skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A novel femtosecond-gated, high-resolution, frequency-shifted shearing interferometry technique for probing pre-plasma expansion in ultra-intense laser experiments

Abstract

Ultra-intense laser-matter interaction experiments (>10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}) with dense targets are highly sensitive to the effect of laser “noise” (in the form of pre-pulses) preceding the main ultra-intense pulse. These system-dependent pre-pulses in the nanosecond and/or picosecond regimes are often intense enough to modify the target significantly by ionizing and forming a plasma layer in front of the target before the arrival of the main pulse. Time resolved interferometry offers a robust way to characterize the expanding plasma during this period. We have developed a novel pump-probe interferometry system for an ultra-intense laser experiment that uses two short-pulse amplifiers synchronized by one ultra-fast seed oscillator to achieve 40-fs time resolution over hundreds of nanoseconds, using a variable delay line and other techniques. The first of these amplifiers acts as the pump and delivers maximal energy to the interaction region. The second amplifier is frequency shifted and then frequency doubled to generate the femtosecond probe pulse. After passing through the laser-target interaction region, the probe pulse is split and recombined in a laterally sheared Michelson interferometer. Importantly, the frequency shift in the probe allows strong plasma self-emission at the second harmonic of the pump to be filtered out, allowing plasmamore » expansion near the critical surface and elsewhere to be clearly visible in the interferograms. To aid in the reconstruction of phase dependent imagery from fringe shifts, three separate 120° phase-shifted (temporally sheared) interferograms are acquired for each probe delay. Three-phase reconstructions of the electron densities are then inferred by Abel inversion. This interferometric system delivers precise measurements of pre-plasma expansion that can identify the condition of the target at the moment that the ultra-intense pulse arrives. Such measurements are indispensable for correlating laser pre-pulse measurements with instantaneous plasma profiles and for enabling realistic Particle-in-Cell simulations of the ultra-intense laser-matter interaction.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [4]
  1. Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States)
  2. Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio 45459 (United States)
  3. Fellow, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 20001 (United States)
  4. Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio 45433 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22308585
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Review of Scientific Instruments
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 85; Journal Issue: 11; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; ELECTRON DENSITY; EMISSION; LASER TARGETS; MICHELSON INTERFEROMETER; OSCILLATORS; PHASE SHIFT; PLASMA EXPANSION; PLASMA RADIAL PROFILES; PULSE AMPLIFIERS; PULSES; SHEAR; SIMULATION; TIME RESOLUTION

Citation Formats

Feister, S., E-mail: feister.7@osu.edu, Orban, C., Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio 45459, Nees, J. A., Center for Ultra-Fast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, Morrison, J. T., Frische, K. D., Chowdhury, E. A., Intense Energy Solutions, LLC., Plain City, Ohio 43064, and Roquemore, W. M. A novel femtosecond-gated, high-resolution, frequency-shifted shearing interferometry technique for probing pre-plasma expansion in ultra-intense laser experiments. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4886955.
Feister, S., E-mail: feister.7@osu.edu, Orban, C., Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio 45459, Nees, J. A., Center for Ultra-Fast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, Morrison, J. T., Frische, K. D., Chowdhury, E. A., Intense Energy Solutions, LLC., Plain City, Ohio 43064, & Roquemore, W. M. A novel femtosecond-gated, high-resolution, frequency-shifted shearing interferometry technique for probing pre-plasma expansion in ultra-intense laser experiments. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4886955
Feister, S., E-mail: feister.7@osu.edu, Orban, C., Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio 45459, Nees, J. A., Center for Ultra-Fast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, Morrison, J. T., Frische, K. D., Chowdhury, E. A., Intense Energy Solutions, LLC., Plain City, Ohio 43064, and Roquemore, W. M. 2014. "A novel femtosecond-gated, high-resolution, frequency-shifted shearing interferometry technique for probing pre-plasma expansion in ultra-intense laser experiments". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4886955.
@article{osti_22308585,
title = {A novel femtosecond-gated, high-resolution, frequency-shifted shearing interferometry technique for probing pre-plasma expansion in ultra-intense laser experiments},
author = {Feister, S., E-mail: feister.7@osu.edu and Orban, C. and Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio 45459 and Nees, J. A. and Center for Ultra-Fast Optical Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 and Morrison, J. T. and Frische, K. D. and Chowdhury, E. A. and Intense Energy Solutions, LLC., Plain City, Ohio 43064 and Roquemore, W. M.},
abstractNote = {Ultra-intense laser-matter interaction experiments (>10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}) with dense targets are highly sensitive to the effect of laser “noise” (in the form of pre-pulses) preceding the main ultra-intense pulse. These system-dependent pre-pulses in the nanosecond and/or picosecond regimes are often intense enough to modify the target significantly by ionizing and forming a plasma layer in front of the target before the arrival of the main pulse. Time resolved interferometry offers a robust way to characterize the expanding plasma during this period. We have developed a novel pump-probe interferometry system for an ultra-intense laser experiment that uses two short-pulse amplifiers synchronized by one ultra-fast seed oscillator to achieve 40-fs time resolution over hundreds of nanoseconds, using a variable delay line and other techniques. The first of these amplifiers acts as the pump and delivers maximal energy to the interaction region. The second amplifier is frequency shifted and then frequency doubled to generate the femtosecond probe pulse. After passing through the laser-target interaction region, the probe pulse is split and recombined in a laterally sheared Michelson interferometer. Importantly, the frequency shift in the probe allows strong plasma self-emission at the second harmonic of the pump to be filtered out, allowing plasma expansion near the critical surface and elsewhere to be clearly visible in the interferograms. To aid in the reconstruction of phase dependent imagery from fringe shifts, three separate 120° phase-shifted (temporally sheared) interferograms are acquired for each probe delay. Three-phase reconstructions of the electron densities are then inferred by Abel inversion. This interferometric system delivers precise measurements of pre-plasma expansion that can identify the condition of the target at the moment that the ultra-intense pulse arrives. Such measurements are indispensable for correlating laser pre-pulse measurements with instantaneous plasma profiles and for enabling realistic Particle-in-Cell simulations of the ultra-intense laser-matter interaction.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4886955},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22308585}, journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
issn = {0034-6748},
number = 11,
volume = 85,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}