High-energy Petawatt Lasers Research Articles

Electromagnetic pulse protective shielding for digital x-ray detectors.

Laser-driven x-ray backlighting can be used to image fast dynamic processes like the propagation of laser-driven shock waves in matter. We demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility of operating the JUNGFRAU detector designed by PSI, a direct detecting x-ray detector, in environments with extreme electromagnetic pulses. The electromagnetic pulse-protective housing is specifically designed for this detector and optimized for pump-probe experiments at the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion EXperiments (PHELIX) facility at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH. The beryllium x-ray entrance window of the protective housing has a high x-ray transmission of 94% at 8keV. Measurements have shown that the housing simultaneously provides a relative damping of the electromagnetic field on average higher than 1000 in the frequency range of 100MHz to 5GHz. The results demonstrate the feasibility of operating digital detectors in experiments where strong electromagnetic pulses are present.

Versatile, compact chirped pulse amplifier pump system for ultrafast optical parametric amplifiers.

We report on the development of a pump system for ultrafast optical parametric amplifiers (uOPA) as an upgrade for the existing uOPA at the Petawatt High Energy Laser for heavy Ion eXperiments (PHELIX) and the new Petawatt ENergy-Efficient Laser for Optical Plasma Experiments (PEnELOPE). The system consists of a two-stage chirped pulse amplifier, centered around a high energy Yb:YAG regenerative amplifier that delivers 108 mJ uncompressed output energy, resulting in 92 mJ at 1030 nm after compression, pulse durations of 1.4 ps, a high beam quality of Mx/y2 = 1.02 / 1.16 and a relative energy stability of 0.35 %. A second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of up to 70 % is achievable and a maximum pulse energy of 43 mJ at 515 nm has been obtained, which is only limited by the damage threshold of the SHG crystal. A self-phase modulation stage makes this system a widely applicable, self-seedable pump module for uOPA without placing strong requirements on its seed oscillator.

Radiation measurements and simulations at the PHELIX laser facility, GSI

The absolute spectral electron and photon emission from a Tungsten target irradiated by the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion EXperiments (PHELIX) facility was measured inside the PHELIX target chamber. For this, a thermo-lumi-nescence detector (TLD)-based few-channel spectrometer (FCS) was used in combination with a Bayesian data analysis. The results of the FCS measurement served as input for a Monte-Carlo particle transport simulation to determine the spectra and dose out of the PHELIX target chamber. Two different simulation methods proved to be consistent and, therefore, reliable. The simulation results were compared to the dose measured with a dosemeter that consists of three Dosepix detectors in combination with a neural network analysis. The two dose results show a satisfactory agreement.

High-energy broadband Nd: Glass regenerative amplifier with coated birefringent filter for the high-power laser facilities

The regenerative amplifier is an important component of the high-power laser facility. A high-energy broadband Nd: glass regenerative amplifier with an energy of 34.1 mJ and a bandwidth of 4.3 nm was demonstrated using an intra-cavity specially coated birefringent filter (CBRF). This letter proposes a design scheme for a CBRF that can control the flat-top area of gain spectrum of the regenerative amplifier, which has been studied theoretically and experimentally. The transmittance of the specially coated BRF was tested in this experiment. The amplifier output spectrum had a flexible control ability and long-term stability. It can be applied to support high-energy broadband amplification in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) facilities, and can also be extended to other broadband amplification system to support high-energy picosecond petawatt laser facilities.

Numerical Simulations of Laser-Induced Shock Experiments on Graphite.

The development of particle accelerators with ever increasing energies is raising the standards of the structures which could interact with the particle beams. These structures could be subjected to strong shockwaves in accidental scenarios. In order to test materials in such conditions, one of the most promising techniques is the impact with high-power lasers. In view of the setting up of future experimental campaigns within the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion Experiments (PHELIX), the present work aims at the development of a numerical approach for the simulation of graphite impacted by laser beams. In particular, the focus is on the spallation damage caused by shockwave reflection: a sufficiently intense laser beam could ablate the matter until plasma conditions, hence producing a shockwave which could travel inside the material and reach a free surface. A numerical model to properly describe the spall fragmentation of graphite has been calibrated on the basis of literature-available experimental data. The numerical approach is a ‘two-step’ procedure: the first step is the definition of the laser–matter interaction and the second one concerns the description of the shockwave evolution into matter. The simulations satisfactorily reproduce the dynamic response of graphite impacted by two different laser sources with various intensities, despite the difficulties of characterising a phenomenon which is extremely fast and chaotic.

Single-shot grating-based phase-contrast imaging of a micrometer sample at a laser-driven x-ray backlighter source

A single-shot x-ray phase-contrast imaging technique with short exposure time allows to capture sharp images of fast dynamic processes despite low absorption contrast. We demonstrate the capabilities of a robust single-shot grating-based phase-contrast imaging setup at the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion EXperiments (PHELIX) at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH. A static test sample was imaged at 47-fold magnification using a laser-driven high-energy x-ray backlighter source. The retrieved transmission and phase-contrast images yield reproducible results. The reconstructed differential phase-images are quantitatively explained. In addition to the phase-images, propagation signatures are found in the data and used for result verification. The obtained results demonstrate the capabilities of the grating setup which can be used to image microscopic dynamic processes in high-energy density plasma experiments at PHELIX or similar high-power laser facilities.

Spectral shaping of picosecond petawatt laser system based on lithium niobate birefringent crystal

In recent years, chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technology injects vitality into the development of ultra-strong and ultra-short lasers. However, in the CPA based gain media, the gain narrowing effect limits the higher output of ultrashort pulse in energy, power, signal-to-noise ratio. In order to compensate for the gain narrowing caused by the broadband amplification of Nb:glass in picosecond pewter laser system, a method of high-energy spectral shaping is proposed based on LiNbO<sub>3</sub> birefringent crystal, and the spectral phase introduced by the crystal is analysed for the first time. Based on the strict Jones matrix, the transmittance function of birefringent crystal and the spectral phase introduced by the crystal are obtained. Further, three kinds of birefringent crystals are compared among each other, and the results show that the higher birefringence and the smaller thickness are required to achieve the same intensity modulation. For the laser pulse at 1053 nm, LiNbO<sub>3</sub> is selected as the spectral shaping crystal due to its high birefringence, large diameter, and non-deliquescent. The influences of crystal thickness, tilt angle, and in-plane rotation angle on the spectral intensity modulation are simulated theoretically, and the results show the above parameters affect the modulation bandwidth, center wavelength, and modulation depth of the shaping. By analyzing the spectral phase introduced by the crystal, it is found that the dispersion of each order changes with the thickness of the crystal, the tilt angle, and the in-plane rotation angle, and it is the most sensitive to the change of thickness. In addition, by controlling the dispersion of each order, the influence on the pulse signal-to-noise ratio can be weakened during spectrum shaping. On the basis of theoretical analysis, the shaping experiment with a center wavelength of 1053 nm, modulation bandwidth of 10 nm, and modulation depth of 80% is carried out. And the phase introduced by the LiNbO<sub>3</sub> is measured. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis. For the Shenguang Ⅱ high-energy petawatt laser system, by the above-mentioned shaping scheme, a high-energy broadband laser output of 1700 J and 6 nm (FWHM) is realized for the first time in China, which is 2 times that at 3.2 nm when it is not shaped. The research effectively compensates for the Nb:glass gain narrowing effect, and will provide references for the parameter design, material selection and spectral phase compensation in the birefringent spectral shaping.

In-house beam-splitting pulse compressor for high-energy petawatt lasers.

One of the most significant bottlenecks in achieving kilojoule-level high-energy petawatt (PW) to hundreds-petawatt (100PW) lasers is the requirement of as large as meter-sized gratings so as to avoid the laser-induced damage in the compressor. High-quality meter-sized gratings have so far been difficult to manufacture. This paper proposes a new in-house (intra-) beam-splitting compressor based on the property that the damage threshold of gratings depends on the pulse duration. The proposed scheme will simultaneously improve the stability, save on expensive gratings, and simplify compressor size because the split beams share the first two parallel gratings. Furthermore, as the transmitted wavefront of a glass plate can be better and more precisely controlled than the diffraction wavefront of a large grating, we propose glass plates with designed transmitted wavefront to compensate for the wavefront distortion introduced by the second and third gratings, and other in-house optics, such as the beam splitter. This simple and economical method can compensate for the space-time distortion in the compressor, and thus improve focal intensity, which otherwise cannot be compensated by a deformable mirror outside the compressor. Together with a multi-beam tiled-aperture combining scheme, the proposed novel compressor provides a new scheme for achieving high-energy PW-100PW lasers or even exawatt lasers with relatively small gratings in the future.

Evaluation of the Weighted Mean X-ray Energy for an Imaging System Via Propagation-Based Phase-Contrast Imaging.

For imaging events of extremely short duration, like shock waves or explosions, it is necessary to be able to image the object with a single-shot exposure. A suitable setup is given by a laser-induced X-ray source such as the one that can be found at GSI (Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH) in Darmstadt (Society for Heavy Ion Research), Germany. There, it is possible to direct a pulse from the high-energy laser Petawatt High Energy Laser for Heavy Ion eXperiments (PHELIX) on a tungsten wire to generate a picosecond polychromatic X-ray pulse, called backlighter. For grating-based single-shot phase-contrast imaging of shock waves or exploding wires, it is important to know the weighted mean energy of the X-ray spectrum for choosing a suitable setup. In propagation-based phase-contrast imaging the knowledge of the weighted mean energy is necessary to be able to reconstruct quantitative phase images of unknown objects. Hence, we developed a method to evaluate the weighted mean energy of the X-ray backlighter spectrum using propagation-based phase-contrast images. In a first step wave-field simulations are performed to verify the results. Furthermore, our evaluation is cross-checked with monochromatic synchrotron measurements with known energy at Diamond Light Source (DLS, Didcot, UK) for proof of concepts.

Proton acceleration via the TNSA mechanism using a smoothed laser focus

In this work, we present the results of an experiment aiming at proton acceleration using a focus with a homogeneous intensity distribution, called smoothed focus. To achieve this goal, we implemented a phase plate before the pre-amplifier of the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion EXperiments laser facility. The phase plate was used for the first time at a high-power short-pulse laser. Demonstrating a low divergent ion beam was the main goal of this work. Numerical simulations using the particle-in-cell code Extendable PIC Open Collaboration estimated a 2–5 times reduction in the angular divergence of the proton beam using a phase plate due to a smoother sheath at the rear side of the target. However, the reduction in the angular divergence was not sensible according to the experimental data. A positive point is that the spectrum of protons that are generated with the smoothed beam is shifted toward lower energies, provided that the laser absorption is kept in check, compared to the Gaussian proton spectrum. Moreover, the number of protons that are generated with the smoothed beam is higher than the ones generated with the Gaussian beam.

X-ray phase-contrast imaging for laser-induced shock waves

X-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCI) is a versatile technique with applications in many fields, including fundamental physics, biology and medicine. Where X-ray absorption radiography requires high density ratios for effective imaging, the image contrast for XPCI is a function of the density gradient. In this letter, we apply XPCI to the study of laser-driven shock waves. Our experiment was conducted at the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion EXperiments (PHELIX) at GSI. Two laser beams were used: one to launch a shock wave and the other to generate an X-ray source for phase-contrast imaging. Our results suggest that this technique is suitable for the study of warm dense matter (WDM), inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and laboratory astrophysics.

Experimental study on measuring pulse duration in the far field for high-energy petawatt lasers.

We study the feasibility of measuring pulse duration in the far field in high-energy petawatt lasers using single-shot autocorrelation. This single-shot autocorrelation technique makes use of parametric upconversion in media with randomly oriented ferroelectric domains, which supports transverse second-harmonic generation with two counter-propagating fundamental beams. We show that this technique possesses a large time window, capable of measuring pulses with temporal duration ranging from a sub-picosecond to tens of picoseconds. We test the performance of this technique in the presence of multipulse structures, intensity modulations in the near field, and spatial-temporal coupling in fundamental beams. We also investigate the influence of beam pointing discrepancy on the measurement. Our study can serve as a preliminary experiment for robustly characterizing pulse duration in high-energy petawatt lasers.

Preface

The Ninth International Conference on Inertial Fusion Science and Applications (IFSA) was held on September 20-25, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue on Seattle’s Eastside, Washington, U.S.A. The event was hosted by the University of California and was organized by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It brought together more than 370 participants from 16 countries.The goal, as for all previous IFSA Conferences, was to bring together scientists in the fields of inertial fusion science and high-energy-density physics, and their applications. Three hundred twenty seven papers were presented emphasizing the science of high-energy and high-intensity laser, pulsed-power, and particle-beam interactions with matter, the associated high-energy-density physics, and their application to fusion concepts. Results presented included theory, modeling, and experimental results from facilities worldwide.In recent years, significant advances have been made in high-energy-density science using lasers, Z-pinches, and particle beam systems with dramatic technical achievements in areas such as central-hot-spot ignition, fast and impulse ignition, material properties at extreme conditions, warm dense matter, particle acceleration and laser-plasma interactions. For the first time in the laboratory, x-ray driven ignition experiments, performed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the United States, have exhibited self-heating. In the month following the Conference, the first plasma experiments were performed at Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) in France, and ignition scale projects are under way in China and Russia. Other approaches, such as magnetic compression on the Z-machine at Sandia National Laboratories and direct drive experiments at the University of Rochester, have produced exciting new results which were reported on at the Conference.Second-generation petawatt short-pulse laser systems such as the highest-energy petawatt laser systems LFEX (FIREX) in Japan, OMEGA-EP in the United States, PETAL in France, and Vulcan PW in the United Kingdom, have allowed the study of novel approaches to producing and probing high-energy-density matter and exploring alternative ignition schemes. These scientific studies contribute to the physics understanding needed to develop inertial fusion energy as a commercial energy source and were also reported on at the Conference.Third-generation rep-rated and high-energy petawatt lasers are coming on line for strong field science studies and have opened up a new field of relativistic plasma physics. The extreme states achieved in these laser-plasma interactions are relevant to high-intensity x-ray applications, material processing, novel accelerators, and laboratory astrophysics.Recent activities and research in all these fields were discussed in 327 presentations, including three Keynote lectures, two Teller lectures, 21 plenary talks, 135 orals, and 166 posters. The proceedings collected in this volume underwent a rigorous peer-review process. The Editor is thankful to all the authors who agreed to act as referees on papers written by their fellow authors, and who worked both hard and diligently to complete this task in record time. We also thank the Technical Program Committee members who helped make this Ninth IFSA Conference possible.The American Nuclear Society Teller Award was bestowed during IFSA2015 on two key contributors to ICF science, Hiroshi Azechi and Jie Zhang. In addition, prizes were awarded to four students for their excellent presentations.On behalf of the various Committees, we extend our appreciation to everyone who helped make IFSA2015 a great success.

A pathway to laser fusion energy in Japan

High-density compression of DT to one thousand times its liquid density is the critical path of inertial fusion and was demonstrated in Japan and US in late 1980's. The Osaka group has achieved high-density compression that meets one of the critical requirements for thermonuclear ignition and burn. Although the compression densities were well reproduced by computer simulations, the neutron yields were much lower than the simulation predictions by three orders of magnitudes, suggesting catastrophic collapse of a hot spark, from which thermonuclear reactions are triggered. In order to overcome this difficulty the international ICF community has adopted two approaches: one is to generate a larger hot spark than the mixed layer with MJ-Class lasers, such as NIF and LMJ. The other approach is to externally heat the compressed fuel. The second approach is the fast ignition. After the proof-of-concept experiment in 2002, we started the Fast Ignition Realization Experiment (FIREX) project to complete the world most powerful high-energy peta-watt laser “LFEX” as a heating laser.

Study of fast electron generation using multi beam of LFEX-class laser

Fast Ignition Realization Experiment project phase-I (FIREX-I) is being performed at Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. In this project, the four-beam bundled high-energy Petawatt laser (LFEX) is being operated. LFEX laser provides great multi-beam irradiation flexibility, with the possibility of arrange the pulses in temporal sequence, spatially separate them in distinct spots of focus them in a single spot. In this paper, we study the two- beam interference effects on high-intensity picosecond laser-plasma interaction (LPI) by twodimensional relativistic Particle-In-Cell simulations. The interference causes surface perturbation, which enhances laser absorption and underdense plasma generation, increasing the accelerated electron number and their slope temperature. The laser-to-electron energy conversion efficiency for two-beam interference case is suitable for Fast Ignition (FI) compared to the single beam case, but the increment of fast electron divergence leads to lower energy coupling. To optimize the target design for FI, these interference effects should be taken into consideration.

Selective deuterium ion acceleration using the Vulcan petawatt laser

We report on the successful demonstration of selective acceleration of deuterium ions by target-normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) with a high-energy petawatt laser. TNSA typically produces a multi-species ion beam that originates from the intrinsic hydrocarbon and water vapor contaminants on the target surface. Using the method first developed by Morrison et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 030707 (2012)], an ion beam with >99% deuterium ions and peak energy 14 MeV/nucleon is produced with a 200 J, 700 fs, >1020W/cm2 laser pulse by cryogenically freezing heavy water (D2O) vapor onto the rear surface of the target prior to the shot. Within the range of our detectors (0°–8.5°), we find laser-to-deuterium-ion energy conversion efficiency of 4.3% above 0.7 MeV/nucleon while a conservative estimate of the total beam gives a conversion efficiency of 9.4%.

Soft x-ray backlighting of cryogenic implosions using a narrowband crystal imaging system (invited).

A high-performance cryogenic DT inertial confinement fusion implosion experiment is an especially challenging backlighting configuration because of the high self-emission of the core at stagnation and the low opacity of the DT shell. High-energy petawatt lasers such as OMEGA EP promise significantly improved backlighting capabilities by generating high x-ray intensities and short emission times. A narrowband x-ray imager with an astigmatism-corrected bent quartz crystal for the Si Heα line at ∼1.86 keV was developed to record backlit images of cryogenic direct-drive implosions. A time-gated recording system minimized the self-emission of the imploding target. A fast target-insertion system capable of moving the backlighter target ∼7 cm in ∼100 ms was developed to avoid interference with the cryogenic shroud system. With backlighter laser energies of ∼1.25 kJ at a 10-ps pulse duration, the radiographic images show a high signal-to-background ratio of >100:1 and a spatial resolution of the order of 10 μm. The backlit images can be used to assess the symmetry of the implosions close to stagnation and the mix of ablator material into the dense shell.

Development and first experimental tests of Faraday cup array

A new type of Faraday cup, capable of detecting high energy charged particles produced in a high intensity laser-matter interaction environment, has recently been developed and demonstrated as a real-time detector based on the time-of-flight technique. An array of these Faraday cups was designed and constructed to cover different observation angles with respect to the target normal direction. Thus, it allows reconstruction of the spatial distribution of ion current density in the subcritical plasma region and the ability to visualise its time evolution through time-of-flight measurements, which cannot be achieved with standard laser optical interferometry. This is a unique method for two-dimensional visualisation of ion currents from laser-generated plasmas. A technical description of the new type of Faraday cup is introduced along with an ad hoc data analysis procedure. Experimental results obtained during campaigns at the Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion Experiments (GSI, Darmstadt) and at the Prague Asterix Laser System (AS CR) are presented. Advantages and limitations of the used diagnostic system are discussed.

Design and demonstration of a tiled-grating frame

Development of a phased-array-grating compressor is a crucial issue for high-energy ultrashort pulse petawatt lasers. To achieve tiled array gratings and increase stability of tiled-grating frames, a new tiled grating frame is designed. In the tiled-grating frame, an integrated support structure is adopted to increase the natural frequency of the tiled-grating and the flexible hinges are used rather than the spring to increase the joint stiffness between the grating and the support frame. The experiment indicates that stability of the tiled-grating can be maintained for more than 1 h and the standard deviation of the tiling error is 35.7 nm, which satisfies the design requirement.

高能拍瓦激光系统中大口径离轴抛物面聚焦特性研究

高能拍瓦激光系统中大口径离轴抛物面聚焦特性研究