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Abstract
This paper reviews the challenges posed by the physics of the interaction of high-peak power femtosecond lasers with ultrathin foil targets. Initially designed to produce warm solid-density plasmas through the isochoric heating of solid matter, the interaction of an ultrashort pulse with ultrathin foils is becoming more and more complex as the laser intensity is increased. The dream of achieving very hot solid density matter with extreme specific energy density faces several bottlenecks discussed here as related to the laser technology, to the complexity of the physical processes, and to the limits of our current time-resolved instrumentations.
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Farahbod A, Morshedian N, Aram M. Time resolved and time integrated analysis of the AXUV photodiode diagnostics for EUV and soft X-ray emission of nanosecond-laser-produced plasma. FUSION ENGINEERING AND DESIGN 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2020.111589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Real-Time Tomography of Gas-Jets with a Wollaston Interferometer. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/app8030443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Brandi F, Giammanco F, Conti F, Sylla F, Lambert G, Gizzi LA. Note: Real-time monitoring via second-harmonic interferometry of a flow gas cell for laser wakefield acceleration. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2016; 87:086103. [PMID: 27587174 DOI: 10.1063/1.4960399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The use of a gas cell as a target for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) offers the possibility to obtain stable and manageable laser-plasma interaction process, a mandatory condition for practical applications of this emerging technique, especially in multi-stage accelerators. In order to obtain full control of the gas particle number density in the interaction region, thus allowing for a long term stable and manageable LWFA, real-time monitoring is necessary. In fact, the ideal gas law cannot be used to estimate the particle density inside the flow cell based on the preset backing pressure and the room temperature because the gas flow depends on several factors like tubing, regulators, and valves in the gas supply system, as well as vacuum chamber volume and vacuum pump speed/throughput. Here, second-harmonic interferometry is applied to measure the particle number density inside a flow gas cell designed for LWFA. The results demonstrate that real-time monitoring is achieved and that using low backing pressure gas (<1 bar) and different cell orifice diameters (<2 mm) it is possible to finely tune the number density up to the 10(19) cm(-3) range well suited for LWFA.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Brandi
- Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory (ILIL), Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO-CNR), Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - F Giammanco
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - F Conti
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - F Sylla
- SourceLAB SAS, 86 Rue de Paris, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - G Lambert
- LOA, ENSTA ParisTech, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay, 828 bd des Maréchaux, 91762 Palaiseau Cedex, France
| | - L A Gizzi
- Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory (ILIL), Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO-CNR), Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
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Quevedo HJ, McCormick M, Wisher M, Bengtson RD, Ditmire T. Simultaneous streak and frame interferometry for electron density measurements of laser produced plasmas. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2016; 87:013107. [PMID: 26827309 DOI: 10.1063/1.4940235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
A system of two collinear probe beams with different wavelengths and pulse durations was used to capture simultaneously snapshot interferograms and streaked interferograms of laser produced plasmas. The snapshots measured the two dimensional, path-integrated, electron density on a charge-coupled device while the radial temporal evolution of a one dimensional plasma slice was recorded by a streak camera. This dual-probe combination allowed us to select plasmas that were uniform and axisymmetric along the laser direction suitable for retrieving the continuous evolution of the radial electron density of homogeneous plasmas. Demonstration of this double probe system was done by measuring rapidly evolving plasmas on time scales less than 1 ns produced by the interaction of femtosecond, high intensity, laser pulses with argon gas clusters. Experiments aimed at studying homogeneous plasmas from high intensity laser-gas or laser-cluster interaction could benefit from the use of this probing scheme.
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Affiliation(s)
- H J Quevedo
- Center for High Energy Density Science, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - M McCormick
- Center for High Energy Density Science, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - M Wisher
- Center for High Energy Density Science, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Roger D Bengtson
- Center for High Energy Density Science, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - T Ditmire
- Center for High Energy Density Science, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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Laser-Plasma Acceleration with FLAME and ILIL Ultraintense Lasers. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2013. [DOI: 10.3390/app3030559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Daido H, Nishiuchi M, Pirozhkov AS. Review of laser-driven ion sources and their applications. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2012; 75:056401. [PMID: 22790586 DOI: 10.1088/0034-4885/75/5/056401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
For many years, laser-driven ion acceleration, mainly proton acceleration, has been proposed and a number of proof-of-principle experiments have been carried out with lasers whose pulse duration was in the nanosecond range. In the 1990s, ion acceleration in a relativistic plasma was demonstrated with ultra-short pulse lasers based on the chirped pulse amplification technique which can provide not only picosecond or femtosecond laser pulse duration, but simultaneously ultra-high peak power of terawatt to petawatt levels. Starting from the year 2000, several groups demonstrated low transverse emittance, tens of MeV proton beams with a conversion efficiency of up to several percent. The laser-accelerated particle beams have a duration of the order of a few picoseconds at the source, an ultra-high peak current and a broad energy spectrum, which make them suitable for many, including several unique, applications. This paper reviews, firstly, the historical background including the early laser-matter interaction studies on energetic ion acceleration relevant to inertial confinement fusion. Secondly, we describe several implemented and proposed mechanisms of proton and/or ion acceleration driven by ultra-short high-intensity lasers. We pay special attention to relatively simple models of several acceleration regimes. The models connect the laser, plasma and proton/ion beam parameters, predicting important features, such as energy spectral shape, optimum conditions and scalings under these conditions for maximum ion energy, conversion efficiency, etc. The models also suggest possible ways to manipulate the proton/ion beams by tailoring the target and irradiation conditions. Thirdly, we review experimental results on proton/ion acceleration, starting with the description of driving lasers. We list experimental results and show general trends of parameter dependences and compare them with the theoretical predictions and simulations. The fourth topic includes a review of scientific, industrial and medical applications of laser-driven proton or ion sources, some of which have already been established, while the others are yet to be demonstrated. In most applications, the laser-driven ion sources are complementary to the conventional accelerators, exhibiting significantly different properties. Finally, we summarize the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Daido
- Applied Laser Technology Institute, Tsuruga Head Office, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Kizaki, Tsuruga-shi, Fukui-ken 914-8585, Japan.
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Gizzi LA, Betti S, Galimberti M, Giulietti A, Giulietti D, Labate L, Levato T, Tomassini P, Monot P, Ceccotti T, De Oliveira P, Martin P. Tracking propagation of ultrashort intense laser pulses in gases via probing of ionization. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2009; 79:056405. [PMID: 19518574 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.79.056405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2008] [Revised: 02/01/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We use optical interferometry to study the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in gases. We show the measurements of propagation in a nitrogen gas jet and we compare the results with propagation in He under the same irradiation conditions. We find that in the case of nitrogen, the detailed temporal structure of the laser pulse can be tracked and visualized by measuring the phase and the resulting electron-density map. A dramatically different behavior occurs in He gas jets, where no details of the temporal structure of the laser pulse are visible. These observations are explained in terms of the ionization dynamics of nitrogen compared to helium. These circumstances make N2 gas sensitive to variations in the electric field and, therefore, allow the laser-pulse temporal and spatial structures to be visualized in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- L A Gizzi
- Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, IPCF-Area della Ricerca CNR, Via Moruzzi, 1 56124 Pisa, Italy
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Kar S, Borghesi M, Bulanov SV, Key MH, Liseykina TV, Macchi A, Mackinnon AJ, Patel PK, Romagnani L, Schiavi A, Willi O. Plasma jets driven by ultraintense-laser interaction with thin foils. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2008; 100:225004. [PMID: 18643426 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.225004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2007] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Experimental evidence of plasma jets ejected from the rear side of thin solid targets irradiated by ultraintense (>10(19) W cm(-2)) laser pulses is presented. The jets, detected by transverse interferometric measurements with high spatial and temporal resolutions, show collimated expansion lasting for several hundreds of picoseconds and have substantially steep density gradients at their periphery. The role played by radiation pressure of the laser in the jet formation process is highlighted analytically and by extensive two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kar
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
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Galimberti M. Probe transit effect in interferometry of fast moving samples. JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. A, OPTICS, IMAGE SCIENCE, AND VISION 2007; 24:304-10. [PMID: 17206247 DOI: 10.1364/josaa.24.000304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
When a fast moving transparent sample (with a speed close to c) is probed with a laser pulse, some artifacts can occur from data analysis. These artifacts are connected to the transit time of the probe through the sample and can mask the presence of a steep gradient of refractive index in the sample. We study this problem in the case of interferometry. In fact, the problem can affect the femtosecond interferometry of the media under ultrafast ionization by a propagating laser pulse. Two algorithms are introduced: the first based on the phase difference and the second based on visibility. Both algorithms allow for the reconstruction, under suitable assumptions, of an approximated refractive index profile from the distorted fringes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Galimberti
- Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, CNR, Pisa, Italy.
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Gizzi LA, Galimberti M, Giulietti A, Giulietti D, Koester P, Labate L, Tomassini P, Martin P, Ceccotti T, De Oliveira P, Monot P. Femtosecond interferometry of propagation of a laminar ionization front in a gas. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2006; 74:036403. [PMID: 17025750 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.74.036403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2006] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
We use optical interferometry to investigate ultrafast ionization induced by an intense, ultrashort laser pulse propagating in a helium gas. Besides standard phase shift information, our interferograms show a localized region of fringe visibility depletion (FVD) that moves along the laser propagation axis at luminal velocity. We find that such a loss of visibility can be quantitatively explained by the ultrafast change of refractive index due to the field ionization of the gas in the laser pulse width. We demonstrate that by combining the post facto phase shift distribution with the probe pulse transit effect in the ionizing region, the analysis of the observed FVD yields significant information on the ultrafast dynamics of propagation of the ionization front in the gas.
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Affiliation(s)
- L A Gizzi
- Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, IPCF-Area della Ricerca CNR, Via Moruzzi, 1 56124 Pisa, Italy and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-INFN, Pisa, Italy
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Tomassini P, Giulietti A, Gizzi LA, Galimberti M, Giulietti D, Borghesi M, Willi O. Analyzing laser plasma interferograms with a continuous wavelet transform ridge extraction technique: the method. APPLIED OPTICS 2001; 40:6561-6568. [PMID: 18364963 DOI: 10.1364/ao.40.006561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Laser plasma interferograms are currently analyzed by extraction of the phase-shift map with fast Fourier transform (FFT) techniques [Appl. Opt. 18, 3101 (1985)]. This methodology works well when interferograms are only marginally affected by noise and reduction of fringe visibility, but it can fail to produce accurate phase-shift maps when low-quality images are dealt with. We present a novel procedure for a phase-shift map computation that makes extensive use of the ridge extraction in the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) framework. The CWT tool is flexible because of the wide adaptability of the analyzing basis, and it can be accurate because of the intrinsic noise reduction in the ridge extraction. A comparative analysis of the accuracy performances of the new tool and the FFT-based one shows that the CWT-based tool produces phase maps considerably less noisy and that it can better resolve local inhomogeneties.
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Giulietti D, Galimberti M, Giulietti A, Gizzi LA, Borghesi M, Balcou P, Rousse A, Rousseau JP. High-energy electron beam production by femtosecond laser interactions with exploding-foil plasmas. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2001; 64:015402. [PMID: 11461323 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.64.015402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2001] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The interaction of an ultraintense, 30-fs laser pulse with a preformed plasma was investigated as a method of producing a beam of high-energy electrons. We used thin foil targets that are exploded by the laser amplified spontaneous emission preceding the main pulse. Optical diagnostics show that the main pulse interacts with a plasma whose density is well below the critical density. By varying the foil thickness, we were able to obtain a substantial emission of electrons in a narrow cone along the laser direction with a typical energy well above the laser ponderomotive potential. These results are explained in terms of wake-field acceleration.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Giulietti
- Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, Istituto di Fisica Atomica e Molecolare, Area della Ricerca CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
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Borghesi M, Giulietti A, Giulietti D, Gizzi LA, Macchi A, Willi O. Characterization of laser plasmas for interaction studies: Progress in time-resolved density mapping. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL PHYSICS, PLASMAS, FLUIDS, AND RELATED INTERDISCIPLINARY TOPICS 1996; 54:6769-6773. [PMID: 9965903 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.54.6769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
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Giulietti D, Bastiani S, Ceccotti T, Giulietti A, Gizzi LA, Macchi A. Front- and rear-face X-ray emission from laser-irradiated Al foils. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1995. [DOI: 10.1007/bf02457342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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