C. Brown

Petawatt laser pulses

We have developed a hybrid Ti:sapphire-Nd:glass laser system that produces more than 1500 TW (1.5 PW) of peak power. The system produces 660 J of power in a compressed 440+/-20 fs pulse by use of 94-cm master diffraction gratings. Focusing to an irradiance of >7x10(20) W/cm (2) is achieved by use of a Cassegrainian focusing system employing a plasma mirror.

High-Energy X-ray Microscopy Techniques for Laser-Fusion Plasma Research at the National Ignition Facility.

Multi-kilo-electron-volt x-ray microscopy will be an important laser-produced plasma diagnostic at future megajoule facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF). However, laser energies and plasma characteristics imply that x-ray microscopy will be more challenging at NIF than at existing facilities. We use analytical estimates and numerical ray tracing to investigate several instrumentation options in detail, and we conclude that near-normal-incidence single spherical or toroidal crystals may offer the best general solution for high-energy x-ray microscopy at NIF and similar large facilities. Apertured Kirkpatrick-Baez microscopes using multilayer mirrors may also be good options, particularly for applications requiring one-dimensional imaging over narrow fields of view.

An overview of LLNL high-energy short-pulse technology for advanced radiography of laser fusion experiments

The technical challenges and motivations for high-energy, short-pulse generation with the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and possibly other large-scale Nd : glass lasers are reviewed. High-energy short-pulse generation (multi-kilojoule, picosecond pulses) will be possible via the adaptation of chirped pulse amplification laser techniques on NIF. Development of metre-scale, high-efficiency, high-damage-threshold final optics is a key technical challenge. In addition, deployment of high energy petawatt (HEPW) pulses on NIF is constrained by existing laser infrastructure and requires new, compact compressor designs and short-pulse, fibre-based, seed-laser systems. The key motivations for HEPW pulses on NIF is briefly outlined and includes high-energy, x-ray radiography, proton beam radiography, proton isochoric heating and tests of the fast ignitor concept for inertial confinement fusion.

125-TW Ti:sapphire/Nd:glass laser system

We have demonstrated a Ti:sapphire/Nd:glass laser system that produces up to 51 J of energy in 395-fs pulses (125TW). Focusing at f/3 to a 2.5-times diffraction-limited spot results in a peak irradiance greater than 10(20) W/cm(2) . Our 40-cm-diameter gold diffraction gratings have a damage threshold of 0.42 J/cm(2) for 320-fs pulses.

Time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of deeply buried tracer layers as a density and temperature diagnostic for the fast ignitor

The fast ignitor concept for inertial confinement fusion relies on the generation of hot electrons, produced by a short-pulse ultrahigh intensity laser, which propagate through high-density plasma to deposit their energy in the compressed fuel core and heat it to ignition. In preliminary experiments designed to investigate deep heating of high-density matter, we used a 20 joule, 0.5-30 ps laser to heat solid targets, and used emission spectroscopy to measure plasma temperatures and densities achieved at large depths (2-20 microns) away from the initial target surface. The targets consisted of an Al tracer layer buried within a massive CH slab; H-like and He-like line emission was then used to diagnose plasma conditions. We observe spectra from tracer layers buried up to 20 microns deep, measure emission durations of up to 200 ps, measure plasma temperatures up to T e = 650 eV, and measure electron densities above 10 23 cm -3 . Analysis is in progress, but the data are in reasonable agreement with heating simulations when space-charge induced inhibition is included in hot-electron transport, and this supports the conclusion that the deep heating is initiated by hot electrons.

High Power Picosecond Laser Pulse Recirculation

We demonstrate a nonlinear crystal-based short pulse recirculation cavity for trapping the second harmonic of an incident high-power laser pulse. This scheme aims to increase the efficiency and flux of Compton-scattering-based light sources. We demonstrate up to 40x average power enhancement of frequency-doubled submillijoule picosecond pulses, and 17x average power enhancement of 177 mJ, 10 ps, 10 Hz pulses.

Blast wave diagnostic for the Petawatt laser system

We report on a diagnostic to measure the trajectory of a blast wave propagating through a plastic target 400 μm thick. This blast wave is generated by the irradiation of the front surface of the target with ∼400 J of 1 μm laser radiation in a 20 ps pulse focused to a ∼50 μm diameter spot, which produces an intensity in excess of 1018 W/cm2. These conditions approximate a point explosion and a blast wave is predicted to be generated with an initial pressure nearing 1 Gbar which decays as it travels approximately radially outward from the interaction region. We have utilized streaked optical pyrometry of the blast front to determine its time of arrival at the rear surface of the target. Applications of a self-similar Taylor–Sedov blast wave solution allows the amount of energy deposited to be estimated. The experiment, LASNEX design simulations and initial results are discussed.

The Production of Petawatt Laser Pulses

Chirped-pulse amplification applied to broad-bandwidth solid-state lasers has created a revolution in the production and use of terawatt and now petawatt class lasers.1,2 The concepts and technology contributing to this revolution have evolved continuously since the early 1970’s. Following the grating compressor work of Treacy3, Bischell4 and others described the application of chirped-pulse amplification to Nd:Glass lasers. This was followed by a large amount of work on fiber-grating pulse compression for communication research.5 In 1985, Strickland and Mourou combined many of these ideas into the first practical demonstration of chirped-pulse amplification with a solid-state laser.6 Following this initial demonstration, rapid developments in technology such as the stretcher design of Martinez7 led to small scale systems capable of terawatt8 and multiterawatt pulses.9–11 Occurring in parallel with the development of chirped-pulse amplification technology using Nd:Glass lasers, was the development of the new laser material, titanium-doped sapphire. The commercial availability of this unique laser material dramatically propelled the revolution in CPA based solid-state lasers. An overwhelming majority of CPA lasers now employ Ti:sapphire either throughout the entire laser system or at least as the oscillator material.13 These early developments and the large amount of effort that has gone into the laser technology in recent years have culminated in high pulse energy systems producing pulses with a peak power of 125 TW14 and very short-pulse systems producing multiterawatt pulses which only contain a few optical cycles.15–18 Here, we describe the limits of CPA technology in the context of a large scale system producing pulses with a peak power exceeding 1.25 petawatts (1250 TW).

Characterization of a high current induction accelerator electron beam via optical transition radiation from dielectric foils

Traditionally, thin metal foils are employed for optical transition radiation (OTR) beam diagnostics but the possibility of shorting accelerator insulating surfaces and modifying accelerating fields are concerns. The successful utilization of dielectric foils in place of metal ones could alleviate these issues but necessitates more understanding of the OTR data for inferring desired beam parameters because of the dielectrics finite permittivity. Additionally, the temperature dependence of the relevant foil parameters due to beam heating should be accounted for. Here, we present and discuss sample synthetic diagnostic results of Kapton OTR spot-size measurements from the Flash X-Ray (FXR) accelerator which studies these and sightline effects. These simulations show that in some cases, the observed spot-sizes and radii are noticeably larger than the beam radii.

Design of a high field stress, velvet cathode for the Flash X-Ray (FXR) induction accelerator

A new cathode design has been proposed for the flash X-ray (FXR) induction linear accelerator with the goal of lowering the beam emittance. The original design uses a conventional Pierce geometry and applies a peak field of 134 kV/cm (no beam) to the velvet emission surface. Voltage/current measurements indicate that the velvet begins emitting near this peak field value and images of the cathode show a very non-uniform distribution of plasma light. The new design has a flat cathode/shroud profile that allows for a peak field stress of 230 kV/cm on the velvet. The emission area is reduced by about a factor of four to generate the same total current due to the greater field stress. The relatively fast acceleration of the beam, approximately 2.5 MeV in 10 cm, reduces space charge forces that tend to hollow the beam for a flat, non-Pierce geometry. The higher field stress achieved with the same rise time is expected to lead to an earlier and more uniform plasma formation over the velvet surface. Simulations and initial testing are presented.