Observation of Laser Power Amplification in a Self-Injecting Laser Wakefield Accelerator.

We report on the depletion and power amplification of the driving laser pulse in a strongly driven laser wakefield accelerator. Simultaneous measurement of the transmitted pulse energy and temporal shape indicate an increase in peak power from 187±11 TW to a maximum of 318±12 TW after 13 mm of propagation in a plasma density of 0.9×10^{18} cm^{-3}. The power amplification is correlated with the injection and acceleration of electrons in the nonlinear wakefield. This process is modeled by including a localized redshift and subsequent group delay dispersion at the laser pulse front.

Observation of a long-wavelength hosing modulation of a high-intensity laser pulse in underdense plasma.

We report the first experimental observation of a long-wavelength hosing modulation of a high-intensity laser pulse. Side-view images of the scattered optical radiation at the fundamental wavelength of the laser reveal a transverse oscillation of the laser pulse during its propagation through underdense plasma. The wavelength of the oscillation λ(hosing) depends on the background plasma density n(e) and scales as λ(hosing)∼n(e)(-3/2). Comparisons with an analytical model and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal that this laser hosing can be induced by a spatiotemporal asymmetry of the intensity distribution in the laser focus which can be caused by a misalignment of the parabolic focusing mirror or of the diffraction gratings in the pulse compressor.

Electron bunch length measurements from laser-accelerated electrons using single-shot THz time-domain interferometry.

Laser-plasma wakefield-based electron accelerators are expected to deliver ultrashort electron bunches with unprecedented peak currents. However, their actual pulse duration has never been directly measured in a single-shot experiment. We present measurements of the ultrashort duration of such electron bunches by means of THz time-domain interferometry. With data obtained using a 0.5 J, 45 fs, 800 nm laser and a ZnTe-based electro-optical setup, we demonstrate the duration of laser-accelerated, quasimonoenergetic electron bunches [best fit of 32 fs (FWHM) with a 90% upper confidence level of 38 fs] to be shorter than the drive laser pulse, but similar to the plasma period.

Monoenergetic beams of relativistic electrons from intense laser-plasma interactions.

High-power lasers that fit into a university-scale laboratory can now reach focused intensities of more than 10(19) W cm(-2) at high repetition rates. Such lasers are capable of producing beams of energetic electrons, protons and gamma-rays. Relativistic electrons are generated through the breaking of large-amplitude relativistic plasma waves created in the wake of the laser pulse as it propagates through a plasma, or through a direct interaction between the laser field and the electrons in the plasma. However, the electron beams produced from previous laser-plasma experiments have a large energy spread, limiting their use for potential applications. Here we report high-resolution energy measurements of the electron beams produced from intense laser-plasma interactions, showing that--under particular plasma conditions--it is possible to generate beams of relativistic electrons with low divergence and a small energy spread (less than three per cent). The monoenergetic features were observed in the electron energy spectrum for plasma densities just above a threshold required for breaking of the plasma wave. These features were observed consistently in the electron spectrum, although the energy of the beam was observed to vary from shot to shot. If the issue of energy reproducibility can be addressed, it should be possible to generate ultrashort monoenergetic electron bunches of tunable energy, holding great promise for the future development of 'table-top' particle accelerators.

Comparison of experimental and simulated Kalpha yield for 400 nm ultrashort pulse laser irradiation.

Ti Kalpha emission yields from foils irradiated with approximately 45 fs, p-polarized pulses of a frequency-doubled Ti:sapphire laser are presented. A simple model invoking vacuum heating to predict absorption and hot electron temperature was coupled with the cross section for K -shell ionization of Ti and the Bethe-Bloch stopping power equation for electrons. The peak predicted Kalpha emission was in generally good agreement with experiment. This contrasts strongly with previous work at the fundamental frequency. Similar predictions using particle-in-cell (PIC) code simulation to estimate the number and temperature of hot electrons also gave good agreement for yield.

Kalpha yields from Ti foils irradiated with ultrashort laser pulses.

We have studied the emission of Kalpha radiation from Ti foils irradiated with ultrashort (45 fs) laser pulses. We utilized the fundamental (800 nm) light from a Ti:sapphire laser on bare foils and foils coated with a thin layer of parylene E (CH). The focusing was varied widely to give a range of intensities from approximately 10(15) - 10(19) W cm(-2). Our results show a conversion efficiency of laser to Kalpha energy of approximately 10(-4) at tight focus for both types of targets. In addition, the coated targets exhibited strong secondary peaks of conversion at large defocus, which we believe are due to modification of the extent of preformed plasma due to the dielectric nature of the plastic layer. This in turn affects the level of resonance absorption. A simple model of Kalpha production predicts a much higher conversion than seen experimentally and possible reasons for this are discussed.

Experimental study of proton emission from 60-fs, 200-mJ high-repetition-rate tabletop-laser pulses interacting with solid targets.

Measurements of proton emission have been made from a variety of solid targets irradiated by a 60-fs, 200-mJ, 7 x 10(18)-W cm(-2) laser system operating at 2 Hz. Optimum target conditions were found in terms of target material and thickness. For Mylar targets of thickness 20-40 microm, a maximum proton energy of 1.5 MeV was measured. For aluminum targets, a maximum energy of 950 keV was measured for 12 microm, and for copper, 850 keV for 12.5 microm.

Compact laser accelerators for X-ray phase-contrast imaging.

Advances in X-ray imaging techniques have been driven by advances in novel X-ray sources. The latest fourth-generation X-ray sources can boast large photon fluxes at unprecedented brightness. However, the large size of these facilities means that these sources are not available for everyday applications. With advances in laser plasma acceleration, electron beams can now be generated at energies comparable to those used in light sources, but in university-sized laboratories. By making use of the strong transverse focusing of plasma accelerators, bright sources of betatron radiation have been produced. Here, we demonstrate phase-contrast imaging of a biological sample for the first time by radiation generated by GeV electron beams produced by a laser accelerator. The work was performed using a greater than 300 TW laser, which allowed the energy of the synchrotron source to be extended to the 10-100 keV range.

Near-GeV acceleration of electrons by a nonlinear plasma wave driven by a self-guided laser pulse.

The acceleration of electrons to approximately 0.8 GeV has been observed in a self-injecting laser wakefield accelerator driven at a plasma density of 5.5x10(18) cm(-3) by a 10 J, 55 fs, 800 nm laser pulse in the blowout regime. The laser pulse is found to be self-guided for 1 cm (>10zR), by measurement of a single filament containing >30% of the initial laser energy at this distance. Three-dimensional particle in cell simulations show that the intensity within the guided filament is amplified beyond its initial focused value to a normalized vector potential of a0>6, thus driving a highly nonlinear plasma wave.

Excited ions in intense femtosecond laser pulses: laser-induced recombination.

Electron-ion recombination in a laser-induced electron recollision is of fundamental importance as the underlying mechanism responsible for the generation of high-harmonic radiation and hence for the production of attosecond pulse trains in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray spectral regions. By using an ion beam target, remotely prepared to be partially in long-lived excited states, the recombination process has for the first time been directly observed and studied.

Efficient generation of large diffraction gratings with a grating interferometer.

The advantages of a grating interferometer for the generation of large diffraction gratings are demonstrated. In a one- and a two-stage process, high-quality gratings of 120 and 200 mm, respectively, were made with optics no larger than 50 mm together with an argon-ion laser with no line narrowing or beam stabilization and a rotating diffuser for improved beam uniformity.

Pulse-length scaling of laser damage at 249 nm in oxide and fluoride multilayer coatings.

We have measured laser damage thresholds of a variety of fluoride-based multilayer coatings at 249 nm by using pulse lengths between 450 fs and 25 ns. Rare-earth fluoride materials yield coatings with damage resistance approximately three times greater than conventional oxide multilayers. In the scaling law, where the damage threshold is proportional to the nth power of the pulse length, the value of n changed between 1 and 0.25 over the range of pulse lengths employed.