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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Controllable X-ray Pulse Trains from Enhanced Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission

We report the demonstration of optical compression of an electron beam and the production of controllable trains of femtosecond, soft x-ray pulses with the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) freeelectron laser (FEL). This is achieved by enhanced self-amplified spontaneous emission with a 2 μm laser and a dechirper device. Optical compression was achieved by modulating the energy of an electron beam with the laser and then compressing with a chicane, resulting in high current spikes on the beam which we observe to lase. A dechirper was then used to selectively control the lasing region of the electron beam. Field autocorrelation measurements indicate a train of pulses, and we find that the number of pulses within the train can be controlled (from 1 to 5 pulses) by varying the dechirper position and undulator taper. These results are a step toward attosecond spectroscopy with x-ray FELs as well as future FEL schemes relying on optical compression of an electron beam.

Duris, Joseph P↗
DOE OSTI2023

Broadband spectral combining of three pulse-shaped fiber amplifiers with 42fs compressed pulse duration

We demonstrate ultra-broadband spectral combining of ultrashort pulses from Yb-doped fiber amplifiers, with coherently spectrally synthesized pulse shaping, to achieve tens-of-fs pulses. This method can fully compensate for gain narrowing and high order dispersion over broad bandwidth. We produce 42fs pulses by spectrally synthesizing three chirped-pulse fiber amplifiers and two programmable pulse shapers across an 80nm overall bandwidth. To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest pulse duration achieved from a spectrally combined fiber system at one-micron wavelength. This work provides a path toward high-energy, tens-of-fs fiber chirped-pulse amplification systems.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1991

The pulse-pair algorithm as a robust estimator of turbulent weather spectral parameters using airborne pulse Doppler radar

The pulse pair method for spectrum parameter estimation is commonly used in pulse Doppler weather radar signal processing since it is economical to implement and can be shown to be a maximum likelihood estimator. With the use of airborne weather radar for windshear detection, the turbulent weather and strong ground clutter return spectrum differs from that assumed in its derivation, so the performance robustness of the pulse pair technique must be understood. Here, the effect of radar system pulse to pulse phase jitter and signal spectrum skew on the pulse pair algorithm performance is discussed. Phase jitter effect may be significant when the weather return signal to clutter ratio is very low and clutter rejection filtering is attempted. The analysis can be used to develop design specifications for airborne radar system phase stability. It is also shown that the weather return spectrum skew can cause a significant bias in the pulse pair mean windspeed estimates, and that the poly pulse pair algorithm can reduce this bias. It is suggested that use of a spectrum mode estimator may be more appropriate in characterizing the windspeed within a radar range resolution cell for detection of hazardous windspeed gradients.

Baxa, Ernest G., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Power supply including a nonlinear transmission line that receives a single input pulse and outputs a plurality of pulses

Technologies pertaining to a power supply that includes a nonlinear transmission line are described herein. In an embodiment, a DC power supply comprises a pulsing circuit that receives a DC input and outputs a first plurality of pulses having a first frequency to a nonlinear transmission line. The nonlinear transmission line receives the first plurality of pulses and outputs a second plurality of pulses having a second frequency that is greater than the first frequency. The second plurality of pulses is then received at an amplifier/rectifier circuit that amplifies the second pulses to increase a voltage amplitude of the pulses, and rectifies the pulses to provide a substantially constant DC output.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

An 8-GW long-pulse generator based on Tesla transformer and pulse forming network

A long-pulse generator TPG700L based on a Tesla transformer and a series pulse forming network (PFN) is constructed to generate intense electron beams for the purpose of high power microwave (HPM) generation. The TPG700L mainly consists of a 12-stage PFN, a built-in Tesla transformer in a pulse forming line, a three-electrode gas switch, a transmission line with a trigger, and a load. The Tesla transformer and the compact PFN are the key technologies for the development of the TPG700L. This generator can output electrical pulses with a width as long as 200 ns at a level of 8 GW and a repetition rate of 50 Hz. When used to drive a relative backward wave oscillator for HPM generation, the electrical pulse width is about 100 ns on a voltage level of 520 kV. Factors affecting the pulse waveform of the TPG700L are also discussed. At present, the TPG700L performs well for long-pulse HPM generation in our laboratory.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2011

Real Time Pulse Pile-up Recovery in a High Throughput Digital Pulse Processor

Detection and measurement of radiation is used extensively for non-invasive material characterization in a range of industries. However, many practical applications are frustrated by pulse pile-up within the detector. Pulse pile-up, which occurs when multiple radiation events arrive within the temporal resolving time of the detector, degrades the fidelity of subsequent material analysis. Traditional pulse processing techniques use fast digital filters and logic circuits to detect piled-up events and discard the corrupted data, however, this leads to substantial detector dead time. Consequently, there is considerable interest in more complex signal-processing algorithms to extend the performance of pulse processors and improve material characterization techniques. We present a technology for real-time decoding of pulse pile-up events. It is a model-based signal-processing algorithm able to accurately characterize the number, time-of-arrival and energy of all events in the detector output. Even in the presence of severe multi-pulse pile-up, the composite events are decoded and the energy and time-of-arrival recovered. The technology has been evaluated using a range of detectors, sources and count rates. An exceptional improvement over traditional pulse processing techniques is demonstrated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of temporal laser profile on the emission spectra for underwater laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy: Study by short-interval double pulses with different pulse durations

We investigate the effects of temporal laser profile on the emission spectra of laser ablation plasma in water. We use short-interval (76 ns) double pulses with different pulse durations of the composing two pulses for the irradiation of underwater target. Narrow atomic spectral lines in emission spectra are obtained by the irradiation, where the two pulses are wide enough to be merged into a single-pulse-like temporal profile, while deformed spectra are obtained when the two pulses are fully separated. The behavior of the atomic spectral lines for the different pulse durations is consistent with that of the temporal profiles of the optical emission intensities of the plasma. All these results suggest that continuous excitation of the plasma during the laser irradiation for ∼100 ns is a key to obtain narrow emission spectral lines.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhancement of beam pulse controllability for a single-pulse formation system of a cyclotron

The single-pulse formation technique using a beam chopping system consisting of two types of high-voltage beam kickers was improved to enhance the quality and intensity of the single-pulse beam with a pulse interval over 1 μs at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency cyclotron facility. A contamination rate of neighboring beam bunches in the single-pulse beam was reduced to less than 0.1%. Long-term purification of the single pulse beam was guaranteed by the well-controlled magnetic field stabilization system for the cyclotron magnet. Reduction of the multi-turn extraction number for suppressing the neighboring beam bunch contamination was achieved by restriction of a beam phase width and precise optimization of a particle acceleration phase. In addition, the single-pulse beam intensity was increased by a factor of two or more by a combination of two types of beam bunchers using sinusoidal and saw-tooth voltage waveforms. Provision of the high quality intense single-pulse beam contributed to improve the accuracy of experiments for investigation of scintillation light time-profile and for neutron energy measurement by a time-of-flight method.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Controlling output pulse and prepulse in a resonant microwave pulse compressor

A resonant microwave pulse compressor with a waveguide H-plane-tee-based energy extraction unit was studied in terms of its capability to produce output pulses that comprise a low-power long-duration (prepulse) and a high-power short-duration part. The application of such combined pulses with widely variable prepulse and high-power pulse power and energy ratios is of interest in the research area of electronic hardware vulnerability. The characteristics of output radiation pulses are controlled by the variation of the H-plane tee transition attenuation at the stage of microwave energy storage in the compressor cavity. Results of theoretical estimations of the parameters tuning range and experimental investigations of the prototype S-band compressor (1.5 MW, 12 ns output pulse; {approx}13.2 dB gain) are presented. The achievable maximum in the prepulse power is found to be about half the power of the primary microwave source. It has been shown that the energy of the prepulse becomes comparable with that of the short-duration (nanosecond) pulse, while the power of the latter decreases insignificantly. The possible range of variation of the prepulse power and energy can be as wide as 40 dB. In the experiments, the prepulse level control within the range of {approx}10 dB was demonstrated.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Temporal pre-pulse shaping in dual pulse laser produced plasma for the optimization of the EUV source in tin microdroplet system

Dual-laser beams interacting with small droplets of liquid tin are currently the most efficient systems for producing the 13.5 nm EUV photon radiation source required for the next generation microchips. Usually, EUV light is produced during the second main-pulse stage, while the pre-pulse (PP) is used for target preparation, i.e., droplet preheating, vaporization, and target deformation. However, the PP laser energy can be utilized more efficiently if the EUV producing plasma is being developed during the PP stage as well. In this work, we study the ways of optimization of the PP laser temporal shape to achieve conditions for maximum EUV output during the pre-pulse. The size of the deformed droplet is kept optimized for the following main laser pulse. Our simulations showed a significant increase in the EUV output at the pre-pulse stage when a ramping profile is used for the laser temporal shape. Using the ramped square pre-pulse produces 24% gain in the EUV output in comparison with the standard Gaussian temporal profile (i.e., regular Nd:YAG shape) for the same energy of the laser pulse.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Metrology of Time-Domain Soft X-Ray Attosecond Pulses and Reevaluation of Pulse Durations of Three Recent Experiments

Attosecond pulses in the soft x-ray (SXR) to water-window energy region offer the tools for creating and studying target-specific localized inner-shell electrons or holes in materials, enabling monitoring or controlling charge and energy flows in a dynamic system on attosecond timescales. Recently, a number of laboratories have reported generation of continuum harmonics in the hundred-electron-volt to kilovolt region with few-cycle long-wavelength mid-infrared lasers. These harmonics have the bandwidth to support pulses with durations of a few to a few-ten attoseconds. But harmonics generated in a gas medium have attochirps that cannot be fully compensated by materials over a broad spectral range; thus, realistically what are the typical shortest attosecond pulses that one can generate? To answer this question, it is essential that the temporal attosecond pulses be accurately characterized. By reanalyzing the soft x-ray attosecond metrology reported in three recent experiments using a newly developed broadband phase retrieval algorithm, we demonstrate here that the generated attosecond pulses in the first two papers have durations of about 60 as, longer than what they have reported. Similarly, the duration from the third experiment is retrieved to be about half of the 322-as upper limit cited in that work. We also introduce the autocorrelation (AC) of the streaking spectrogram. By comparing the ACs from the experiments and from the retrieved SXR pulses, the accuracy of the retrieved results can be directly visualized. Our retrieval method is fast and accurate, and it shall provide a powerful tool for the metrology of the emerging few-ten-attosecond pulses.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Generation of ultrahigh speed, ultrashort flat-top picosecond electrical pulses by laser pulse shaping and ultrafast electro-optics sampling

A novel method is proposed and demonstrated to generate ultrahigh speed, ultrashort flat-top picosecond electrical pulses by combining laser pulse shaping with ultrafast electro-optics sampling technique. Starting with high repetition rate laser pulses, a sequence of birefringent crystals is employed to produce optical pulses with flat-top temporal profile and tunable duration. Subsequent measurement of optical waveforms by an ultrafast photodetector yields high-speed, ultrashort flat-top picosecond electrical pulses. By using two sets of YVO4 crystals for laser pulse shaping, we report on the generation of 704 MHz, 48 picoseconds and 704 MHz, 88 picoseconds flat-top electrical pulses with 16-30 picoseconds rise or fall time. Lastly, to the best of our knowledge, these results are better than or comparable with the best performance using step recovery diodes and the direct electro-optics sampling technique.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Extracting cavity and pulse phases from limited data for coherent pulse stacking

Coherent pulse stacking (CPS) is a new time-domain coherent addition technique that stacks several optical pulses into a single output pulse, enabling high pulse energy and high average power. A Z-domain model targeting the pulsed laser is assembled to describe the optical interference process. In this study, an algorithm, extracting the cavity phase and pulse phases from limited data, where only the pulse intensity is available, is developed to diagnose optical cavity resonators. We also implement the algorithm on the cascaded system of multiple optical cavities, achieving phase errors less than 1.0°(root mean square), which could ensure the stability of CPS.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1972

A versatile pulse programmer for pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

A digital pulse programmer producing the standard pulse sequences required for pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is described. In addition, a 'saturation burst' sequence, useful in the measurement of long relaxation times in solids, is provided. Both positive and negative 4 V trigger pulses are produced that are fully synchronous with a crystal-controlled time base, and the pulse programmer may be phase-locked with a maximum pulse jitter of 3 ns to the oscillator of a coherent pulse spectrometer. Medium speed TTL integrated circuits are used throughout.

Tarr, C. E.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Numerical investigation of the effect of the temporal pulse shape on modification of fused silica by femtosecond pulses

We report the results of numerical studies of the impact of asymmetric femtosecond pulses focused in the bulk of the material on the femtosecond modification of fused silica. It is shown that such pulses lead to localisation of absorption in the process of femtosecond modification and to a decrease in the threshold energy of modification. It is found that the optimal asymmetry parameters for reaching the maximum plasma density in the focusing region depend on the pulse energy: at an initial energy of about 100 nJ, it is preferable to use pulses with positive TOD; however, when the energy is increased, it is preferable to use pulses with negative TOD. This is explained by differences in the dynamics of the processes of absorption of energy of a pulse propagating in the material. (optical fibres, lasers and amplifiers. properties and applications)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Advancing extreme pulsed lasers through measurements: summary of the pulsed laser metrology workshop

In this report we present consensus findings produced during the pulsed laser metrology (PLM) workshop (Boulder, CO, USA, August 2025). The workshop was a meeting of 35 scientists from private industry, academia, and U.S. government to compile a list of the metrology needs to support extreme pulsed laser development and implementation. We define ‘extreme pulsed lasers’ loosely as those with peak powers above 1 TW or multi-Joule pulse energies. Such lasers are being increasingly used and investigated for use in high energy particle acceleration, short wavelength radiation generation, laser-based fusion, etc. The rapid growth of these fields and the proliferation of extreme lasers for these applications, coupled with the extreme electric fields they generate and relative scarcity of such lasers, presents unique challenges to accuracy in their measurement. The PLM workshop was a two-day event designed to hear from users, developers, and researchers on the current state of optical metrology associated with these extreme pulsed lasers. The goal was to identify the most important measurement challenges limiting development and implementation of these lasers in practical applications. We report here the conclusions and recommendations of this workshop. The hope is that this document will become the first of many iterations which track the status of measurement needs supporting extreme pulsed lasers.

Lasers↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of Short-Pulse Laser-Based Diagnostics for Pulsed Power-Driven Warm Dense Matter

This report summarizes a research project conducted at the Physics Department’s Zebra Pulsed Power Laboratory (ZPPL) at the University of Nevada Reno, aimed at developing short-pulse laser-based diagnostics to probe pulsed-power-driven warm dense matter. ZPPL combines a MegaAmpere (MA) pulsed power generator, Zebra, and a relativistic intensity, short-pulse laser, Leopard, offering a unique university-scale platform for high energy density physics, laboratory astrophysics, and inertial fusion energy research. The project focused on establishing a hard X-ray radiographic capability using high-intensity, short-pulse laser-generated X-rays to probe warm dense matter created by the Zebra current. Initial experiments produced X-ray radiographs of a static (cold) aluminum wire using silver and gold foil and wire targets, but intense background radiation from Zebra shots overwhelmed the laser-produced X-rays. To mitigate this, a radiationhardened detector housing was designed and implemented. Additional diagnostic, including a filter stack bremsstrahlung spectrometer and an X-ray pinhole camera, were developed to characterize laser-produced hard X-ray spectra and locate hard X-ray sources in the vacuum chamber. These revealed that strong hard X-rays (> 20 keV) originated near the anode cap, bombarded by energetic electrons. Due to laser unavailability during some experiments, detector performance was successfully tested using hard X-ray sources from the Zebra current, demonstrating their readiness for coupled experiments. The project supported one Ph.D. student (Dr. Lei Chen), who conducted experimental and numerical research, and provided training opportunities and data for three undergraduate senior theses.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Dynamic power and chirp measurements of amplified 19 ps pulses in traveling-wave and reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers using a linear pulse characterization technique

The dynamic chirp and power of amplified pulses in semiconductor optical amplifiers is of importance in the application of these devices as conventional amplifiers and in optical signal processing. Non-linear measurement techniques are appropriate for pulsewidths less than 5 ps but have low sensitivity for wider pulsewidths commonly present in moderate bit rate optical systems. Typical measurements of chirp and power of 20 GHz repetition rate amplified 19 ps pulsewidth pulses in traveling-wave and reflective SOAs are obtained using a linear characterization technique based on small-signal sinusoidal modulation at half the pulse stream repetition rate and post-processing of the resulting optical spectrums. The results show that the amplified pulse dynamic power and chirp can have a complex structure and thereby pulse spectrum, which in turn can influence pulse propagation in optical fiber.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗