A. A. Ionin

Physics and engineering of singlet delta oxygen production in low-temperature plasma

An overview is presented of experimental and theoretical research in the field of physics and engineering of singlet delta oxygen (SDO) production in low-temperature plasma of various electric discharges. Attention is paid mainly to the SDO production with SDO yield adequate for the development of an electric discharge oxygen–iodine laser (DOIL). The review comprises a historical sketch describing the main experimental results on SDO physics in low-temperature plasma obtained since the first detection of SDO in electric discharge in the 1950s and the first attempt to launch a DOIL in the 1970s up to the mid-1980s when several research groups started their activity aimed at DOIL development, stimulated by success in the development of a chemical oxygen–iodine laser (COIL). A detailed analysis of theoretical and experimental research on SDO production in electric discharge from the mid-1980s to the present, when the first DOIL has been launched, is given. Different kinetic models of oxygen low-temperature plasma are compared with the model developed by the authors. The latter comprises electron kinetics based on the accompanying solution of the electron Boltzmann equation, plasma chemistry including reactions of excited molecules and numerous ion–molecular reactions, thermal energy balance and electric circuit equation. The experimental part of the overview is focused on the experimental methods of SDO detection including experiments on the measurements of the Einstein coefficient for SDO transition and experimental procedures of SDO production in self-sustained and non-self-sustained discharges and analysis of different plasma-chemical processes occurring in oxygen low-temperature plasma which brings limitation to the maximum SDO yield and to the lifetime of the SDO in an electric discharge and its afterglow. Quite recently obtained results on gain and output characteristics of DOIL and some projects aimed at the development of high-power DOIL are discussed.

Non-self-sustained electric discharge in oxygen gas mixtures: singlet delta oxygen production

The possibility of obtaining a high specific input energy in an electron-beam sustained discharge ignited in oxygen gas mixtures O2 :A r :C O (or H2) at the total gas pressures of 10–100 Torr was experimentally demonstrated. The specific input energy per molecular component exceeded ∼ 6k J l −1 atm −1 (150 kJ mol −1 ) as a small amount of carbon monoxide was added into a gas mixture of oxygen and argon. It was theoretically demonstrated that one might expect to obtain a singlet delta oxygen yield of 25% exceeding its threshold value needed for an oxygen–iodine laser operation at room temperature, when maintaining a non-self-sustained discharge in oxygen gas mixtures with molecular additives CO, H2 or D2. The efficiency of singlet delta oxygen production can be as high as 40%.

Thermal melting and ablation of silicon by femtosecond laser radiation

The space-time dynamics of thermal melting, subsurface cavitation, spallative ablation, and fragmentation ablation of the silicon surface excited by single IR femtosecond laser pulses is studied by timeresolved optical reflection microscopy. This dynamics is revealed by monitoring picosecond and (sub)nanosecond oscillations of probe pulse reflection, which is modulated by picosecond acoustic reverberations in the dynamically growing surface melt subjected to ablation and having another acoustic impedance, and by optical interference between the probe pulse replicas reflected by the spalled layer surface and the layer retained on the target surface. The acoustic reverberation periods change during the growth and ablation of the surface melt film, which makes it possible to quantitatively estimate the contributions of these processes to the thermal dynamics of the material surface. The results on the thermal dynamics of laser excitation are supported by dynamic measurements of the ablation parameters using noncontact ultrasonic diagnostics, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical interference microscopy of the modified regions appearing on the silicon surface after ablation.

Femtosecond laser writing of subwave one-dimensional quasiperiodic nanostructures on a titanium surface

One-dimensional quasiperiodic structures whose period is much smaller than the wavelength of exciting radiation have been obtained on a titanium surface under the multipulse action of linearly polarized femtosecond laser radiation with various surface energy densities. As the radiation energy density increases, the one-dimensional surface nanorelief oriented perpendicularly to the radiation polarization evolves from quasiperiodic ablation nanogrooves to regular lattices with subwave periods (100–400 nm). In contrast to the preceding works for various metals, the period of lattices for titanium decreases with increasing energy density. The formation of the indicated surface nanostructures is explained by the interference of the electric fields of incident laser radiation and a surface electromagnetic wave excited by this radiation, because the length of the surface electromagnetic wave for titanium with significant interband absorption decreases with an increase in the electron excitation of the material.

GARPUN-MTW: A hybrid Ti:Sapphire/KrF laser facility for simultaneous amplification of subpicosecond/nanosecond pulses relevant to fast-ignition ICF concept

The first stage of the petawatt excimer laser project started at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, implements a development of multiterawatt hybrid GARPUN-MTW laser facility for generation of ultra-high intensity subpicosecond ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses. Under this project, a multi-stage e-beam-pumped 100-J, 100-ns GARPUN KrF laser was upgraded with a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire front-end, to produce combined subpicosecond/nanosecond laser pulses with variable time delay. Attractive possibility to amplify simultaneously short and long pulses in the same large-scale KrF amplifiers is analyzed with regard to the fast-ignition, inertial confinement fusion problem. Detailed description of hybrid laser system is presented with synchronized KrF and Ti:Sapphire master oscillators. Based on gain and absorption measurements at GARPUN amplifier and numerical simulations with a quasi-stationary code, we are predicting that 1.6 J can be obtained in a short pulse at hybrid GARPUN-MTW Ti:Sapphire/KrF laser facility, combined with several tens of joules in nanosecond pulse. Amplified spontaneous emission, which is responsible for the pre-pulse formation on a target, was also investigated: its acceptable level can be provided by properly choosing staged gain or loading the amplifiers by quasi-steady laser radiation. Fluorescence and transient absorption spectra of Ar/Kr/F 2 mixtures conventionally used in KrF amplifiers were recorded to find out the possibility for femtosecond pulse amplification at the broadband Kr 2 F (4 2 Γ → 1,2 2 Γ) transition, which benefits in 100 times higher saturation energy density than for KrF (B → X) transition.

Triggering and guiding electric discharge by a train of ultraviolet picosecond pulses combined with a long ultraviolet pulse

Non-self-sustained electric discharge and electric breakdown were triggered and guided by a train of picosecond UV pulses overlapped with a long free-running UV pulse of a hybrid Ti:Sapphire-KrF laser facility. Photocurrent sustained by this train is two orders of magnitude higher, and electric breakdown distance is twice longer than those for the discharge triggered by the long UV pulse only.

Experimental study of fs-laser induced sub-100-nm periodic surface structures on titanium.

In this work the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on a titanium surface upon irradiation by linearly polarized femtosecond (fs) laser pulses with a repetition rate of 1 kHz in air environment was studied experimentally. In particular, the dependence of high-spatial-frequency-LIPSS (HSFL) characteristics on various laser parameters: fluence, pulse number, wavelength (800 nm and 400 nm), pulse duration (10 fs - 550 fs), and polarization was studied in detail. In comparison with low-spatial-frequency-LIPSS (LSFL), the HSFL emerge at a much lower fluence with orientation perpendicular to the ridges of the LSFL. It was observed that these two types of LIPSS demonstrate different fluence, shot number and wavelength dependencies, which suggest their origin is different. Therefore, the HSFL formation mechanism cannot be described by the widely accepted interference model developed for describing LSFL formation.

Femtosecond Laser Treatment for the Design of Electro-insulating Superhydrophobic Coatings with Enhanced Wear Resistance on Glass

Femtosecond laser treatment of a glass surface was used to fabricate a multimodal roughness having regular surface ripples with a period of a few micrometers decorated by aggregates of nearly spherical nanoparticles. UV-ozone treatment followed by chemisorption of the appropriate functional fluorosilanes onto the textured surface makes it possible to fabricate a superhydrophobic coating with a specific surface resistance on the order of petaohms on a glass surface. The main advantage of the fabricated coating under severe operating conditions with abrasion loads is the significant durability of its electro-insulating properties. The longevity of the high surface resistivity, even on long-term contact with a water vapor-saturated atmosphere, is directly related to the peculiarities of the surface texture and ripple structure.

Multiple filamentation of intense femtosecond laser pulses in air

The propagation of focused femtosecond laser pulses with supercritical peak powers in air has been investigated by the methods of optical visualization, profilometry, and calorimetry. Laser pulses with supercritical powers create a bundle of submillimeter filaments with a diameter of about 5 µm ahead of the lens focus; the maximum number of filaments in the beam cross section and their length increase linearly and sublinearly, respectively, with the radiation peak power. The optical visualization and calorimetry indicate that the plasma channels of filaments are optical contrast (a plasma density of 1018–1019 cm−3), ensuring the refraction of laser radiation incident on them.

Enhancement of ultrafast electron photoemission from metallic nanoantennas excited by a femtosecond laser pulse

We have demonstrated for the first time that an array of nanoantennas (central nanotips inside sub-micrometer pits) on an aluminum surface, fabricated using a specific double-pulse femtosecond laser irradiation scheme, results in a 28-fold enhancement of the non-linear (three-photon) electron photoemission yield, driven by a third intense IR femtosecond laser pulse. The supporting numerical electrodynamic modeling indicates that the electron emission is increased not owing to a larger effective aluminum surface, but due to instant local electromagnetic field enhancement near the nanoantenna, contributed by both the tip’s ‘lightning rod’ effect and the focusing effect of the pit as a microreflector and annular edge as a plasmonic lens.