High-intensity lasers interacting with solid foils produce copious numbers of relativistic electrons, which in turn create strong sheath electric fields around the target. The proton beams accelerated in such fields have remarkable properties, enabling ultrafast radiography of plasma phenomena or isochoric heating of dense materials. In view of longer-term multidisciplinary purposes (e.g., spallation neutron sources or cancer therapy), the current challenge is to achieve proton energies well in excess of 100 MeV, which is commonly thought to be possible by raising the on-target laser intensity. Here we present experimental and numerical results demonstrating that magnetostatic fields self-generated on the target surface may pose a fundamental limit to sheath-driven ion acceleration for high enough laser intensities. Those fields can be strong enough (~105 T at laser intensities ~1021 W cm-2) to magnetize the sheath electrons and deflect protons off the accelerating region, hence degrading the maximum energy the latter can acquire.
In this report we explore claims that phase conjugation of high energy lasers by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) can compensate optical aberrations associated with severely distorted laser amplifier media and aberrations induced by the atmosphere. The SBS media tested was a gas cell pressurized up to 300 psi with SF6 or Xe or both. The laser was a 10 Hz, 3J, Q-switched Nd:YAG with 25 ns wide pulses. Atmospheric aberrations were created with space heaters, helium jets and phase plates designed with a Kolmogorov turbulence spectrum characterized by a Fried parameter, ro , ranging from 0.6 6.0 mm. Phase conjugate tests in the laboratory were conducted without amplification. For the strongest aberrations, D/ro ~ 20, created by combining the space heaters with the phase plate, the Strehl ratio was degraded by a factor of ~50. Phase conjugation in SF6 restored the peak focusable intensity to about 30% of the original laser. Phase conjugate tests at the outdoor laser range were conducted with laser amplifiers providing gain in combination with the SBS cell. A large 600,000 BTU kerosene space heater was used to create turbulence along the beam path. An atmospheric structure factor of Cn2 = 5x10-13 m2/3 caused the illumination beam to expand to a diameter 250mm and overfill the receiver. The phase conjugate amplified return could successfully be targeted back onto glints 5mm in diameter. Use of a lenslet arrays to lower the peak focusable intensity in the SBS cell failed to produce a useful phase conjugate beam; The Strehl ratio was degraded with multiple random lobes instead of a single focus. I will review literature results which show how multiple beams can be coherently combined by SBS when a confocal reflecting geometry is used to focus the laser in the SBS cell.
Laser-accelerated proton beams can be used in a variety of applications, e.g. ultrafast radiography of dense objects or strong electromagnetic fields. Therefore high energies of tens of MeV are required. We report on proton-acceleration experiments with a 150 TW laser system using mm-sized thin foils and mass-reduced targets of various thicknesses. Thin- foil targets yielded maximum energies of 50 MeV. A further reduction of the target dimensions from mm-size to 250 x 250 x 25 microns increased the maximum proton energy to >65 MeV, which is comparable to proton energies measured only at higher-energy, Petawatt-class laser systems. The dependence of the maximum energy on target dimensions was investigated, and differences between mm-sized thin foils and mass-reduced targets will be reported.
To extend the backlighting capabilities for Sandia's Z-Accelerator, Z-Petawatt, a laser which can provide laser pulses of 500 fs length and up to 120 J (100TW target area) or up to 450 J (Z / Petawatt target area) has been built over the last years. The main mission of this facility focuses on the generation of high energy X-rays, such as tin Ka at 25 keV in ultra-short bursts. Achieving 25 keV radiographs with decent resolution and contrast required addressing multiple problems such as blocking of hot electrons, minimization of the source, development of suitable filters, and optimization of laser intensity. Due to the violent environment inside of Z, an additional very challenging task is finding massive debris and radiation protection measures without losing the functionality of the backlighting system. We will present the first experiments on 25 keV backlighting including an analysis of image quality and X-ray efficiency.
To extend the backlighting capabilities for Sandia's Z-Accelerator, Z-Petawatt, a laser which can provide laser pulses of 500 fs length and up to 120 J (100TW target area) or up to 450 J (Z/Petawatt target area) has been built over the last years. The main mission of this facility focuses on the generation of high energy X-rays, such as tin K{alpha} at 25 keV in ultra-short bursts. Achieving 25 keV radiographs with decent resolution and contrast required addressing multiple problems such as blocking of hot electrons, minimization of the source, development of suitable filters, and optimization of laser intensity. Due to the violent environment inside of Z, an additional very challenging task is finding massive debris and radiation protection measures without losing the functionality of the backlighting system. We will present the first experiments on 25 keV backlighting including an analysis of image quality and X-ray efficiency.
The outline of this presentation: (1) Proton acceleration with high-power lasers - Target Normal Sheath Acceleration concept; (2) Proton acceleration with mass-reduced targets - Breaking the 60 MeV threshold; (3) Proton beam divergence control - Novel focusing target geometry; and (4) New experimental capability development - Proton radiography on Z.
The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability is the most important instability for determining whether a cylindrical liner can be compressed to its axis in a relatively intact form, a requirement for achieving the high pressures needed for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and other high energy-density physics applications. While there are many published RT studies, there are a handful of well-characterized MRT experiments at time scales >1 {micro}s and none for 100 ns z-pinch implosions. Experiments used solid Al liners with outer radii of 3.16 mm and thicknesses of 292 {micro}m, dimensions similar to magnetically-driven ICF target designs [1]. In most tests the MRT instability was seeded with sinusoidal perturbations ({lambda} = 200, 400 {micro}m, peak-to-valley amplitudes of 10, 20 {micro}m, respectively), wavelengths similar to those predicted to dominate near stagnation. Radiographs show the evolution of the MRT instability and the effects of current-induced ablation of mass from the liner surface. Additional Al liner tests used 25-200 {micro}m wavelengths and flat surfaces. Codes being used to design magnetized liner ICF loads [1] match the features seen except at the smallest scales (<50 {micro}m). Recent experiments used Be liners to enable penetrating radiography using the same 6.151 keV diagnostics and provide an in-flight measurement of the liner density profile.
As high energy laser systems evolve towards higher energies, fundamental material properties such as the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the optics limit the overall system performance. The Z-Backlighter Laser Facility at Sandia National Laboratories uses a pair of such kiljoule-class Nd:Phosphate Glass lasers for x-ray radiography of high energy density physics events on the Z-Accelerator. These two systems, the Z-Beamlet system operating at 527nm/ 1ns and the Z-Petawatt system operating at 1054nm/ 0.5ps, can be combined for some experimental applications. In these scenarios, dichroic beam combining optics and subsequent dual wavelength high reflectors will see a high fluence from combined simultaneous laser exposure and may even see lingering effects when used for pump-probe configurations. Only recently have researchers begun to explore such concerns, looking at individual and simultaneous exposures of optics to 1064 and third harmonic 355nm light from Nd:YAG [1]. However, to our knowledge, measurements of simultaneous and delayed dual wavelength damage thresholds on such optics have not been performed for exposure to 1054nm and its second harmonic light, especially when the pulses are of disparate pulse duration. The Z-Backlighter Facility has an instrumented damage tester setup to examine the issues of laser-induced damage thresholds in a variety of such situations [2] . Using this damage tester, we have measured the LIDT of dual wavelength high reflectors at 1054nm/0.5ps and 532nm/7ns, separately and spatially combined, both co-temporal and delayed, with single and multiple exposures. We found that the LIDT of the sample at 1054nm/0.5ps can be significantly lowered, from 1.32J/cm{sup 2} damage fluence with 1054/0.5ps only to 1.05 J/cm{sup 2} with the simultaneous presence of 532nm/7ns laser light at a fluence of 8.1 J/cm{sup 2}. This reduction of LIDT of the sample at 1054nm/0.5ps continues as the fluence of 532nm/7ns laser light simultaneously present increases. The reduction of LIDT does not occur when the 2 pulses are temporally separated. This paper will also present dual wavelength LIDT results of commercial dichroic beam-combining optics simultaneously exposed with laser light at 1054nm/2.5ns and 532nm/7ns.
Generating circular polarization for ultra-intense lasers requires solutions beyond traditional transmissive waveplates which have insufficient bandwidth and pose nonlinear phase (B-integral) problems. We demonstrate a reflective design employing 3 metallic mirrors to generate circular polarization.
We report reflectivity, design and laser damage comparisons of our AR coatings for use at 1054 nm and/or 527 nm, and at angles of incidence between 0 and 45 degrees.
The Z Refurbishment Project was completed in September 2007. Prior to the shutdown of the Z facility in July 2006 to install the new hardware, it provided currents of {le} 20 MA to produce energetic, intense X-ray sources ({approx} 1.6 MJ, > 200 TW) for performing high energy density science experiments and to produce high magnetic fields and pressures for performing dynamic material property experiments. The refurbishment project doubled the stored energy within the existing tank structure and replaced older components with modern, conventional technology and systems that were designed to drive both short-pulse Z-pinch implosions and long-pulse dynamic material property experiments. The project goals were to increase the delivered current for additional performance capability, improve overall precision and pulse shape flexibility for better reproducibility and data quality, and provide the capacity to perform more shots. Experiments over the past year have been devoted to bringing the facility up to full operating capabilities and implementing a refurbished suite of diagnostics. In addition, we have enhanced our X-ray backlighting diagnostics through the addition of a two-frame capability to the Z-Beamlet system and the addition of a high power laser (Z-Petawatt). In this paper, we will summarize the changes made to the Z facility, highlight the new capabilities, and discuss the results of some of the early experiments.