Development of a shortpulse laser-driven 15.7 keV x-ray probe for bent-crystal imaging and spectroscopy
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Journal of Physics and Plasmas
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Phys Rev STAB
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This document describes the original goals of the project to study the Vishniac Overstability on blast waves produced using the Z-Beamlet laser facility as well as the actual results. The proposed work was to build on earlier work on the facility and result in the best characterized set of data for such phenomena in the laboratory. To accomplish the goals it was necessary to modify the existing probe laser at the facility so that it could take multiple images over the course of 1-2 microseconds. Troubles with modifying the probe laser are detailed as well as the work that went into said modifications. The probe laser modification ended up taking the entire length of the project and were the major accomplishment of the research.
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Optics Express
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
We discuss upgrades and development currently underway at the Z-Backlighter facility. Among them are a new optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) front end, 94 cm × 42 cm multi layer dielectric (MLD) gratings, dichroic laser beam transport studies, 25 keV x-ray source development, and a major target area expansion. These upgrades will pave the way for short/long pulse, multi-frame, multi-color x-ray backlighting at the Z-Accelerator. © 2011 SPIE.
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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.
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Sandia's Large Optics Coating Operation has extensive results of laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) testing of its anti-reflection (AR) and high reflection coatings on substrates pitch polished using ceria and washed in a process that includes an alumina wash step. The purpose of the alumina wash step is to remove residual polishing compound to minimize its role in laser damage. These LIDT tests are for multi longitudinal mode, ns class pulses at 1064 nm and 532 nm (NIF-MEL protocol) and mode locked, sub-ps class pulses at 1054 nm (Sandia measurements), and show reasonably high and adequate laser damage resistance for coatings in the beam trains of Sandia's Z-Backlighter terawatt and petawatt lasers. An AR coating in addition to coatings of our previous reports confirms this with LIDTs of 33.0 J/cm2 for 3.5 ns pulses and 1.8 J/cm2 for 350 fs pulses. In this paper, we investigate both ceria and zirconia in doublesided polishing (common for large flat Z-Backlighter laser optics) as they affect LIDTs of an AR coating on fused silica substrates washed with or without the alumina wash step. For these AR coated, double-sided polished surfaces, ceria polishing in general affords better resistance to laser damage than zirconia polishing and laser damage is less likely with the alumina wash step than without it. This is supported by specific results of laser damage tests with 3.5 ns, multi longitudinal mode, single shot pulses at 1064 nm and 532 nm, with 7.0 ns, single and multi longitudinal mode, single and multi shot pulses at 532 nm, and with 350 fs, mode-locked, single shot pulses at 1054 nm. © 2010 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.
Review of Scientific Instruments
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