses comprising only few field cycles have been performed.

Nanosecond pulse discharges can provide high reduced electric field for exciting high-energy electrons, and the ultrafast rising time of the applied pulse can effectively suppress the generation of spark streamer and produce homogeneous discharges preionized by runaway electrons in atmospheric-pressure air. In this paper, the electrostatic field in a tube-plate electrodes gap is calculated using a calculation software. Furthermore, a simple physical model of nanosecond pulse discharges is established to investigate the behavior of the runaway electrons during the nanosecond pulse discharges with a rise time of 1.6 ns and a full-width at half-maximum of 3–5 ns in air. The physical model is coded by a numerical software, and then the runaway electrons and electron avalanche are investigated under different conditions. The simulated results show that the applied voltage, voltage polarity, and gas pressure can significantly affect the formation of the avalanche and the behavior of the runaway electrons. The inception time of runaway breakdown decreases when the applied voltage increases. In addition, the threshold voltage of runaway breakdown has a minimum value (10 kPa) with the variation of gas pressure.

PACS: 52.80.-s

A pulsed power generator by inductive voltage adder, versatile inductive voltage adder (VIVA-I), which features a high average potential gradient (2.5 MV/m), was designed and is currently in operation,. It was designed to produce an output pulse of 4 MV/60 ns by adding 2 MV pulses in two-stages of induction cells, where amorphous cores are installed. As a pulse forming line, we used a Blumlein line with the switching reversed, where cores are automatically biased due to the presence of prepulse. Good reproducibility was obtained even in the absence of the reset pulse. Within ∼40% of full charge voltage, pulsed power characteristics of Marx generator, pulse forming line (PFL), transmission line (TL), and induction cells were tested for three types of loads; open-circuit, dummy load of liquid (CuSO4) resistor, and electron beam diode. In the open-circuit test, ∼2.0 MV of output voltage was obtained with good reproducibility. Dependences of output voltage on diode impedances were evaluated by using various dummy loads, and the results were found as expected. An electron-beam diode was operated successfully, and ∼18 kA of beam current was obtained at the diode voltage of ∼1 MV.

Recent measurements of the absorption coefficients of L transitions in iron and nickel hot plasmas are reported following a brief review of the published experiments on opacities and absorption coefficients which have been performed until now in laser-heated cavities and Z-pinches. Emphasis is put on the impact of these measurements in astrophysics.

The measurement of very narrow high density plasma blocks of high ion energy from targets irradiated with ps-TW laser pulses based on a new skin depth interaction process is an ideal tool for application of ion implantation in materials, especially of silicon, GaAs, or conducting polymers, for micro-electronics as well as for low cost solar cells. A further application is for ion sources in accelerators with most specifications of many orders of magnitudes advances against classical ion sources. We report on near band gap generation of defects by implantation of ions as measured by optical absorption spectra. A further connection is given for studying the particle beam transforming of n-type semiconductors into p-type and vice versa as known from sub-threshold particle beams. The advantage consists in the use of avoiding aggressive or rare chemical materials when using the beam techniques for industrial applications.

The experiments reported in this paper demonstrate that the PHEBUS laser facility is now currently being operated with high performances (4 TW with 250 ps pulses at 0·527 μm wavelength).

The output energy of the 2-beam PHEBUS laser system can be focused either in a small focal spot (80% of the incident energy is in a 220 μm diameter focal spot) for high intensity experiments (≥5 × 1015 W cm−2) or in very large spots (a few mm in diameter) at moderate intensities (1013 − 2·5 × 1014 W cm−2), for large scale experiments. It is shown that the spatial intensity distribution in the target plane is primarily due to intensity independent aberrations and to diffraction. Laser light absorption in plane aluminum and gold targets are interpreted in terms of inverse bremsstrahlung absorption that may account for 70 to 90% of absorbed energy. Finally, the plasma expansion is shown to be very planar and comparison with one-dimensional Lagrangian simulations gives flux limiter values of 0·03 and 0·02 respectively for Al and Au targets.

This article presents the cross-focusing of two high power dark hollow Gaussian beams in plasma when relativistic nonlinearity is operative. A paraxial like approach has been used in the present analysis. In this study, the non-linear dielectric function has been expanded in terms of radial distance from the maximum of the irradiance, rather than from the axis, as is the case of Gaussian beams. The nature of propagation of a hollow Gaussian beam propagating in plasmas has been studied under the influence of relativistic non-linearity. The effect on the order (n) of hollow Gaussian beam on the cross-focusing of two beams has been explored in relativistic non-linearity in this publication.

In order to enhance the power-load of two-cell stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) system, methods of using different media and mixed medium are proposed. In theory, the amplification function of two-cell system of different medium with close vicinity in the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) is analyzed. Also the variation of BFS of the mixed medium with the mixing ratio is analyzed. In the two-cell SBS system pumped by Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, the SBS system performance characteristics are investigated with different media and mixed medium. The experimental results indicate that the Stokes can be sufficiently amplified by choosing different medium with close vicinity in the BFS; the power-load performance is enhanced as well as the maximum amplification efficiency the Stokes by choosing mixed medium.

Propagation of Gaussian X-ray laser beam is presented in collisional quantum plasma and the beam width oscillation is studied along the propagation direction. It is noticed that due to energy absorption in collisional plasma, the laser energy drops to an amount less than the critical value of the self-focusing effect and consequently, the laser beam defocuses. It is found that the oscillation amplitude of the laser spot size enhances while passing through collisional plasma. For the greater values of collision frequency, the beam width oscillates with higher amplitude and defocuses in a shallower plasma depth. Also, it is realized that in a dense plasma environment, the laser self-focusing occurs earlier with the higher oscillation amplitude, smaller laser spot size and more oscillations.

This work demonstrates the patterning of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) by ablation with Ar8+ ion laser (λ = 46.9 nm) pumped by pulse, high-current, capillary-discharge. For focusing a long-focal spherical mirror (R = 2100 mm) covered by 14 double-layer Sc-Si coating was used. The ablated focal spots demonstrate not only that the energy of our laser is sufficient for such experiments, but also that the design of focusing optics must be more sophisticated: severe aberrations were revealed — an irregular spot shape and strong astigmatism with astigmatic difference as large as 16 mm. In some cases, on the bottom of ablated spots a laser-induced periodic surface structure appeared. Finally, an illumination of the sample through quadratic hole 7.5 × 7.5 µm, standing in contact with PMMA substrate ablated from the surface a strongly developed two-dimensional diffraction pattern (period in the center about 125 nm).

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.

The Lawson criterion for proton-boron (p-11B) thermonuclear fusion is substantially higher than that for deuterium-tritium (DT) because the fusion cross section is lower and peaks at higher ion energies. The Maxwellian averaged p-11B reactivity peaks at several hundred keV, where bremsstrahlung radiation emission may dominate over fusion reactions if electrons and ions are in thermal equilibrium and the losses are unrestricted. Nonequilibrium burn has often been suggested to realize the benefits of this aneutronic reaction, but the predominance of elastic scattering over fusion reactivity makes this difficult to achieve. The development of ultrashort pulse lasers (USPL) has opened new possibilities for initiating nonequilibrium thermonuclear burns and significant numbers of p-11B alpha particles have been reported from several experiments. We present an analysis that shows that these significant alpha yields are the result of beam fusion reactions that do not scale to net energy gain. We further find that the yields can be explained by experimental parameters and recently updated cross sections such that a postulated avalanche mechanism is not required. We use this analysis to understand the underlying physics of USPL-driven nonequilibrium fusion reactions and whether they can be used to initiate fusion burns. We conclude by outlining a path to increasing the p-11B reactivity towards the goal of achieving ignition and describing the design principles that we will use to develop a computational point design.

We report spectrally resolved X-ray scattering data from shock compressed foils illustrating the feasibility of X-ray Thomson scattering experiment on a sub-kilo joule laser system. Sandwich targets consisting of CH/Al/CH were shock compressed using ∼1 ns laser pulses. Separate 270 ps laser pulses were used to generate an intense source of Ti-He-α (1s2-1s2p1P) radiation which was used as a probing source of 4.75 keV photons. The spectrum of scattered photons was recorded at a scattering angle of 82° with a CCD fitted spectrometer using a PET crystal in von-Hamos geometry. Although spectral resolution was used to separate the scatter from any background, the resolution was limited by source broadening. The relative level of scatter at different times in the sample history was measured by varying the delay between the shock driving beams and the back-lighter beams. We have compared the scatter spectra with simulations based on two different models of the L-shell bound-free contribution.

Filamentary and jet-like structures are observed in the interaction of a laser beam with aluminum and gold targets. The range of irradiance is 1013 to 5 × 1014 W cm−2 with nanosecond pulses. According to theoretical predictions these structures can be attributed to thermal instabilities. We show that the electrothermal instability grows more probably at the 0.35 μm laser wavelength whilst the magnetothermal instability develops at 1·06 μm. The jet-like structures occurring on the rear side of thin targets are discussed.

A new approach is proposed to analyze Bremsstrahlung X-rays that are emitted from laser-produced plasmas (LPP) and are measured by a stack type spectrometer. This new method is based on a spectral tomographic reconstruction concept with the variational principle for optimization, without referring to the electron energy distribution of a plasma. This approach is applied to the analysis of some experimental data obtained at a few major laser facilities to demonstrate the applicability of the method. Slope temperatures of X-rays from LPP are determined with a two-temperature model, showing different spectral characteristics of X-rays depending on laser properties used in the experiments.

Second harmonic emission from underdense laser-preformed plasmas has been investigated in forward direction with respect to the interaction beam axis. Two series of measurements have been performed using two focusing conditions and changing the intensity of the interaction beam. Effects of beam smoothing by random phase plates on second harmonic emission were also tested. Novel information on density and intensity gradients driven by filamentation instability was obtained.

The paper presents a general theoretical framework and related Monte Carlo simulation of novel type of the X-ray sources based on relativistic Thomson scattering of powerful laser radiation. Special attention is paid to the linac X-ray generators by way of two examples: conceptual design for production of 12.4 keV photons and presently operating X-ray source of 29.4 keV photons. Our analysis shows that state-of-the-art laser and accelerator technologies enable to build up a compact linac-based Thomson source for the same X-ray imaging and diffraction experiments as in using of a large-scale X-ray radiation facility like a synchrotron or Thomson generator based on electron storage ring.

Laser-produced plasma cloud evolution in a magnetic field is investigated up to 3 kg using photographs and spectroheliograms. Generation of a plasma jet, oriented across the magnetic field, was detected, whose emission increases with the field strength and is more distinct for multicharged ions. The effects of the field on the interaction of closely located laser-produced plasma clouds were studied as well. The results of numerical analysis comply with experimental data on plasma behavior in the magnetic field.

Recent direct-drive implosion experiments on the GEKKO XII laser with plastic hollow shell targets demonstrated compressed densities of ∼600 g/cm3 (∼600 times liquid density) at a temperature of ∼0.3 keV. The highly compressed core plasmas are indicated to be strongly coupled (average Coulomb energy/thermal energy ≈5) and partially degenerate (thermal energy/Fermi energy ≈0.3). The diagnostic method based on the secondary nuclear fusion reactions is presented to prove the electron degeneracy in the highly compressed core plasma. The yield ratio of the secondary DT neutrons to the primary DD neutrons in such highly compressed core plasmas was calculated with inclusion of the strong Coulomb-coupling effects, the varied degrees of the electron degeneracy, and the electronic shielding effects. It was found in our calculations that there is a significant dependence of the yield ratio on the compressed core density. For the plastic targets at the electron temperature of ∼0.3 keV, the yield ratio increases from 9 × 10−4 to 8 × 10−3 for densities from 10 to 1000 g/cm3. The preliminary experiments using deuterated plastic hollow shell targets suggested that the enhancement of the yield ratio provided evidence of the electron degeneracy.

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.