A transport model for a transverse electron beam-pumped semiconductor laser has been developed. The model incorporates spatial dependencies of the power deposition from the beam as well as a three-dimensional model of the gain medium and the field intensity of the photons produced by stimulated emission in the oscillation cavity. This model accounts for spatial inhomogeneities and has been solved for a variety of pumping strengths. The model was developed so that it can be benchmarked with electron beam pumping. The dominant mechanisms for the production of electron–hole pair production within the semiconductor material is similar to the dominant mechanisms for the production of electron–hole production using ion beams. Thus, the model can be extended to fission fragment ion pumping of semiconductor lasers in order to model a nuclear-pumped laser/reactor system.

Modern free-electron lasers (FEL) operating in XUV (extreme ultraviolet) or X-ray range allow an access to novel research areas. An example is the ultrafast ionization of a solid by an intense femtosecond FEL pulse in XUV which consequently leads to a change of the complex index of refraction on an ultrashort timescale. The photoionization and subsequent impact ionization resulting in electronic and atomic dynamics are modeled with our hybrid code XTANT(X-ray thermal and non-thermal transitions) and a Monte Carlo code XCASCADE(X-ray-induced electron cascades). The simulations predict the temporal kinetics of FEL-induced electron cascades and thus yield temporally and spatially resolved information on the induced changes of the optical properties. In a series of experiments at FERMI and LCLS, single shot measurements with spatio-temporal encoding of the ionization process have been performed by a correlation of the FEL pump pulse with an optical femtosecond probe pulse. An excellent agreement between the experiment and the simulation has been found. We also show that such kind of experiments forms the basis for pulse duration and arrival time jitter monitoring as currently under development for XUV-FELs.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been exploited to investigate the laser-produced lead plasma with and without external magnetic field. Plasma on the lead surface was generated by focusing a beam of a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm). An external magnetic field was applied across the laser-produced plasma; its value was varied from 0.3 to 0.7 T and the time-integrated spectra were captured at different time delays. Maximum enhancement in the neutral and ionic line intensities have been observed at 130 mJ laser energy. The neutral line of Pb at 368.34 nm reveals an enhancement factor of nearly 1.3, 1.6, and 2.3 at 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 T, whereas the Pb ionic line at 424.49 nm shows enhancement factor of approximately 2.8 and 4.2 at 0.3 and 0.7 T. The magnetic field effects on various plasma parameters such as plasma temperature, electron number density, and emission line intensities have also been investigated. The plasma parameter “β” is found to be <1 in all the experimental conditions which signifies that the enhancement in the signal intensity is due to the plasma confinement. The increase in the emission signal intensity, number density as well as plasma temperature is observed with increasing laser energy and magnetic field. The spatial and temporal behavior reveals that the plasma temperature and electron number density decrease slowly in the applied magnetic field due to the deceleration of the plasma plume. The optimized conditions for the maximum plasma confinement and the emission intensity enhancement are observed at 130 mJ laser energy at 0.7 T magnetic field.

In this paper, the scheme of generation of second harmonics of incident electromagnetic wave having a Hermite–Gaussian intensity profile in an under dense relativistic plasma has been presented. The relativistic mass variation of electrons by the intense electric field of incident beam generates the density gradients in background plasma which further excites the electron plasma wave (EPW) at resonant frequency and coupling of the EPW with the incident beam results in the generation of second harmonics of incident beam. Propagation dynamics of the Hermite–Gaussian laser beam in plasma has been studied by the formulation of differential equation for the spot size of the laser beam with the help of method of moments. Numerical simulations have been carried out to solve the differential equation for the dimensionless beam width parameters. Solution of the nonlinear wave equation for the electric field vector of second harmonics of incident beam gives the expression for second-harmonic yield. It has been observed that second-harmonic yield is affected by the different modes of Hermite–Gaussian laser beam in relativistic plasma.

Interaction of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulses of high intensity with gases results in the creation of non-thermalized plasmas. Energies of the driving photons and photoelectrons are sufficient for creation of excited states, followed by emission of the EUV photons. In most cases, decay times of these states are short comparing to the driving EUV pulse. It means that just after stopping of the driving pulse, the EUV emission corresponding to the excited states should also stop. From our earlier measurements in the optical range, however, it can be concluded that lifetimes of such plasmas exceed a time duration of the driving pulse even two orders of magnitude. Hence, it can be expected that the time duration of the EUV emission can be also significantly longer than the irradiation time. In this work, EUV-induced, low-temperature helium (He), krypton, and xenon plasmas were investigated. EUV emission from these plasmas was studied, using a specially prepared detection system, allowing for time-resolved measurements, in selected spectral ranges. The detection system was based on a paraboloidal collector and a semiconductor photodiode, sensitive for the EUV photons. For spectral selection, the corresponding filters or multilayer mirrors were employed. In most cases, the time duration of the EUV emission was significantly longer than the driving EUV pulse. In case of He plasmas, the emission corresponding to excited atoms was detected even hundreds of nanoseconds after the irradiation. It was also shown that the corresponding time profiles depended on densities of gases to be ionized.

A three-section pulse forming network (PFN) based on Guillemin type-C circuit was developed to meet the challenge of a compact design, high withstand voltage, and high-quality output waveform with fast rise time, flat-top duration, and 100-ns pulse width. A simplified pulse forming circuit was proposed and studied that includes only three LC-sections connected in parallel, with each section containing an inductor and a capacitor connected in series. The effect of the capacitance deviation on the output waveform was investigated. The simulation results show that when the capacitance deviation exceeds +3%, both the flat top and fall time of the output waveform of single PFN module deteriorate greatly. Fortunately, in a multi-stage PFN-Marx circuit, even if the capacitance deviation exceeds +10%, when the average capacitance of the same LC sections is close to the theoretical value, the output waveform maintains a good quality and is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. The compact three-section PFN developed during this project has a size of only 360 mm × 342 mm × 65 mm, and a maximum withstand voltage of 120 kV. Sixteen PFN stages were assembled to form a Marx generator with design parameters to provide of an output peak power of 12 GW and a maximum peak current of 15 kA. The tested output waveform agrees well with the theoretical results, having a rise time of 31 ns, a flat-top of 104 ns, and a pulse with of 164 ns.

The present work is motivated by the numerous applications of short lasers–ceramics interaction. It aims at applying a newly developed model to investigate the dynamic of laser-induced plasmas from a ceramic material into a helium gas under atmospheric pressure. To have a better understanding of the link between the material properties, the plume characteristics and its interaction with the laser beam, a thorough examination of the entire ablation processes is conducted. Comparison with the behavior of laser-induced plumes under the same conditions from a pure material is shown to have a key role in shedding the light on what monitors the plume expansion in the background environment. Plume temperatures, velocities, ionization rates as well as elemental composition have been presented and compared under carefully chosen relevant conditions. This study is of interest for laser matter applications depending on the induced plasmas dynamics and composition.

An analytical and numerical study has been carried out for the generation of terahertz (THz) radiation by beating of two intense cosh-Gaussian laser beams (decentered Gaussian beams) in the rippled density magnetized plasma under the relativistic–ponderomotive regime. In this process, both laser beams exert a relativistic–ponderomotive force on plasma electrons at the beat frequency and impart them an oscillatory velocity in the presence of a static magnetic field. Due to coupling between this nonlinear oscillatory velocity with density ripple, nonlinear current is generated that excites the THz radiation at the different frequency. Higher-order paraxial-ray approximation (non-paraxial theory) has been used in this study. The effects of the decentered parameter, magnetic field, and density ripple on the THz radiation generation in ripple density magnetized plasma have been investigated. Further, the effect of beating of laser beams on the THz field amplitude and the efficiency of THz radiation have been studied. The amplitude and efficiency of the emitted radiation are found to be highly sensitive to the decentered parameter, magnetic field, and density ripple. It has been found that the amplitude and efficiency of the generated THz radiation increase significantly with increasing the values of decentered parameter, magnetic field, and density ripple.

This study investigates the interaction of picosecond laser pulses with sapphire and brass in air using scanning electron microscopy. A picosecond laser system operating at a wavelength of 785 nm, pulse width of 110 ps, and variable repetition rate (1–1000 Hz) was used in this study. The pulse width applied in this work was not widely investigated as it lies in the gap between ultrashort (femtosecond) and long (nanosecond) pulse width lasers. Different surface morphologies were identified using secondary electron and backscattered electron imaging of the ablated material. Thermal ablation effects were more dominant in brass than in sapphire. Exfoliation and fractures of sapphire were observed at high laser fluence. Compared with brass, multiple laser pulses were necessary to initiate ablation in sapphire due to its poor absorption to the incident laser wavelength. Ablation rate of sapphire was lower than that of brass due to the dissipation of a portion of the laser energy due to heating and fracturing of the surface.

We examine the electron acceleration induced by an ultra-relativistic intensity laser–plasma interaction in a two-dimensional plasma channel in the presence of a self-generated transverse magnetic field. We find that the electron dynamics is strongly affected by the laser pulse polarization angle, plasma density, and magnetic field strength. We investigate in detail, the dependencies of the electron acceleration in terms of different parameters and find excellent agreement with non-magnetized plasma in the absence of the magnetic field. The numerical results show that the self-generated magnetic field plays a constructive role in the electron acceleration process. It is shown that electron acceleration is more affected by self-generated magnetic field for the laser radiations with large polarization angles. The numerical results show the maximum enhancement for electron acceleration for a laser radiation with polarization angle θ = π/2.

This paper introduces recent activities on Marx-based compact repetitive pulsed power generators at the Institute of Applied Electronics (IAE), China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), over the period 2010–2018. A characteristic feature of the generators described is the use of a simplified bipolar charged Marx circuit, in which the normal isolation resistors or inductors to ground are removed to make the circuit simpler. Several pulse-forming modules developed to generate a 100 ns square wave output are introduced, including thin-film dielectric lines of different structures, a pulse-forming line based on a Printed Circuit Board, and non-uniform pulse-forming networks. A compact repetitive three-electrode spark gap switch with low-jitter, high-voltage, and high-current was developed and is used in the generators. A positive and negative series resonant constant current power supply with high precision and high power is introduced. As an important part of the repetitive pulse power generator, a lower jitter pulse trigger source is introduced. Several typical high-power repetitive pulsed power generators developed at IAE are introduced including a 30 GW low-impedance Marx generator, a compact square-wave pulse generator based on Kapton-film dielectric Blumlein line, a 20 GW high pulse-energy repetitive PFN-Marx generator, and a coaxial Marx generator based on ceramic capacitors. The research of key technologies and their development status are discussed, which can provide a reference for the future development and application of miniaturization of compact and repetitive Marx generators.

In this paper, we study the excitation of Gould–Trivelpiece (TG) waves by streaming ions in dusty plasma and derive the dispersion relation of the excited waves using first-order perturbation theory. The motion of charged particles is controlled by electromagnetic fields in plasma. The energy transfer processes which occur in this collisionless plasma are believed to be based on wave–particle interactions. We have found that the TG waves may be generated in a streaming ion plasma via Cerenkov interaction, and the ions may be accelerated by TG waves via cyclotron interaction, which enable energy and momentum transfer. The variation in the growth rate of TG wave with dust grain size and relative density of negatively charged dust grains is also studied. The dust can cause an unstable TG mode to be stable in Doppler resonance, and can induce an instability in Cerenkov interaction.

Self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam has been investigated in quantum plasma under the effect of applied axial magnetic field. The nonlinear differential equation has been derived for studying the variations in the beam-width parameter. The effect of initial plasma electron temperature and the axial magnetic field on self-focusing and normalized intensity are studied. Our investigation reveals that normalized intensity increases to tenfolds where quantum effects are dominant. The normalized intensity further increases to twelvefolds on increasing the magnetic field.

Second-harmonic generation of the relativistic self-focused chirped laser pulse in plasma has been studied with the exponential plasma density ramp profile in the presence of a planar magnetostatic wiggler. It is evident that the exponential plasma density ramp is helpful in enhancing second-harmonic generation as, with the introduction of the exponential plasma density ramp, self-focusing becomes stronger and hence, it leads to enhance the harmonic generation of the second order in the plasma. Also, it is observed that the efficiency of second-harmonic generation enhances significantly with an increase in the value of the chirp parameter. Further, the magnetostatic wiggler helps in enhancing the harmonic generation of the second order. This is due to the fact that dynamics of the oscillating electrons is altered due to the Lorentz force which, in turn, modifies the plasma wave and, hence, results in the efficient second-harmonic generation.

The effect of laser fluence and nature of ambient environments on the sputtering yield, surface modifications, crater depth, UV-visible absorption spectra, chemical composition, and micro hardness of Zr has been investigated. Nd: YAG laser (532 nm, 10 Hz, 6 ns) at different fluences varying from 16 to 60.8 Jcm−2 was employed as an irradiation source. All measurements are performed under two ambient environments of Ar and O2 at a constant pressure of 10 Torr. Quartz crystal microbalance has been employed for the measurement of sputtering yield of laser irradiated Zr. It is revealed that sputtering yield increases monotonically with increasing fluence under both environments however, it is higher in Ar as compared to O2 environment. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used to explore the surface morphology. SEM analysis exhibits the formation of cones, ridges, and cracks at the central ablated areas whereas, laser-induced periodic surface structures, periodic ridges and sharp cones are observed at inner boundaries in both environments of Ar and O2. Sharp spikes are observed in both environments, however, their height and distinctness are more pronounced in Ar as compared to O2. Cones are characteristic features in Ar, whereas, cavities and channels are dominant features in O2 environment at outer boundaries. The formation and growth of surface structures are dependent upon laser fluence and ambient gas nature. The depth profilometry has been used to measure the crater depth of irradiated Zr target by using an optical microscope. UV visible spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses reveal the oxide formation in the case of Zr irradiation in O2 environment. The Vicker Micro-hardness tester has been employed to measure the hardness. The higher observed values of sputtering yield, crater depth and hardness of laser ablated Zr in Ar as compared to O2 are well correlated with distinct surface structures.

Above-threshold ionization (ATI) is one of the most fundamental processess when atoms or molecules are subjected to intense laser fields. Analysis of ATI process in intense laser fields by a Wigner-distribution-like (WDL) function is reviewed in this paper. The WDL function is used to obtain various time-related distributions, such as time-energy distribution, ionization time distribution, and time-emission angle distribution and so on, of atoms in laser field pulses with different laser parameters. For the linearly polarized laser pulses, the time-energy distribution intuitively shows from a quantum point of view the relationship between the ionization moment and the final energy and clearly reveals the origin of interference structures in the photoelectron spectrum. In particular, for linearly polarized few-cycle laser pulses, all calculated distributions show the dependence of electron behavior on the ionization time, emission direction, and carrier-envelope phase (CEP). For elliptically polarized few-cycle pulses, we calculate the angular distribution, ionization time distribution, and time-emission distribution, which are compared with the semiclassical calculations. Analysis shows that the offset angle (difference between positions of the peaks in the angular distributions obtained by two methods) in the angular distributions does not correspond to the offset time (difference between positions of the peaks in the ionization time distributions obtained by two methods) in the ionization time distributions, which implies that the attosecond angular streaking technique based on this correspondence between the offset angle and time is in principle inaccurate. Furthermore, the offset time cannot be interpreted as tunneling time.

In 1988 Professor Guillermo Velarde, founder of the Instituto de Fusión Nuclear (IFN), chaired the 19th European Conference on Laser Interaction with Matter held in Madrid on 3–7 October 1988. About 170 scientists from Europe, the Soviet Union, United States, Japan, Canada, Israel, Australia, China, and South Africa participated in the ECLIM 88. ECLIM 88 was among ECLIM's series a turning point in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research. The work already performed by different laboratories in Europe, Japan, and around the world had reached a level such that without explicitly expressing it, the collective scientific consensus wanted a change in the existing close policies in several ICF areas at large Laboratories in the USA, Russia, France, and UK.

Dr. Erik Storm from the US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory proposed to Professor Velarde to write a letter to be signed by the participants of the ECLIM in favor of having an open international collaboration in ICF. Professor Velarde then suggested drawing up a manifesto instead of a letter because the name manifesto had bigger historical connotations. The manifesto received a very successful response among the conference participants and was signed by more than 130 scientists. Our paper aims at twofold objective: (1) to put into account the positive repercussions derived from the MADRID MANIFESTO in the ICF research and (2) to remember the figure of Professor Guillermo Velarde, the most influential physicist in nuclear fusion energy by inertial confinement along the 20th century. His inspiration and leadership in science contributed to make this world a safer and secure place and for us, his disciples and colleagues, an irreplaceable personality in our lives.

Influence of backstreaming ions from the target on spot size of focused 2 MeV electron beam was considered. The 2D version of the particle-in-cell code KARAT was used to study the formation of the ions stream and dynamics of the electron beam. It was shown that light species emitted from the target can disrupt the beam. The emission of low-ionized states of tantalum cannot disrupt the beam during about 30 ns or longer. A few non-invasive techniques of mitigation of the beam disruption were considered. Final magnetic lens with fast variation of magnetic field of several hundred Ampere-turns per nanosecond is capable to stabilize initial spot size of the compressed beam at the target.