Xulei Ge

Demonstration of coherent terahertz transition radiation from relativistic laser-solid interactions

Coherent transition radiation in the terahertz (THz) region with energies of sub-mJ/pulse has been demonstrated by relativistic laser-driven electron beams crossing the solid-vacuum boundary. Targets including mass-limited foils and layered metal-plastic targets are used to verify the radiation mechanism and characterize the radiation properties. Observations of THz emissions as a function of target parameters agree well with the formation-zone and diffraction model of transition radiation. Particle-in-cell simulations also well reproduce the observed characteristics of THz emissions. The present THz transition radiation enables not only a potential tabletop brilliant THz source, but also a novel noninvasive diagnostic for fast electron generation and transport in laser-plasma interactions.

Single-shot measurement of >1010 pulse contrast for ultra-high peak-power lasers

Real-time pulse-contrast observation with a high dynamic range is a prerequisite to tackle the contrast challenge in ultra-high peak-power lasers. However, the commonly used delay-scanning cross-correlator (DSCC) can only provide the time-consumed measurements for repetitive lasers. Single-shot cross-correlator (SSCC) becomes essential in optimizing laser systems and exploring contrast mechanisms. Here we report our progress in developing SSCC towards its practical use. By integrating both the techniques of scattering-noise reduction and sensitive parallel detection into SSCC, we demonstrate a high dynamic range of >1010, which, to our best knowledge, is the first demonstration of an SSCC with a dynamic range comparable to that of commercial DSCCs. The comparison of high-dynamic measurement performances between SSCC and a standard DSCC (Sequoia, Amplitude Technologies) is also carried out on a 200 TW Ti:sapphire laser, and the consistency of results verifies the veracity of our SSCC.

Quasimonoenergetic collimated electron beams from a laser wakefield acceleration in low density pure nitrogen

A laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) experiment is performed using 30 TW, 30 fs, and 800 nm laser pulses, focused onto pure nitrogen plasma having relatively low densities in the range of 0.8×1018 cm−3 to 2.7×1018 cm−3. Electron beams having a low divergence of ∼ 3  mrad (full-width at half-maximum) and quasi-monoenergetic peak energies of ∼ 105  MeV are achieved over 4-mm interaction length. The total electron beam charge reached to 2 nC, however, only 1%–2% of this (tens of pC) had energies >35 MeV. We tried different conditions to optimize the electron beam acceleration; our experiment verifies that lower nitrogen plasma densities are generating electron beams with high quality in terms of divergence, charge, pointing stability, and maximum energy. In addition, if LWFA is to be widely used as a basis for compact particle accelerators in the future, therefore, from the economic and safety points of view we propose the use of nitrogen gas rather than helium or hydrogen.

Simultaneous generation of quasi-monoenergetic electron and betatron X-rays from nitrogen gas via ionization injection

Upon the interaction of 60 TW Ti: sapphire laser pulses with 4 mm long supersonic nitrogen gas jet, a directional x-ray emission was generated along with the generation of stable quasi-monoenergetic electron beams having a peak energy of 130 MeV and a relative energy spread of ∼ 20%. The betatron x-ray emission had a small divergence of 7.5 mrad and a critical energy of 4 keV. The laser wakefield acceleration process was stimulated in a background plasma density of merely 5.4 × 1017 cm−3 utilizing ionization injection. The non-self-focusing and stable propagation of the laser pulse in the pure nitrogen gaseous plasma should be responsible for the simultaneous generation of the high-quality X-ray and electron beams. Those ultra-short and naturally-synchronized beams could be applicable to ultrafast pump-probe experiments.

Long lifetime air plasma channel generated by femtosecond laser pulse sequence

Lifetime of laser plasma channel is significantly prolonged using femtosecond laser pulse sequence, which is generated from a chirped pulse amplification laser system with pure multi-pass amplification chain. Time-resolved fluorescence images and electrical conductivity measurement are used to characterize the lifetime of the plasma channel. Prolongation of plasma channel lifetime up to microsecond level is observed using the pulse sequence.

Combined proton acceleration from foil targets by ultraintense short laser pulses

Proton emission from solid foil targets irradiated by relativistically intense femtosecond laser pulses is studied experimentally. Broad plateaus in energy spectra are measured from micron-thick targets when the incident laser pulses have relatively low intensity contrasts. It is proposed that such proton spectra can be attributed to the combined processes of laser-driven collisionless shock acceleration and target normal sheath acceleration. Simple analytic estimation and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are performed, which support our interpretation. The obtained plateau-shape spectrum may also serve as an effective tool to diagnose the plasma state and verify the ion acceleration mechanisms in laser-solid interactions.

Different effects of laser contrast on proton emission from normal large foils and transverse-size-reduced targets

We report experimental results on the effects of laser contrast on beam divergence and energy spectrum of protons emitted from ultrashort intense laser interactions with normal large foils and transverse-size-reduced targets. Correlations between beam divergence and spectral shape are found. Large divergence and near-plateau shape energy spectrum are observed for both types of targets when the laser pulse contrast is low. With high contrast laser irradiation, proton beam divergence is remarkably reduced and the energy spectral shape is changed to exponential for large foil targets. In comparison, a similar large divergence and the near-plateau spectral shape remain for transverse-size-reduced targets. The results could be explained by the preplasma formation and target deformation at different laser contrasts and modified accelerating sheath field evolution in transverse-size-reduced target, which were supported by the 2D hydrodynamic and PIC simulations.

Stable laser–plasma accelerators at low densities

We report stable laser wakefield acceleration using 17–50 TW laser pulses interacting with 4 mm-long helium gas jet. The initial laser spot size was relatively large (28 μm) and the plasma densities were 0.48–2.0 × 1019 cm−3. High-quality 100–MeV electron beams were generated at the plasma density of 7.5 × 1018 cm−3, at which the beam parameters (pointing angle, energy spectrum, charge, and divergence angle) were measured and stabilized. At higher densities, filamentation instability of the laser-plasma interaction was observed and it has led to multiple wakefield accelerated electron beams. The experimental results are supported by 2D particle-in-cell simulations. The achievement presented here is an important step toward the use of laser-driven accelerators in real applications.

Improved pinning effect in PtMn/NiFe system by Cr addition into PtMn

The exchange bias and thermal properties of Pt1−xMnx–Cr∕NiFe films were investigated. Adding Cr into Pt1−xMnx film by inserting thin Cr layers was found to decrease the exchange bias considerably for x>0.5 but lead to a great enhancement of the pinning field along with unvarying coercivity and better thermal stability for x⩽0.5. An optimum pinning field of ∼180 Oe was obtained for Pt0.55Mn0.45–Cr(4%) pinning 150 A NiFe—almost twice that of pure Pt0.55Mn0.45, and even larger than that of Pt0.5Mn0.5, by 20%. Although possessing a smaller grain size, Pt0.55Mn0.45–Cr(4%) has a higher blocking temperature than either pure Pt0.55Mn0.45 or Pt0.5Mn0.5. Structure characterization revealed that adding Cr promoted the ordering process of Pt1−xMnx (x⩽0.5) greatly, and a perfect ordering phase of Pt(MnCr) was formed. The present results suggest that PtMn–Cr has favorable properties as a pinning layer.

Generation of electron beams from a laser wakefield acceleration in pure neon gas

We report on the generation of quasimonoenergetic electron beams by the laser wakefield acceleration of 17–50 TW, 30 fs laser pulses in pure neon gas jet. The generated beams have energies in the range 40–120 MeV and up to ∼430 pC of charge. At a relatively high density, we observed multiple electron beamlets which has been interpreted by simulations to be the result of breakup of the laser pulse into multiple filaments in the plasma. Each filament drives its own wakefield and generates its own electron beamlet.