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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.

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At least 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Laser ion source with solenoid for Brookhaven National Laboratory-electron beam ion source

The electron beam ion source (EBIS) preinjector at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a new heavy ion-preinjector for relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) and NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). Laser ion source (LIS) is a primary ion source provider for the BNL-EBIS. LIS with solenoid at the plasma drift section can realize the low peak current ({approx}100 {micro}A) with high charge ({approx}10 nC) which is the BNL-EBIS requirement. The gap between two solenoids does not cause serious plasma current decay, which helps us to make up the BNL-EBIS beamline.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

The interaction of 193-nm excimer laser irradiation with single-crystal zinc oxide: Positive ion emission

We examine UV laser-induced ion emission from a wide bandgap semiconductor, single-crystal ZnO, at fluences well below both the damage threshold and plasma formation. At fluences below 200 mJ/cm{sup 2}, we observe only Zn{sup +}, and the Zn{sup +} intensity decreases monotonically during exposure. At higher fluences, after an initial decrease, the emission is sustained; in addition O{sup +} and O{sub 2}{sup +} are observed. We explain: how Zn ions of several eV in energy can be produced on the surface of a semiconductor, how sustained emission can be maintained, and the origin of an anomalous emission of slow Zn{sup +} ions -- the latter is shown to arise from photoionization of atomic Zn, also emitted by this radiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Increasing energy coupling into plasma waves by tailoring the laser radial focal spot distribution in a laser wakefield accelerator

By controlling the focal spot quality with a deformable mirror, we are able to show that increasing the fraction of pulse energy contained within the central part of the focal spot, while keeping the total energy and central spot size constant, significantly increases the amount of energy transferred to the wakefield: Our measurements show that the laser loses significantly more laser energy and undergoes greater redshifting and that more charge is produced in the accelerated beam. Three dimensional particle in cell simulations performed with accurate representations of the measured focal spot intensity distribution confirm that energy in the wings of the focal spot is effectively wasted. Even though self-focusing occurs, energy in the wings of the focal spot distribution is not coupled into the wakefield, emphasising the vital importance of high quality focal spot profiles in experiments.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Nanoparticle size and morphology control using ultrafast laser induced forward transfer of Ni thin films

We have developed a nanoparticle (NP) printing technique using Ni thin film lift-off from glass substrates after ultrafast irradiation in air. Unique interactions of ultrafast laser pulses with thin films allow for control over NP faceting and size distributions. Control is achieved by changing the laser fluence, film thickness, and film-substrate distance. We demonstrate 20 nm Ni film removal from substrates and rapid NP printing, with size distributions centered at a 6 nm diameter. When the Ni film thickness is lowered to 10 nm, NPs are printed with distributions peaked at a 2 nm diameter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Relation between delayed feedback and delay-coupled systems and its application to chaotic lasers

We present a systematic approach to identify the similarities and differences between a chaotic system with delayed feedback and two mutually delay-coupled systems. We consider the general case in which the coupled systems are either unsynchronized or in a generally synchronized state, in contrast to the mostly studied case of identical synchronization. We construct a new time-series for each of the two coupling schemes, respectively, and present analytic evidence and numerical confirmation that these two constructed time-series are statistically equivalent. From the construction, it then follows that the distribution of time-series segments that are small compared to the overall delay in the system is independent of the value of the delay and of the coupling scheme. By focusing on numerical simulations of delay-coupled chaotic lasers, we present a practical example of our findings.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Numerical modeling of pulsed laser-material interaction and of laser plume dynamics

We have developed two-dimensional Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) code which is used to study the physical processes, the plasma absorption, the crater profile, and the temperature distribution on metallic target and below the surface. The ALE method overcomes problems with Lagrangian moving mesh distortion by mesh smoothing and conservative quantities remapping from Lagrangian mesh to smoothed one. A new second order accurate diffusion solver has been implemented for the thermal conduction and radiation transport on distorted mesh. The results of numerical simulation of pulsed laser ablation are presented. The influences of different processes, such as time evolution of the surface temperature, interspecies interactions (elastic collisions, recombination-dissociation reaction), interaction with an ambient gas are examined. The study presents particular interest for the analysis of experimental results obtained during pulsed laser ablation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Stoichiometry control of complex oxides by sequential pulsed-laser deposition from binary-oxide targets

To have precise atomic layer control over interfaces, we examine the growth of complex oxides through the sequential deposition from binary targets by pulsed laser deposition. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is used to control the growth and achieve films with excellent structural quality. The growth from binary oxide targets is fundamentally different from single target growth modes and shows more similarities to shuttered growth by molecular beam epitaxy. The RHEED intensity oscillations of non-stoichiometric growth are consistent with a model of island growth and accumulation of excess material on the surface that can be utilized to determine the correct stoichiometry for growth. Correct monolayer doses can be determined through an envelope frequency in the RHEED intensity oscillations. In order to demonstrate the ability of this growth technique to create complex heterostructures, the artificial n = 2 and 3 Sr n+1 Ti n O 3 n+1 Ruddlesden-Popper phases are grown with good long-range order. Furthermore, this method enables the precise unit-cell level control over the structure of perovskite-type oxides, and thus the growth of complex materials with improved structural quality and electronic functionality.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Experimental study of subcritical laboratory magnetized collisionless shocks using a laser-driven magnetic piston

Recent experiments at the University of California, Los Angeles have successfully generated subcritical magnetized collisionless shocks, allowing new laboratory studies of shock formation relevant to space shocks. The characteristics of these shocks are compared with new data in which no shock or a pre-shock formed. The results are consistent with theory and 2D hybrid simulations and indicate that the observed shock or shock-like structures can be organized into distinct regimes by coupling strength. With additional experiments on the early time parameters of the laser plasma utilizing Thomson scattering, spectroscopy, and fast-gate filtered imaging, these regimes are found to be in good agreement with theoretical shock formation criteria.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Two decades of progress in understanding and control of laser plasma instabilities in indirect drive inertial fusion

Our understanding of laser-plasma instability (LPI) physics has improved dramatically over the past two decades through advancements in experimental techniques, diagnostics, and theoretical and modeling approaches. We have progressed from single-beam experiments—ns pulses with ~kJ energy incident on hundred-micron-scale target plasmas with ~keV electron temperatures—to ones involving nearly 2 MJ energy in 192 beams onto multi-mm-scale plasmas with temperatures ~4 keV. At the same time, we have also been able to use smaller-scale laser facilities to substantially improve our understanding of LPI physics and evaluate novel approaches to their control. These efforts have led to a change in paradigm for LPI research, ushering in an era of engineering LPI to accomplish specific objectives, from tuning capsule implosion symmetry to fixing nonlinear saturation of LPI processes at acceptable levels to enable the exploration of high energy density physics in novel plasma regimes. A tutorial is provided that reviews the progress in the field from the vantage of the foundational LPI experimental results. The pedagogical framework of the simplest models of LPI will be employed, but attention will also be paid to settings where more sophisticated models are needed to understand the observations. Prospects for the application of our improved understanding for inertial fusion (both indirect- and direct-drive) and other applications will also be discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Resonance laser-plasma excitation of coherent terahertz phonons in the bulk of fluorine-bearing crystals under high-intensity femtosecond laser irradiation

The dynamics of coherent phonons in fluorine-containing crystals was investigated by pump-probe technique in the plasma production regime. Several phonon modes, whose frequencies are overtones of the 0.38-THz fundamental frequency, were simultaneously observed in a lithium fluoride crystal. Phonons with frequencies of 1 and 0.1 THz were discovered in a calcium fluoride crystal and coherent phonons with frequencies of 1 THz and 67 GHz were observed in a barium fluoride crystal. Furthermore, in the latter case the amplitudes of phonon mode oscillations were found to significantly increase 15 ps after laser irradiation. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Re{sup 3+} : YAG laser ceramics: synthesis, optical properties and laser characteristics

Highly transparent yttrium aluminium garnet ceramics doped with holmium or ytterbium or neodymium are synthesised. The ceramics were made of a mixture of nanopowders synthesised by laser ablation. The structural and spectral characteristics of ceramics are studied. In the samples with holmium Ho{sup 3+} and neodymium Nd{sup 3+} ions, lasing was achieved with a slope efficiency of 40% and 35.3%, respectively; the maximum laser power exceeded 4 W. The internal absorption and scattering losses for 1% Nd : YAG ceramics are estimated to be 1.6 × 10{sup -2} cm{sup -1}. (extreme light fields and their applications)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Precise modulation of laser radiation by an acousto-optic modulator for stabilisation of the Nd : YAG laser on optical resonances in molecular iodine

A system of precise frequency modulation of laser radiation by an acousto-optic modulator, which makes it possible to stabilise the radiation power and simultaneously suppress the residual amplitude modulation to a level of 10{sup -8} of the total laser power at the third harmonic of modulation frequency (∼500 Hz), is presented. The use of this system for the Nd : YAG/I{sub 2} optical frequency standard and application of digital signal synthesis and processing methods provided a level of frequency standard instability as small as ∼10{sup -15} for ∼6 × 10{sup 4} s. (frequency standards)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Femtosecond X-ray Pulse Temporal Characterization in Free-Electron Lasers Using a Transverse Deflector

We propose a novel method to characterize the temporal duration and shape of femtosecond x-ray pulses in a free-electron laser (FEL) by measuring the time-resolved electron-beam energy loss and energy spread induced by the FEL process, with a transverse radio-frequency deflector located after the undulator. Its merits are simplicity, high resolution, wide diagnostic range, and non-invasive to user operation. When the system is applied to the Linac Coherent Light Source, the first hard x-ray free-electron laser in the world, it can provide single-shot measurements on the electron beam and x-ray pulses with a resolution on the order of 1-2 femtoseconds rms.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Laser Ablation Plumes Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence

We used a CW laser as a narrow-band (~50kHz) tunable LIF excitation source to probe absorption from selected atomic transitions (Al, U etc. ) in a ns laser ablation plume. A comparison of fluorescence signal with respect to emission spectroscopy show significant increase in the magnitude and persistence from selected Al and U transitions in a LIBS plume. The high spectral resolution provided by the LIF measurement allows peaks to be easily separated even if they overlap in the emission spectra.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tracking of oxide formation in laser-produced uranium plasmas

We use a spatially and temporally resolved emission tracking technique based on optical emission spectroscopy to map the evolution of emission features from uranium and its com- pounds in a plasma produced by a nanosecond laser. We observe quenching of the emission from neutral uranium (591.538 nm) and uranium monoxide (593.55 nm) species with increasing oxygen concentration and discuss possible reaction pathways for dissociation or formation of higher uranium oxides U x O y . Here, we further identify spectral features between 320 nm and 380 nm and between 520 nm and 640 nm, which we attribute to U x O y .

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Performance of a 40W Uplink Laser Transmitter for NASA's O2O Laser Communications Mission

NASA’s Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O) will provide operational laser communications between the ground and lunar orbit for the Artemis II crewed mission. In this work we describe a 40W ground-based laser transmitter for the O2O system. The uplink transmitter operates in the optical C-band and uses an energy-efficient 32-PPM modulation format. Four spatial diversity channels are time-aligned and combined in the far field. Each channel produces up to 10 W of output power and contains both the communications signal and the 7kHz modulated beacon signal required for acquisition. The transmitter delivers data at 10 Mbits/s and 20 Mbits/s channel rates, corresponding to the 250 MHz and 500 MHz slot rates respectively.

free-space optical communications↗