SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 559 records · Page 31

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2010

Theory of terahertz pulse generation through optical rectification in a nonlinear optical material with a finite size

The full analytical solutions for plane terahertz waves generated through optical rectification in a slab of a nonlinear optical material are calculated. Terahertz dispersion, absorption of both optical and terahertz waves, and multiple reflections are considered. The results are valid for an arbitrary difference between the optical group index and the terahertz refractive index, including equal indices. It is demonstrated that the full terahertz wave is freely propagating and has no contribution of a 'forced' pulse.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Temporal shaping of ultrashort laser pulses by volume Bragg gratings

We propose a new method of temporal shaping of picosecond laser pulses using interference of chirped beams reflected from chirped volume Bragg gratings. This method is numerically simulated and experimentally tested. Quasi-rectangular picosecond pulses are experimentally obtained. (control of laser radiation parameters)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2020

Effect of finite ion mass on relativistic self-induced transparency of plasma layers with a sharp boundary

We consider the effect of ion mobility on the threshold of relativistic self-induced transparency under irradiation of thin plasma layers by circularly polarised laser radiation. An analytical model of the motion of ions during the removal of electrons from the layer surface by the ponderomotive force of laser radiation is constructed. The model is used to analyse the motion of probe electrons in the resulting electromagnetic field. It is shown that the higher the ion mobility and the longer the laser pulse, the more stable the plasma layer to longitudinal perturbations of a finite value and the higher the threshold of self-induced transparency. These conclusions are verified by one-dimensional numerical simulation of a complete system of kinetic equations for plasma and Maxwell’s equations. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2015

Relativistic Eulerian Vlasov simulations of the amplification of seed pulses by Brillouin backscattering in plasmas

We apply an Eulerian Vlasov code to study the amplification by Brillouin scattering of a short seed laser pulse by a long pump laser pulse in an underdense plasma. The stimulated Brillouin backscattering interaction is the coupling of the pump and seed electromagnetic waves propagating in opposite directions, and the ion plasma wave. The code solves the one-dimensional relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell set of equations. Large amplitude ion waves are generated. In the simulations we present, the density plateau of the plasma is n{sub e}=0.3 n{sub c} (n{sub c} is the critical density), which excludes spurious stimulated Raman scattering amplification (which can occur only if n{sub e}<n{sub c}/4). We also varied the duration and/or amplitude of the short input seed pulse to study how these influence its subsequent behaviour. An initially broad pulse grows more rapidly than an initially narrow pulse. Furthermore, for an initially broader seed pulse, towards the end of the simulation, it is seen to become narrower and to gradually detach from the trailing signal. On the contrary, initially very narrow seed pulses are seen to broaden. The absence of noise in the Vlasov simulations allows to simulate long plasma amplifier lengths, and to follow the evolution of the system with a fully kinetic description and with an accurate representation of the phase-space structures of distribution function.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2012

The History of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

The successful lasing at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory of the Linear Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the first X-ray free-electron laser (X-ray FEL), in the wavelength range 1.5 to 15 {angstrom}, pulse duration of 60 to few femtoseconds, number of coherent photons per pulse from 10{sup 13} to 10{sup 11}, is a landmark event in the development of coherent electromagnetic radiation sources. Until now electrons traversing an undulator magnet in a synchrotron radiation storage ring provided the best X-ray sources. The LCLS has set a new standard, with a peak X-ray brightness higher by ten orders of magnitudes and pulse duration shorter by three orders of magnitudes. LCLS opens a new window in the exploration of matter at the atomic and molecular scales of length and time. Taking a motion picture of chemical processes in a few femtoseconds or less, unraveling the structure and dynamics of complex molecular systems, like proteins, are some of the exciting experiments made possible by LCLS and the other X-ray FELs now being built in Europe and Asia. In this paper, we describe the history of the many theoretical, experimental and technological discoveries and innovations, starting from the 1960s and 1970s, leading to the development of LCLS.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Nonlinear Thomson scattering of an ultrashort laser pulse

The nonlinear scattering of an ultrashort laser pulse by free electrons is considered. The pulse is described in the 'Mexican hat' wavelet basis. The equation of motion for a charged particle in the field of a plane electromagnetic wave has an exact solution allowing, together with the instant spectrum approximation, the calculation of the intensity of nonlinear Thomson scattering for a high-intensity laser pulse. The spectral distribution of scattered radiation for the entire pulse duration is found by integrating with respect to time. The maximum of the emission spectrum of a free electron calculated in 10{sup 19}-10{sup 21} W/cm{sup 2} fields lies in the UV spectral region between 3 and 12 eV. A part of the continuous spectrum achieves high photon energies. One percent of the scattered energy for the field intensity 10{sup 20} W/cm{sup 2} is concentrated in the range h{omega} > 2.7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 2} eV, for a field intensity of 10{sup 21} W/cm{sup 2} in the range h{Omega} > 7.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 2} eV, and for an intensity of 10{sup 22} W/cm{sup 2} in the range h{Omega} > 2.45 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} eV. These results allow us to estimate nonlinear scattering as a source of hard X-rays.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Investigation of an improved relativistic backward wave oscillator in efficiency and power capacity

Investigation of relativistic backward wave oscillator with high efficiency and power capacity is presented in this paper. To obtain high power and high efficiency, a TM{sub 021} mode resonant reflector is used to reduce the pulse shortening and increase power capacity to about 1.7 times. Meanwhile, an extraction cavity at the end of slow wave structure is employed to improve the efficiency from less than 30% to over 40%, through the beam-wave interaction intensification and better energy conversion from modulated electron beam to the electromagnetic field. Consistent with the numerical results, microwave with a power of 3.2 GW, a frequency of 9.75 GHz, and a pulse width of 27 ns was obtained in the high power microwave generation experiment, where the electron beam energy was configured to be {approx}910 kV and its current to be {approx}8.6 kA. The efficiency of the RBWO exceeds 40% at a voltage range of 870 kV-1000 kV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2010

Geometric dependence of radio-frequency breakdown in normal conducting accelerating structures

We present the experimental results of a systematic study of rf breakdown phenomenon in high vacuum accelerator structures. In this study, the surface processing, geometry, and materials of the structures have been varied, one parameter at a time. The breakdown rate or alternatively, the probability of breakdown/pulse/meter has been recorded for different operating parameters. These statistical data reveal a strong dependence of breakdown probability on surface magnetic field, or alternatively on surface pulsed heating. This is in contrast to the classical view of electric field dependence. We will present our experimental methodology and results showing this remarkable correlation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

GHz laser-free time-resolved transmission electron microscopy: A stroboscopic high-duty-cycle method

In this study, a device and a method for producing ultrashort electron pulses with GHz repetition rates via pulsing an input direct current (dc) electron beam are provided. The device and the method are based on an electromagnetic-mechanical pulser (EMMP) that consists of a series of transverse deflecting cavities and magnetic quadrupoles. The EMMP modulates and chops the incoming dc electron beam and converts it into pico- and sub-pico-second electron pulse sequences (pulse trains) at >1 GHz repetition rates, as well as controllably manipulates the resulting pulses. Ultimately, it leads to negligible electron pulse phase-space degradation compared to the incoming dc beam parameters. The temporal pulse length and repetition rate for the EMMP can be continuously tunable over wide ranges.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Direct measurements of anode/cathode gap plasma in cylindrically imploding loads on the Z machine

By deploying a photon Doppler velocimetry based plasma diagnostic, we have directly observed low density plasma in the load anode/cathode gap of cylindrically converging pulsed power targets. The arrival of this plasma is temporally correlated with gross current loss and subtle power flow differences between the anode and the cathode. The density is in the range where Hall terms in the electromagnetic equations are relevant, but this physics is lacking in the magnetohydrodynamics codes commonly used to design, analyze, and optimize pulsed power experiments. Here, the present work presents evidence of the importance of physics beyond traditional resistive magnetohydrodynamics for the design of pulsed power targets and drivers.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Unitary quantum lattice simulations for Maxwell equations in vacuum and in dielectric media

Utilizing the similarity between the spinor representation of the Dirac and the Maxwell equations that has been recognized since the early days of relativistic quantum mechanics, a quantum lattice algorithm (QLA) representation of unitary collision-stream operators of Maxwell's equations is derived for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous media. A second-order accurate 4-spinor scheme is developed and tested successfully for two-dimensional (2-D) propagation of a Gaussian pulse in a uniform medium whereas for normal (1-D) incidence of an electromagnetic Gaussian wave packet onto a dielectric interface requires 8-component spinors because of the coupling between the two electromagnetic polarizations. In particular, the well-known phase change, field amplitudes and profile widths are recovered by the QLA asymptotic profiles without the imposition of electromagnetic boundary conditions at the interface. The QLA simulations yield the time-dependent electromagnetic fields as the wave packet enters and straddles the dielectric boundary. QLA involves unitary interleaved non-commuting collision and streaming operators that can be coded onto a quantum computer: the non-commutation being the very reason why one perturbatively recovers the Maxwell equations.

Physics↗

DOE OSTI2012

Propagation of gamma rays and production of free electrons in air

This paper is devoted to the analysis of production of free electrons in air by gamma-rays leaking from radioactive materials. A model based on the Klein-Nishina scattering theory is used to calculate scattering cross sections and approximate the electron production rate. The model includes the effects of primary gamma-quanta radiated by the source as well as that scattered in air. Comparison of the model with the mcnpx kinetic code (http://mcnpx.lanl.gov/) in a sample problem shows excellent agreement. The motivation for this research comes from the recently proposed concept of remote detection of concealed radioactive materials [V. L. Granatstein and G. S. Nusinovich, J. Appl. Phys. 108, 063304 (2010)]. The concept is based on the breakdown in air at the focal point of a high-power beam of electromagnetic waves produced by a THz gyrotron with a 10-20 {mu}s pulse. The presence of a radioactive material can greatly exceed the production rate of free electrons over the natural background rate. Additional electrons act as seeds to initiate the breakdown and create sufficiently dense plasma at the focal region. The dense plasma can then be remotely detected as an unambiguous effect of the concealed radioactive material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Electron Trapping from Interactions between Laser-Driven Relativistic Plasma Waves

Interactions of large-amplitude relativistic plasma waves were investigated experimentally by propagating two synchronized ultraintense femtosecond laser pulses in plasma at oblique crossing angles to each other. The electrostatic and electromagnetic fields of the colliding waves acted to preaccelerate and trap electrons via previously predicted, but untested injection mechanisms of ponderomotive drift and wake-wake interference. High-quality energetic electron beams were produced, also revealing valuable new information about plasma-wave dynamics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Steady-State Microbunching in a Storage Ring for Generating Coherent Radiation

Synchrotrons and storage rings deliver radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum at high repetition rates, and free electron lasers (FELs) produce radiation pulses with high peak brightness. However, at present few light sources can generate both high repetition rate and high brightness outside the optical range. We propose to create steady-state microbunching (SSMB) in a storage ring to produce coherent radiation at a high repetition rate or in continuous wave (CW) mode. In this paper we describe a general mechanism for producing SSMB and give sample parameters for EUV lithography and sub-millimeter sources. We also describe a similar arrangement to produce two pulses with variable spacing for pump-probe experiments. With technological advances, SSMB could reach the soft X-ray range (< 10 nm).

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Mechanism of single-pulse ablative generation of laser-induced periodic surface structures

One of the remarkable capabilities of ultrashort polarized laser pulses is the generation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). The origin of this phenomenon is largely attributed to the interference of the incident laser wave and surface electromagnetic wave that creates a periodic absorption pattern. Although, commonly, LIPSS are produced by repetitive irradiation of the same area by multiple laser pulses in the regime of surface melting and resolidification, recent reports demonstrate the formation of LIPSS in the single-pulse irradiation regime at laser fluences well above the ablation threshold. In this paper, we report results of a large-scale molecular dynamics simulation aimed at providing insights into the mechanisms of single-pulse ablative LIPSS formation. The simulation performed for a Cr target reveals an interplay of material removal and redistribution in the course of spatially modulated ablation, leading to the transient formation of an elongated liquid wall extending up to ~600 nm above the surface of the target at the locations of the minima of the laser energy deposition. The upper part of the liquid wall disintegrates into droplets while the base of the wall solidifies on the time scale of ~2 ns, producing a ~100-nm-tall frozen surface feature extending above the level of the initial surface of the target. The properties of the surface region of the target are modified by the presence of high densities of dislocations and vacancies generated due to the rapid and highly nonequilibrium nature of the melting and resolidification processes. The insights into the LIPSS formation mechanisms may help in designing approaches for increasing the processing speed and improving the quality of the laser-patterned periodic surface structures.

Materials Science↗

DOE OSTI2016

Parametric generation of radiation in a dynamic cavity with frequency dispersion

A numerical simulation of the parametric generation of electromagnetic radiation in a cavity with periodically oscillating mirrors and Lorentz-type frequency dispersion has been performed. It is shown that initially weak seed radiation can be transformed into intense short pulses, the shape of which under steady-state conditions changes periodically when reflecting from mirrors and, depending on the dispersion characteristics, corresponds to uni- or bipolar pulses. (letters)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2010

Generation of optical coherent-state superpositions by number-resolved photon subtraction from the squeezed vacuum

We have created heralded coherent-state superpositions (CSSs) by subtracting up to three photons from a pulse of squeezed vacuum light. To produce such CSSs at a sufficient rate, we used our high-efficiency photon-number-resolving transition edge sensor to detect the subtracted photons. This experiment is enabled by and utilizes the full photon-number-resolving capabilities of this detector. The CSS produced by three-photon subtraction had a mean-photon number of 2.75{sub -0.24}{sup +0.06} and a fidelity of 0.59{sub -0.14}{sup +0.04} with an ideal CSS. This confirms that subtracting more photons results in higher-amplitude CSSs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2023

Towards critical and supercritical electromagnetic fields

Abstract The availability of ever stronger, laser-generated electromagnetic fields underpins continuing progress in the study and application of nonlinear phenomena in basic physical systems, ranging from molecules and atoms to relativistic plasmas and quantum electrodynamics. This raises the question: how far will we be able to go with future lasers? One exciting prospect is the attainment of field strengths approaching the Schwinger critical field ${E}_{\mathrm{cr}}$ in the laboratory frame, such that the field invariant ${E}^2-{c}^2{B}^2>{E}_{\mathrm{cr}}^2$ is reached. The feasibility of doing so has been questioned, on the basis that cascade generation of dense electron–positron plasma would inevitably lead to absorption or screening of the incident light. Here we discuss the potential for future lasers to overcome such obstacles, by combining the concept of multiple colliding laser pulses with that of frequency upshifting via a tailored laser–plasma interaction. This compresses the electromagnetic field energy into a region of nanometre size and attosecond duration, which increases the field magnitude at fixed power but also suppresses pair cascades. Our results indicate that laser facilities with peak power of tens of PW could be capable of reaching ${E}_{\mathrm{cr}}$ . Such a scenario opens up prospects for the experimental investigation of phenomena previously considered to occur only in the most extreme environments in the universe.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗