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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Generation Of Mie Size Microdroplet Aerosols With Applications In Laser-Driven Fusion Experiments, Andrew P. Higginbotham '09, O. Semonin '06, S. Bruce '08, C. Chan '08, M. Maindi '07, Thomas D. Donnelly, M. Maurer, W. Bang, I. Churina, J. Osterholz, I. Kim, A. C. Bernstein, T. Ditmire Jun 2009

Generation Of Mie Size Microdroplet Aerosols With Applications In Laser-Driven Fusion Experiments, Andrew P. Higginbotham '09, O. Semonin '06, S. Bruce '08, C. Chan '08, M. Maindi '07, Thomas D. Donnelly, M. Maurer, W. Bang, I. Churina, J. Osterholz, I. Kim, A. C. Bernstein, T. Ditmire

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We have developed a tunable source of Mie scale microdroplet aerosols that can be used for the generation of energetic ions. To demonstrate this potential, a terawatt Ti:Al2O3 laser focused to 2×1019 W/cm2 was used to irradiate heavy water (D2O) aerosols composed of micron-scale droplets. Energetic deuterium ions, which were generated in the laser-droplet interaction, produced deuterium-deuterium fusion with approximately 2×103 fusion neutrons measured per joule of incident laser energy.


Hot Electron And X-Ray Production From Intense Laser Irradiation Of Wavelength-Scale Polystyrene Spheres, H. A. Sumeruk, S. Kneip, D. R. Symes, I. V. Churina, A. V. Belolipetski, G. Dyer, J. Landry, G. Bansal, A. C. Bernstein, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. Karmakar, A. Pukhov, T. Ditmire Jun 2007

Hot Electron And X-Ray Production From Intense Laser Irradiation Of Wavelength-Scale Polystyrene Spheres, H. A. Sumeruk, S. Kneip, D. R. Symes, I. V. Churina, A. V. Belolipetski, G. Dyer, J. Landry, G. Bansal, A. C. Bernstein, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. Karmakar, A. Pukhov, T. Ditmire

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Hot electron and x-ray production from solid targets coated with polystyrene-spheres which are irradiated with high-contrast, 100 fs, 400 nm light pulses at intensity up to 2×1017 W/cm2 have been studied. The peak hard x-ray signal from uncoated fused silica targets is an order of magnitude smaller than the signal from targets coated with submicron sized spheres. The temperature of the x-rays in the case of sphere-coated targets is twice as hot as that of uncoated glass. A sphere-size scan of the x-ray yield and observation of a peak in both the x-ray production and temperature at a …


Control Of Strong-Laser-Field Coupling To Electrons In Solid Targets With Wavelength-Scale Spheres, H. A. Sumeruk, S. Kneip, D. R. Symes, I. V. Churina, A. V. Belolipetski, Thomas D. Donnelly, T. Ditmire Jan 2007

Control Of Strong-Laser-Field Coupling To Electrons In Solid Targets With Wavelength-Scale Spheres, H. A. Sumeruk, S. Kneip, D. R. Symes, I. V. Churina, A. V. Belolipetski, Thomas D. Donnelly, T. Ditmire

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Irradiation of a planar solid by an intense laser pulse leads to fast electron acceleration and hard x-ray production. We have investigated whether this high field production of fast electrons can be controlled by introducing dielectric spheres of well-defined size on the target surface. We find that the presence of spheres with a diameter slightly larger than half the laser wavelength leads to Mie enhancements of the laser field which, accompanied by multipass stochastic heating of the electrons, leads to significantly enhanced hard x-ray yield and temperature.


X-Ray Generation From Metal Targets Coated With Wavelength-Scale Spheres, D. R. Symes, H. A. Sumeruk, I. V. Churina, Thomas D. Donnelly, J. Landry, T. Ditmire May 2005

X-Ray Generation From Metal Targets Coated With Wavelength-Scale Spheres, D. R. Symes, H. A. Sumeruk, I. V. Churina, Thomas D. Donnelly, J. Landry, T. Ditmire

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X-ray yield measurements from targets coated with wavelength-scale spheres are compared with measurements from polished targets. Evidence for a hotter resonant electron temperature due to field enhancements from Mie resonances in the spheres is investigated.


Optimization Of Plasmas For Recombination-Pumped Short-Wavelength Lasers, M. Murphy, C. Glasheen, F. A. Moscatelli, Thomas D. Donnelly Apr 1997

Optimization Of Plasmas For Recombination-Pumped Short-Wavelength Lasers, M. Murphy, C. Glasheen, F. A. Moscatelli, Thomas D. Donnelly

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We report on experiments investigating the optimization of laser-ablated plasmas which are used to produce recombination-pumped, short-wavelength lasers. We evaluate the density of electrons and neutral atoms in laser ablated lithium and carbon plasmas as a function of time and distance away from the ablated target surface. We use an interferometric technique which can reveal information about the temperature of the plasma electrons. We find that the cold electrons which result in gain in recombination-pumped lithium lasers on the Lyman-α transition are produced by the high-intensity pump pulse rather than the lower intensity ablating pulse.


The Interaction Of Intense Laser Pulses With Atomic Clusters, T. Ditmire, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. M. Rubenchik, R. W. Falcone, M. D. Perry May 1996

The Interaction Of Intense Laser Pulses With Atomic Clusters, T. Ditmire, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. M. Rubenchik, R. W. Falcone, M. D. Perry

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We examine the interaction of intense, femtosecond laser radiation with the large (50–200 Å) clusters produced in pulsed gas jets. Both experiment and simulation show that the plasmas produced during these interactions exhibit electron temperatures far in excess of that predicted by above-threshold ionization theory for a low-density gas. Efficient heating of the clusters by the laser is followed by rapid expansion of the clusters and long-lived x-ray emission from hot, decaying, underdense plasma.


Strong X-Ray Emission From High-Temperature Plasmas Produced By Intense Irradiation Of Clusters, T. Ditmire, Thomas D. Donnelly, R. W. Falcone, M. D. Perry Oct 1995

Strong X-Ray Emission From High-Temperature Plasmas Produced By Intense Irradiation Of Clusters, T. Ditmire, Thomas D. Donnelly, R. W. Falcone, M. D. Perry

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The interaction of an intense laser pulse with large (∼100Å) clusters present in pulsed gas jets is shown to produce novel plasmas with electron temperatures far in excess of that predicted by above-threshold ionization theory. The enhanced absorption of the laser light by the dense clusters results in the production of high ion charge states via collisional ionization resulting in strong x-ray emission from the hot plasma.


Dynamics Of Optical-Field-Ionized Plasmas For X-Ray Lasers, Thomas D. Donnelly, R. W. Lee, R. W. Falcone Apr 1995

Dynamics Of Optical-Field-Ionized Plasmas For X-Ray Lasers, Thomas D. Donnelly, R. W. Lee, R. W. Falcone

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The success of recombination-pumped x-ray laser schemes is determined by the kinetics of ions in plasmas with relatively dense, cold-electron distributions. We examine how laser gain in such systems is affected by a multipeaked electron distribution generated by sequential ionization of atoms using high-intensity, ultrashort-pulse lasers. We also investigate the role of heating processes that modify electron energy distributions during the recombination and the accompanying collisional cascade. We find that conditions for the success of these schemes are critically modified by the inclusion of these effects.


Subpicosecond Thomson Scattering Measurements Of Optically Ionized Helium Plasmas, T. E. Glover, Thomas D. Donnelly, E. A. Lipman, A. Sullivan, R. W. Falcone Jul 1994

Subpicosecond Thomson Scattering Measurements Of Optically Ionized Helium Plasmas, T. E. Glover, Thomas D. Donnelly, E. A. Lipman, A. Sullivan, R. W. Falcone

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We present the first subpicosecond time-resolved temperature measurements of plasmas produced by high-intensity optical ionization. Thomson scattering is used to measure electron and ion temperatures of helium plasmas created by 125 fs, 800 nm laser pulses focused to an intensity of 2 × 1017 W/cm2. We find that the electron temperature is accurately predicted by a tunneling ionization model. The measured ion temperature is consistent with direct heating by the laser pulse.


Tabletop X-Ray Lasers, D. C. Eder, P. Amendt, L. B. Dasilva, R. A. London, B. J. Macgowan, D. L. Matthews, B. M. Penetrante, M. D. Rosen, S. C. Silks, Thomas D. Donnelly, R. W. Falcone, G. L. Strobel May 1994

Tabletop X-Ray Lasers, D. C. Eder, P. Amendt, L. B. Dasilva, R. A. London, B. J. Macgowan, D. L. Matthews, B. M. Penetrante, M. D. Rosen, S. C. Silks, Thomas D. Donnelly, R. W. Falcone, G. L. Strobel

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Details of schemes for two tabletop size x‐ray lasers that require a high‐intensity short‐pulse driving laser are discussed. The first is based on rapid recombination following optical‐field ionization. Analytical and numerical calculations of the output properties are presented. Propagation in the confocal geometry is discussed and a solution for x‐ray lasing in Li‐like N at 247 Å is described. Since the calculated gain coefficient depends strongly on the electron temperature, the methods of calculating electron heating following field ionization are discussed. Recent experiments aimed at demonstrating lasing in H‐like Li at 135 Å are discussed along with modeling results. The …


X-Rays From Microstructured Targets Heated By Femtosecond Lasers, S. P. Gordon, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. Sullivan, H. Hamster, R. W. Falcone Apr 1994

X-Rays From Microstructured Targets Heated By Femtosecond Lasers, S. P. Gordon, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. Sullivan, H. Hamster, R. W. Falcone

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We have demonstrated efficient conversion of ultrashort-pulse laser energy to x rays with energies above 1 keV, using laser-produced plasmas generated on a variety of microstructured surfaces. Lithographically produced grating targets generated 0.1 mJ of kilo-electron-volt x rays, and porous gold and aluminum targets emitted 1 mJ. This represents an improvement of a factor of 100 over flat targets. The K-shell emission spectrum of porous aluminum was composed primarily of heliumlike spectral lines.