Cao Leifeng

Laser-driven proton acceleration using a conical nanobrush target

A conical nanobrush target is proposed to improve the total proton energy-conversion efficiency in proton beam acceleration and investigated by two-dimensional particle-in-cell (2D-PIC) simulations. Results indicate a significant enhancement of the number and energies of hot electrons through the target rear side of the conical nanobrush target. Compared with the plain target, the field increases several times. We observe enhancements of the average proton energy and total laser-proton energy conversion efficiency of 105%. This enhancement is attributed to both nanobrush and conical configurations. The proton beam is well collimated with a divergence angle less than 28{sup Degree-Sign }. The proposed target may serve as a new method for increasing laser to proton energy-conversion efficiency.

Diffraction Properties for 1000 Line/mm Free-Standing Quantum-Dot-Array Diffraction Grating Fabricated by Focused Ion Beam

The traditional fabrication technique of quantum-dot-array diffraction grating (QDADG) is a hybrid lithography method that includes electron-beam lithography and x-ray lithography. In this work, 1000 line/mm free-standing QDADG has successfully been fabricated by focused ion beams (FIBs) for the first time. The diffraction patterns of the grating are measured in the 250–450 nm wavelength range from the xenon lamp source. In consequence, the QDADG in this experiment can be used to disperse light without high-order diffraction. The present inspiriting result demonstrates the prospect of FIB fabrication for high energy QDADG in the soft x-ray region.

Numerical simulation for all-optical Thomson scattering X-ray source

Energy spectra, angular distributions, and temporal profiles of the photons produced by an all-optical Thomson scattering X-ray source are explored through numerical simulations based on the parameters of the SILEX-I laser system (800 nm, 30 fs, 300 TW) and the previous wakefield acceleration experimental results. The simulation results show that X-ray pulses with a duration of 30 fs and an emission angle of 50 mrad can be produced from such a source. Using the optimized electron parameters, X-ray pulses with better directivity and narrower energy spectra can be obtained. Besides the electron parameters, the laser parameters such as the wavelength, pulse duration, and spot size also affect the X-ray yield, the angular distribution, and the maximum photon energy, except the X-ray pulse duration which is slightly changed for the case of ultrafast laser—electron interaction.

Time-Resolved Radiography using Chirp-Pulse Proton Beams

Protons accelerated by the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) mechanism have a wide energy spectrum and are called chirp-pulse protons. The numerical simulation of chirp-pulse proton radiography in an implosion process with single shot is carried out using the Monte Carlo method. Two different methods are proposed. The first method, proton framing radiography, uses a stack of radiochromic film layers as the detector. Each layer deposits protons with energy corresponding to the Bragg peak, which can record the transient state of the implosion process. The second method, proton streak radiography, uses an external magnetic field to deflect protons. Different energies correspond to different times. By using a slit before the magnetic field, one-dimensional spatial resolution and temporal resolution can be obtained. This method is more suitable for the diagnosis of the implosion process.

Improved Zone Plate Coded Imaging Technique by Using Four Special Designed Gabor Zone Plates

Direct-current component, high-order artifacts, and side lobe distortion provide serious drawbacks in the application of Fresnel zone plate coded imaging (ZPCI). The presentation provided here proposes a novel way to resolve all the above-mentioned problems. Four different Gabor zone plates are suggested to substitute the one Fresnel zone plate used in the conventional ZPCI. Perfect reconstruction will be obtained when integrally analysing the four coded images. Primary numerical simulation provided here shows good result.

Design of Elliptical Reflection Zone Plate for Monochromatization of the Ultrafast Betatron Radiation at Low Energy Band

The elliptical reflection zone plate is a kind of optical element in soft x-ray and x-ray ranges and has focusing and dispersion properties. Compared with a transmission zone plate, the required dispersion orders can be easily separated from zeroth order diffraction. It is fabricated on a bulk substrate and does not have much difficulty in the fabrication process. We design a 1000-zone off-axis elliptical reflection zone plate for the monochromatization of the ultrafast betatron radiation at the low energy band, at the designed wavelength of 2.478nm (500 eV) which is an important spectral part of the betatron radiation, with high spatial resolution, high spectral resolution. Moreover, we simulate the designed reflection zone plate properties. The simulation results show that the spatial resolutions in the spatial direction and the spectral direction are 6.4 μm and 7.3 μm (full width half maximum), respectively, and the spectral resolution reaches up to 496 for the well aligned point source system, which is in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. In addition, we discuss some factors influencing the spectral and spatial resolution, such as the zone number, zone area and the incidence wavelength. The elliptical reflection zone plate also has potential applications in investigating x-ray fluorescence spectra and other fields.

Electron impact excitation of Ni-like gold studied by Dirac R-matrix method

We calculate the electron impact excitation of Ni-like gold by using the Dirac R-matrix theory, and the corresponding collision strengths and effective collision strengths are obtained. In the calculations of the level energy, (1s22s22p6)3s23p63d10, 3s23p63d94l, 3s23p53d104l, and 3s3p63d104l (l = 0, 1, 2, 3) configurations are included and 107 fine-structure levels are generated. In the calculations of the collision strengths, only the first 59 levels are included. Comparisons are made with the distorted wave (DW) results of Zeng et al. for both collision strengths and effective collision strengths. For the collision strengths, the two sets of calculations are in excellent agreement for most of the transitions. However, because of the inclusion of the resonances, our effective collision strengths are generally several times larger than those of Zeng et al.. The accuracy of our calculations is assessed.

DD proton spectrum for diagnosing the areal density of imploded capsules on Shenguang III prototype laser facility

The primary DD proton spectrum is used for diagnosing the fuel-shell areal density ρR of imploded capsules on Shenguang III (SG-III) prototype laser facility for the first time. A charged particle spectrometer (CPS) with a CR39 nuclear track detector is used to measure the DD proton spectrum. The proton spectrum is determined from both the proton track and its size. A typical proton energy peak shift from 3.02 MeV to 2.6 MeV is observed in our experiment, which yields a maximum ρR larger than 6 mg/cm2.

Single order soft X-ray diffraction with quasi-random radius pinhole array spectroscopic photon sieves

A novel single order diffraction grating in the soft X-ray region, called quasi-random radius pinhole array spectroscopic photon sieves (QRSPS), is proposed in this paper. This new grating is composed of pinholes on a substrate, whose radii are quasi-random, while their centers are regular. Analysis proves that its transmittance function across the grating bar is similar to that of sinusoidal transmission gratings. Simulation results show that the QRSPS can suppress higher-order diffraction effectively. And the QRSPS would still retain its characteristic of single order diffraction when we take the effect of X-ray penetration into account. These properties indicate that the QRSPS can be used in the soft X-ray spectra measurement.

New terahertz dispersive device for single-shot spectral measurements of terahertz pulse

A new terahertz dispersive device designed for single-shot spectral measurements of broadband terahertz pulses is proposed. With two-dimensional quasi-randomly distributed element design, the device exhibits approximately the dispersive property of single-order diffraction in far field. Its far-field diffraction pattern is experimentally verified employing a continuous terahertz source centered at 2.52 THz and a pyroelectric focal-plane-array camera, which is in good agreement with the numerical result. The device provides a new approach for direct single-shot spectral measurements of broadband terahertz waves.