Plasma Physics by Laser and Applications (PPLA2015)

The paper reports about the use of single-crystal Chemical Vapour Deposited (CVD) diamonds as radiation detectors in laser-matter interaction experiments on the ABC laser in ENEA – Frascati. The detectors have been designed and realized by University of Tor Vergata – Rome. The interdigital configuration and the new design of the bias-tee voltage supply units guarantee a fast time response. The detectors are sensitive to soft-X photons and to particles. A remarkable immunity to electromagnetic noise, associated with the laser-target interaction, makes them especially useful for the measurements of the time of flight of fast particles. A novel diamond assembly has been tested in plasmas generated by the ABC laser in the nanosecond regime at intensities I=10^13÷ 14 W/cm², where contributions from X rays, fast electrons and ions could be observed.

Within the past decade, various experimental and theoretical investigations have been performed in the field of high-order harmonics generation (HHG) by means of femtosecond (fs) laser pulses interacting with laser produced plasmas. Numerous potential future applications thus arise. Beyond achieving higher conversion efficiency for higher harmonic orders and hence harmonic power and brilliance, there are more ambitious scientific goals such as attaining shorter harmonic wavelengths or reducing harmonic pulse durations towards the attosecond and even the zeptosecond range. High order harmonics are also an attractive diagnostic tool for the laser-plasma interaction process itself. Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations are known to be one of the most important numerical instruments employed in plasma physics and in laser-plasma interaction investigations. The novelty brought by this paper consists in combining the PIC method with several machine learning approaches. For predictive modelling purposes, a universal functional approximator is used, namely a multi-layer perceptron (MLP), in conjunction with a self-organizing map (SOM). The training sets have been retrieved from the PIC simulations and also from the available literature in the field. The results demonstrate the potential utility of machine learning in predicting optimal interaction scenarios for gaining higher order harmonics or harmonics with particular features such as a particular wavelength range, a particular harmonic pulse duration or a certain intensity. Furthermore, the author will show how machine learning can be used for estimations of electronic temperatures, proving that it can be a reliable tool for obtaining better insights into the fs laser interaction physics.

A laser ion source is known as a high current high charge state heavy ion source. However we place great emphasis on the capability to realize a high brightness ion source. A laser ion source has a pinpoint small volume where materials are ionized and can achieve quite uniform low temperature ion beam. Those features may enable us to realize very small emittance beams. In 2014, a low charge state high brightness laser ion source was successfully commissioned in Brookhaven National Laboratory. Now most of all the solid based heavy ions are being provided from the laser ion source for regular operation.

A new algorithmic method based on the 1D Conjugate Gradient Minimization Method, is presented. The purpose is, analyzing experimental FROG/GRENOUILLE traces, to accurately retrieve intensity and phase both in temporal and spectral domain so as to completely characterize an Ultra Short High Power laser pulse. This algorithm shows important features in the reconstruction of many different pulse classes. The employment of this algorithm also permits the inclusion of material response function present in the FROG/GRENOUILLE set-up.

In this work, optical analysis and intensity measurements of the Ultra Soft x-ray microbeam (100 eV–1 keV) are presented. X-ray emission at 500 eV are generated from a plasma produced by focusing Nd-YAG laser beam on the Yttrium target. In particular, we will report the study of x-ray intensity and the measurement of focal spot dimension. Moreover, the software/hardware control of sample holder position and the alignment of biological sample to the microbeam will be described.

A target irradiated with a high power laser pulse, blows off a large amount of charge and as a consequence the target itself becomes a generator of electromagnetic pulses (EMP) owing to high return current flowing to the ground through the target holder. The first measurement of the magnetic field induced by the neutralizing current reaching a value of a few kA was performed with the use of an inductive target probe at the PALS Laser Facility (Cikhardt et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85 (2014) 103507). A full description of EMP generation should contain information on the spatial distribution and temporal variation of the electromagnetic field inside and outside of the interaction chamber. For this reason, we consider the interaction chamber as a resonant cavity in which different modes of EMP oscillate for hundreds of nanoseconds, until the EMP is transmitted outside through the glass windows and EM waves are attenuated. Since the experimental determination of the electromagnetic field distribution is limited by the number of employed antennas, a mapping of the electromagnetic field has to be integrated with numerical simulations. Thus, this work reports on a detailed numerical mapping of the electromagnetic field inside the interaction chamber at the PALS Laser Facility (covering a frequency spectrum from 100 MHz to 3 GHz) using the commercial code COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2. Moreover we carried out a comparison of the EMP generated in the parallelepiped-like interaction chamber used in the Vulcan Petawatt Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, against that produced in the spherical interaction chamber of PALS.

Classical interferometry is one of the key methods among active optical diagnostics. Its more advanced version, which allows recording and subsequent reconstruction of up to three sets of data using just one data object —a complex interferogram—was developed in the past and became known as complex interferometry. Employing this diagnostics, not only the usual phase shift, but also the amplitude of the probing beam as well as the fringe contrast (leading directly to the phase shift time derivative) can be reconstructed simultaneously from such a complex interferogram. In this paper it will be demonstrated that even in the case of a not particularly good diagnostic beam quality these three quantities can be reconstructed with a high degree of accuracy provided both the diagnostic beam as well as the corresponding optical line feature a reasonable stability. Such stability requirement is important as in an ideal case four shots need to be gradually recorded (one by one): the signal complex interferogram, the reference interferogram as well as the intensity structures of the signal and reference part of the diagnostic beam. Two examples of complex interferograms obtained in experiments will be analyzed: the laser produced plasma (spark in the air) and the high pressure gas jet. A general ray-tracing based iterative algorithm will be outlined in order to increase a precision of the index of refraction spatial profile taking into account refraction effects (omitted in the Abel inversion) and employing the original reconstructed phase shift and amplitude.

The acceleration of protons in plasma produced from thin mylar (3.5 μ m) and aluminum (2 μm) targets by a 45-fs laser pulses with the energy of 400 mJ and the intensity of up to 10¹⁹ W/cm² was investigated. Characteristics of forward-accelerated protons were measured by the time-of-flight method. In the measurements, special attention was paid to the dependence of proton beam parameters on the laser focus position (FP) in relation to the target surface which resulted in the intensity change within a factor of ∼ 10. It was observed that in the case of using the Mylar target, the dependence of both the maximum (E_pmax) and the mean (⟨E_p⟩) proton energy on |Δx| is clearly non-symmetric with regard to the point where FP = 0 (the focal plane on the target surface) and highest proton energies are achieved when the focal plane is situated in front of the target. In particular, for the target with the thickness of 3.5 μ m E_pmax reached 2.2 MeV for FP = +50 μm while for FP = 0 and FP = −100 μm the maximum proton energies reached only 1.6 MeV and 1.3 MeV, respectively. For the aluminum target of 2 μm thickness E_p changed only within ∼ 40% and the highest proton energies reached 2.4 MeV.

The Front Surface Acceleration (FSA) obtained in Laser Ion Source (LIS) systems is one of the most interesting methods to produce accelerated protons and ions. We implemented a LIS to study the ion acceleration mechanisms. In this device, the plasma is generated by a KrF excimer laser operating at 248 nm, focused on an aluminum target mounted inside a vacuum chamber. The laser energy was varied from 28 to 56 mJ/pulse and focused onto the target by a 15 cm focal lens forming a spot of 0.05 cm in diameter. A high impedance resistive probe was used to map the electric potential inside the chamber, near the target. In order to avoid the effect of plasma particles investing the probe, a PVC shield was realized. Particles inevitably streaked the shield but their influence on the probe was negligible. We detected the time resolved profiles of the electric potential moving the probe from 4.7 cm to 6.2 cm with respect to the main target axis, while the height of the shield from the surface normal on the target symmetry center was about 3 cm. The corresponding electric field can be very important to elucidate the phenomenon responsible of the accelerating field formation. The behavior of the field depends on the distance x as 1/x^1.85 with 28 mJ laser energy, 1/x^1.77 with 49 mJ and 1/x^1.74 with 56 mJ. The dependence of the field changes slightly for our three cases, the power degree decreases at increasing laser energy. It is possible to hypothesize that the electric field strength stems from the contribution of an electrostatic and an induced field. Considering exclusively the induced field at the center of the created plasma, a strength of some tenth kV/m could be reached, which could deliver ions up to 1 keV of energy. These values were justified by measurement performed with an electrostatic barrier.

Imaging Plates (IP) are diagnostic devices which contain a photostimulable phosphor layer that stores the incident radiation dose as a latent image. The image is read with a scanner which stimulates the decay of electrons, previously excited by the incident radiation, by exposition to a laser beam. This results in emitted light, which is detected by photomultiplier tubes; so the latent image is reconstructed. IPs have the interesting feature that can be reused many times, after erasing stored information. Algorithms to convert signals stored in the detector to Photostimulated luminescence (PSL) counts depend on the scanner and are not available on every model. A comparative cross-calibration of the IP scanner Dürr CR35 BIO, used in ABC laboratory, was performed, using the Fujifilm FLA 7000 scanner as a reference, to find the equivalence between grey-scale values given by the Dürr scanner to PSL counts. Using an IP and a ⁵⁵Fe β-source, we produced pairs of samples with the same exposition times, which were analysed by both scanners, placing particular attention to fading times of the image stored on IPs. Data analysis led us to the determine a conversion formula which can be used to compare data of experiments obtained in different laboratories and to use IP calibrations available, till now, only for Fujifilm scanners.

The growing interest for the Imaging Plates, due to their high sensitivity range and versatility, has induced, in the last years, to detailed characterizations of their response function in different energy ranges and kind of radiation/particles. A calibration of the Imaging Plates BAS-MS, BAS-SR, BAS-TR has been performed at the ENEA-Frascati labs by exploiting the X-ray fluorescence of different targets (Ca, Cu, Pb, Mo, I, Ta) and the radioactivity of a BaCs source, in order to cover the X-ray range between few keV to 80 keV.

Thomson Spectrometers are of primary importance in the discrimination of particles produced by laser-plasma interaction, according to their energy and charge-mass ratio. We describe here a detailed study on a set of Thomson Spectrometers, adaptable to different experimental situations, with the aim of being placed directly within the experimental chamber, rather than in additional extensions, in order to increase the solid angle of observation. These instruments are suitable for detection of low-medium energy particles and can be effectively employed in laser-plasma experiments of ¹¹B(p,α)⁸Be fusion. They are provided with permanent magnets, have small dimensions and compact design. In these small configurations electric and magnetic fringing fields play a primary role for particle deflection, and their accurate characterization is required. It was accomplished by means of COMSOL electromagnetic solver coupled to an effective analytical model, very suitable for practical use of the spectrometers. Data from experimental measurements of the magnetic fields have been also used. We describe the application of the spectrometers to an experiment of laser-plasma interaction, coupled to Imaging Plate detectors. Data analysis for spectrum and yield of the detected radiation is discussed in detail.

SiC detectors based on Schottky barrier junction with depletion layer of about 60 μm can be employed to monitor the radiations emitted from laser-generated plasmas. On the base of the detector geometry UV and X-rays, ions and electrons can be detected with high efficiency at energies of the order of 10 keV, 1-100 MeV and 100 keV respectively. Detector response is proportional to the energy deposited in the depletion layer with an energy resolution comparable with the traditional Silicon detectors. The use of time-of-flight (TOF) techniques permits to measure the velocity of electrons and ions also in condition of low detection efficiency. Such detectors can be employed with success for fast plasma diagnostics detecting photons, electrons and ions. Measurements of SiC characterization, by using calibrated X-rays, electrons and ion sources and laser-generated plasmas, at intensity raging between 10¹⁰ Wcm⁻² and 10¹⁶ Wcm⁻², will be presented and discussed.

Magnetic field effects are diffused among living organisms. They are mainly studied with static or extremely low frequency fields, while scarce information is available for pulsed fields. This work is devoted to the study of the interaction between Drosophila melanogaster, both adults and larvae, and pulsed magnetic fields. We exposed the organisms to a peak field of 0.4 T, lasting for about 2 μ s, within an ad hoc designed copper coil. Adult individuals didn't present any deregulation of repetitive sequences in the germ line of Drosophila. Instead, we noticed a marked magnetic field effect in larvae. Polytene chromosomes coming from treated individuals showed the presence of heat shock puffs; the same organisms revealed also an upregulation of the genes encoding for the Hsp70 protein. These observations suggest that the larvae underwent an oxidative stress caused by the modulation of free radicals' yield induced by the magnetic field through a radical pair mechanism.

Au nanoparticle arrays with controlled nanostructure were produced by pulsed laser ablation on glass. Such substrates were optimized for biomedical sensing by means of SERS keeping fixed all process parameters but the laser pulse (LP) number that is a key deposition parameter. It allows to fine-tune the Au surface nanostructure with a considerable improvement in the SERS response towards the detection of apomorphine in blood serum (3.3 × 10⁻⁶ M), when LP number is increased from 1 × 10⁴ to 2 × 10⁴. This result is the starting point to correlate the intensity of selected SERS signals of apomorphine to its concentration in the blood of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Non-equilibrium plasmas have been produced in vacuum by irradiating thin targets of Ag₂O doped borate glasses by pulsed laser. Morphological and optical measurements have shown that in these glasses at high Ag content the metallic cations exist as nanoparticle and can induce effects of resonant absorption in laser-generated plasmas. Furthermore, preliminary time-of-flight measurements have been carried out by means of an infrared laser having a maximum intensity of the order of 10¹⁰ W/cm² evidencing that the ions energy and yield increase with the silver concentrations and depend on the glass structure. This study has shown that concentrations of Ag₂O up to 25% enhance the kinetic energies and the yields of the accelerated ions, whereas a higher content of silver oxide gives rise to high laser absorption thus modifying the properties of the plasma. The obtained characterization indicates that the targets may be irradiated by higher repetitive laser intensities in order to enhance the ion acceleration and current.

Charge separation in plasmas produced on plastic targets by low laser irradiance, structure of the ion front, and the current of fast electrons expanding into the vacuum chamber ahead of ions are characterized. Of particular interest is the negative current flowing through the plastic targets to the grounded vacuum chamber during the period of laser-target interaction. The subsequent multi - peaked structure of positive target current is correlated with occurrence of double sheet layers. The late-time negative charging of targets provides evidence for production of very slow ions by ionization of neutrals ablated at the target crater by radiation from plasma produced by 23 ns excimer KrF laser. The experimental setting allowing the target current observation is discussed.

We propose a method to estimate a precise value for the critical distance L_cr after which three-body recombination stops to produce charge losses in an expanding laser-induced plasma. We show in particular that the total charge collected has a ``reversed sigmoid'' shape as a function of the target-to-detector distance. Fitting the total charge data with a logistic related function, we could consider as L_cr the intercept of the tangent to this curve in its inflection point. Furthermore, this value scales well with theoretical predictions. From the application point of view, this could be of great practical interest, since it provide a reliable way to precisely determine the geometry of the extraction system in Laser Ion Sources.

An increasing attractiveness of top-down nanotechnology using nuclear microprobe techniques have been gathered to the micro and nano patterning process for polymers. This paper presents the research activity on innovative promising techniques able to produce three- dimensional (3D) micro-structures in polymeric resists as well as to obtain images of fabricated nanostructures at Tandetron Laboratory (LT) of the Nuclear Physics Institute in Rez (Czech Republic). The Proton Beam Writing (PBW) technique was used to irradiate PMMA resist with energy of MeVs protons. The fabricated patterns were developed in chemical bath using different etching rates. An overview of micro-scale structures have been fabricated selecting the beam, the energy, the fluence and the exposition time. The produced structures were investigated by different analysis techniques among which Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM). The characterizations of the fabricated microtunnels are presented and discussed.

Thin targets have been investigated at low laser intensity in order to prepare foils for TNSA (Target Normal Sheath Acceleration) laser irradiation at high intensity. Foils were prepared with different techniques, such as deposition of metallic nanoparticles on polymeric substrates. Polymer films were covered by solutions containing nanoparticles or embedded inside or covered by nanostructures. Such advanced targets permit to enhance the laser wavelength absorbance. Thick and thin targets were irradiated using laser radiation at 10¹⁰ W/cm² intensity and prepared to be submitted to laser irradiation at higher intensity. The foils were characterized by optical measurements of absorbance and transmittance as a function of wavelength in the regions UV, VIS and IR. Laser irradiation measurements using a Nd:YAG laser simulate the prepulse of high laser intensity. Accelerated ions were measured with ion collectors using time of flight techniques. The protons and ions acceleration and their yields were measured as a function of the equivalent atomic number of the foils and of other characteristics, as it will be presented and discussed.

We consider a system of linear pde describing a cold plasma in a toroidal region in three-dimensional space. This system simulates the passage of a laser beam through the TOKAMAK, it consists of 9 equations for the electric field and the velocities of electrons and ions in a given magnetic field. Asymptotic solutions describing high-frequency Gaussian beams are constructed using the theory of Maslov complex germ in a fairly effective form. The solutions of the system are localized in the neighborhood of the beam passing through the toroidal domain (the camera). The equations for a ray take into account the density of particles in the camera and don't ``feel'' the presence of the magnetic field because of the high frequency of the Gaussian beam; the dependence on the magnetic field is contained in the amplitude of the electric field. Before the TOKAMAK camera the amplitude of the Gaussian beam is the same as in free space, but after the camera the amplitude vector rotates under the influence of the magnetic field. The formula for the angle of rotation is given explicitly. An analytical-numerical algorithm based on the asymptotic solutions is used to analyze the parameters of the magnetic field in the TOKAMAK.

Polymeric materials, both pure and containing nanostructures, can be prepared as thin sheets in order to produce joints with an interface between an optically transparent sheet and an optically absorbent substrate to be welded by infrared pulsed laser irradiation. The Laser Transmission Welding (LTW) technique has been successfully applied in order to join two or more thermoplastic polymeric sheets that must have a similar chemical composition. In this research work, polymeric joints of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene sheets were realized, characterized and welded. Some polymer sheets were doped, at different concentrations, with carbon nano-particles absorbent the laser radiation. A pulsed laser operating in the wavelength region 532 nm with intensity of the order of 10⁹ Watt/cm² was employed to be transmitted by the transparent polymer and to be absorbed by the carbon enriched surface. At the interface of the two polymers the released energy induces melting, that is assisted by pressure, producing a fast and resistant welding zone. Mechanical and optical characterizations and surface analyses are presented and discussed.

This paper presents the research activity on Ion Beam Analysis methods performed at Tandetron Laboratory (LT) of the Institute of Nuclear Physics AS CR, Rez, Czech Republic. Recently, many groups are paying attention to implantation by laser generated plasma. This process allows to insert a controllable amount of energetic ions into the surface layers of different materials modifying the physical and chemical properties of the surface material. Different substrates are implanted by accelerated ions from plasma through terawatt iodine laser, at nominal intensity of 10¹⁵ W/cm², at the PALS Research Infrastructure AS CR, in the Czech Republic. This regime of the laser matter interaction generates, multi-MeV proton beams, and multi-charged ions that are tightly confined in time (hundreds ps) and space (source radius of a few microns). These ion beams have a much lower transverse temperature, a much shorter duration and a much higher current than those obtainable from conventional accelerators. The implementation of protons and ions acceleration driven by ultra-short high intensity lasers is exhibited by adopting suitable irradiation conditions as well as tailored targets. An overview of implanted targets and their morphological and structural characterizations is presented and discussed.

Laser-driven generation of high-energy ion beams has recently attracted considerable interest due to a variety of potential applications including proton radiography, ICF fast ignition, nuclear physics or hadron therapy. The ion beam parameters depend on both laser pulse and target parameters, and in order to produce the ion beam of properties required for a particular application the laser and target parameters must be carefully selected, and the mechanism of the ion beam generation should be well understood and controlled. Convenient and commonly used tools for studies of the ion acceleration process are particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. Using two-dimensional PIC simulations, the properties of a proton beam generated from a thin erbium hydride (ErH₃) target irradiated by a 25fs laser pulse of linear or circular polarization and of intensity ranging from 10²⁰ to 10²¹ W/cm² are investigated and compared with the features of a proton beam produced from a hydrocarbon (CH) target. It has been found that using erbium hydride targets instead of hydrocarbon ones creates an opportunity to generate more compact proton beams of higher mean energy, intensity and of better collimation. This is especially true for the linear polarization of the laser beam, for which the mean proton energy, the amount of high energy protons and the intensity of the proton beam generated from the hydride target is by an order of magnitude higher than for the hydrocarbon target. For the circular polarization, the proton beam parameters are lower than those for the linear one, and the effect of target composition on the acceleration process is weaker.

Thin foils were irradiated by short pulsed lasers at intensities of 10¹⁶⁻¹⁹W/cm² in order to produce non-equilibrium plasmas and ion acceleration from the target-normal-sheath-acceleration (TNSA) regime. Ion acceleration in forward direction was measured by SiC detectors and ion collectors used in the time-of-flight configuration. Laser irradiations were employed using p-polarized light at different incidence angles with respect to the target surface and at different focal distances from the target surface. Measurements demonstrate that resonant absorption effects, due to the plasma wave excitations, enhance the plasma temperature and the ion acceleration with respect to those performed without to use of p-polarized light. Dependences of the ion flux characteristics on the laser energy, wavelength, focal distance and incidence angle will be reported and discussed.

The development of novel compact PET radionuclide production systems is of great interest to promote the diffusion of PET diagnostics, especially in view of the continuous development of novel, fast and efficient, radiopharmaceutical methods of labeling. We studied the feasibility to produce clinically-relevant amounts of PET isotopes by means of laser-accelerated proton sources expected at the ELI-Beamlines facility where a PW, 30 fs, 10 Hz laser system will be available. The production yields of several positron emitters were calculated through the TALYS software, by taking into account three possible scenarios of broad proton spectra expected, with maximum energies ranging from about 8 MeV to 100 MeV. With the hypothesized proton fluencies, clinically-relevant amounts of radionuclides can be obtained, suitable to prepare single doses of radiopharmaceuticals exploiting modern fast and efficient labeling systems.

The spectrum of the accelerated ions at the laser ABC of ENEA research institute, detected by time of flight measurements, is correlated to the onset of parametric instabilities, evidenced by optical diagnostics. In fact, the emission of the laser harmonics, 2ω and 3/2ω, in the visible spectrum manifests the existence, inside the inhomogeneous plasma, of regions in which electron plasma waves can be generated. These waves are the tool for the production of a supra-thermal electron population, responsible for the creation of an electric potential at the plasma sheath, which drives the ion acceleration.

Using a table-top size soft X-ray (SXR) microscope, based on a laser plasma source with a double stream gas-puff target and a Fresnel zone plate objective, series of images of test samples were acquired. Characterization and optimization of the acquisition parameters were studied and evaluated in terms of signal to noise ratio (SNR). Conclusions for the optimization of SXR imaging were reached. Similar SNR measurements might be performed to characterize other SXR imaging systems as well. Software enabling live calculation of the SNR during the image acquisition might be introduced in future in the compact imaging systems for optimal image acquisition or for benchmarking purposes.

Here we present preliminary results for the gain performance of commercially available 3-μm and 6-μm pore-size single-anode microchannel-plate photomultipliers (MCP PMTs) in magnetic fields up to 5 T and for various orientations of the sensor relative to the field direction. The measurements were performed at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, VA. Our results show that smaller-pore-size PMTs have better gain performance in magnetic fields. At various angles, the shape of the gain dependence on the strength of the magnetic field strongly depends on the type of the sensor. Also, for each sensor, the azimuthal dependence is strongly correlated with the polar angle. Overall, the sensors exhibit a reasonable performance up to 2 T, although that upper limit depends on the sensor, the applied high voltage, and the orientation of the sensor relative to the field. To optimize the operational and design parameters of MCP PMTs for performance in high magnetic fields, further measurements and simulation studies will be pursued. Our studies are part of an R&D for development of a Detector of Internally Reflected Cherenkov Light for the central detector of a future U.S. Electron Ion Collider.

A model of metallic target ablation and metallic plasma production by laser irradiation is reported. The model considers laser energy absorption by the plasma, electron emission from hot targets and ion flux to the target from the plasma as well as an electric sheath produced at the target-plasma interface. The proposed approach takes into account that the plasma, partially shields the laser radiation from the target, and also converts absorbed laser energy to kinetic and potential energies of the charged plasma particles, which they transport not only through the ambient vacuum but also through the electrostatic sheath to the solid surface. Therefore additional plasma heating by the accelerated emitted electrons and target heating caused by bombardment of it by the accelerated ions are considered. A system of equations, including equations for solid heat conduction, plasma generation, and plasma expansion, is solved self-consistently. The results of calculations explain the measured dependencies of ablation yield (μ g/pulse) for Al, Ni, and Ti targets on laser fluence in range of (5–21)J/cm² published previously by Torrisi et al.

Recent experiments at the laser facility PALS focused on the laser driven fusion of deuterons are reviewed. They benefit of high reaction cross-sections and of a high number of multi-MeV deuterons from thick CD₂ targets irradiated by intensity of 3× 10¹⁶ W cm⁻². In the reported experiments fast fusion neutrons with energy up to 16 MeV were produced through ⁷Li(d, n)⁸Be and ¹¹B(d, n)¹²C reactions in a pitcher-catcher target configuration. When using a large area CD₂ foil as a secondary catcher target the total maximum neutron yield from the ²H(d, n)³He reaction increased by a factor of about 5, from 4× 10⁸ to 2× 10⁹. This result reveals that most of the deuterons having enough kinetic energy to enter a fusion reaction are emitted from the primary target into vacuum.

The current status of research on generating a powerful shock wave with a pressure of up to several gigabars in a laboratory experiment is reviewed. The focus is on results which give a possibility of shock-wave experiments to study an equation of state of matter (EOS) at the level of gigabar pressure. The proposals are discussed to achieve a plane record-pressure shock wave driven by laser-accelerated fast electrons with respect to EOS-experiment as well as to prospective method of inertial fusion target (ICF) ignition as shock ignition.

Generation of strong shock waves for the production of Mbar or Gbar pressures is a topic of high relevance for contemporary research in various domains, including inertial confinement fusion, laboratory astrophysics, planetology and material science. The pressures in the multi-Mbar range can be produced by the shocks generated using chemical explosions, light-gas guns, Z-pinch machines or lasers. Higher pressures, in the sub-Gbar or Gbar range are attainable only with nuclear explosions or laser-based methods. Unfortunately, due to the low efficiency of energy conversion from a laser to the shock (below a few percent), multi-kJ, multi-beam lasers are needed to produce such pressures with these methods. Here, we propose and investigate a novel scheme for generating high-pressure shocks which is much more efficient than the laser-based schemes known so far. In the proposed scheme, the shock is generated in a dense target by the impact of a fast projectile driven by the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration (LICPA) mechanism. Using two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations and the measurements performed at the kilojoule PALS laser facility it is shown that in the LICPA-driven collider the laser-to-shock energy conversion efficiency can reach a very high value ∼ 15–20 % and, as a result, the shock pressure ∼ 0.5–1 Gbar can be produced using lasers of energy ⩽ 0.5 kJ. On the other hand, the pressures in the multi-Mbar range could be produced in this collider with low-energy (∼ 10 J) lasers available on the market. It would open up the possibility of conducting research in high energy-density science also in small, university-class laboratories.

In this work spectral investigations of low temperature F-rich photoionized plasmas were performed. The photoionized plasmas were created by irradiation of SF₆ gas with intense EUV (extreme ultraviolet) radiation pulses. Two laser plasma EUV sources of different parameters used in the experiments were based on 0.8 J /4ns and 10 J/ 10 ns Nd:YAG lasers respectively. Both sources operated at 10 Hz repetition rate. The EUV radiation was focused using a dedicated reflective collector onto the gas stream, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the EUV pulses. Irradiation of the SF₆ gas resulted in dissociative ionization of the molecules, leading to creation of SF_n⁺ ions and fluorine atoms. Further photo- or electron impact ionization and excitation processes allow for formation of photoionized plasmas emitting radiation in the wide spectral range. Emission spectra were measured in the EUV and optical ranges. The EUV spectra contained multiple spectral lines, originating from F II, F III and S II ions. The UV/VIS spectra were composed of spectral lines corresponding to radiative transitions in F II, F I and S II species. A computer simulation of the F II spectrum was performed using a collisional-radiative PrismSPECT code. Parameters of the photoionized plasmas were estimated by fitting the spectrum obtained from the simulations to the experimental one. Apart from that, the electron temperature was estimated employing Boltzmann plots based on the UV/VIS spectrum.