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We developed a compact Marx generator triggered in atmospheric air by a single femtosecond laser beam undergoing filamentation. Voltage pulses of 180 kV could be generated with a subnanosecond jitter. The same laser beam was also used to initiate simultaneously guided discharges up to 21 cm long at the output of the generator.
High-intensity laser accelerated protons and ions are emerging sources with complementary characteristics to those of conventional sources, namely high charge, high current, and short bunch duration, and therefore can be useful for dedicated applications. However, these beams exhibit a broadband energy spectrum when, for some experiments, monoenergetic beams are required. We present here an adaptation of conventional chicane devices in a compact form (10 cm × 20 cm) which enables selection of a specific energy interval from the broadband spectrum. This is achieved by employing magnetic fields to bend the trajectory of the laser produced proton beam through two slits in order to select the minimum and maximum beam energy. The device enables a production of a high current, short duration source with a reproducible output spectrum from short pulse laser produced charged particle beams.
A new type of high functionality, fast, compact, and easy programmable arbitrary waveform generator for low noise physical measurements is presented. The generator provides 7 fast differential waveform channels with a maximum bandwidth up to 200 MHz frequency. There are 6 fast pulse generators on the generator board with 78 ps time resolution in both duration and delay, 3 of them with amplitude control. The arbitrary waveform generator is additionally equipped with two auxiliary slow 16 bit analog-to-digital converters and four 16 bit digital-to-analog converters for low frequency applications. Electromagnetic shields are introduced to the power supply, digital, and analog compartments and with a proper filter design perform more than 110 dB digital noise isolation to the output signals. All the output channels of the board have 50 Ω SubMiniature version A termination. The generator board is suitable for use as a part of a high sensitive physical equipment, e.g., fast read out and manipulation of nuclear magnetic resonance or superconducting quantum systems and any other application, which requires electromagnetic interference free fast pulse and arbitrary waveform generation.
In a compact optically pumped atomic magnetometer (OPAM), there is a plateau in the sensitivity where the dependence of the sensitivity on pumping power is small compared with that predicted by the uniform polarization model. The mechanism that generates this plateau was explained by numerical analysis. The distribution of spin polarization in the alkali metal cell of an OPAM was modeled using the Bloch equation incorporating a diffusion term and an equation for the attenuation of the pump beam. The model was well-fitted to the experimental results for a module with a cubic cell with 20 mm sides and pump and probe beams with 8 mm diameter. On the plateau, strong magnetic response was generated at the regions that were not illuminated directly by the intense pump beam, while at the same time spin polarization as large as 0.5 was maintained due to diffusion of the spin-polarized atoms. Thus, the sensitivity of the magnetometer monitored with a probe beam decreases only slightly with increasing pump beam intensity because the spin polarization under an intense pump beam is saturated. This plateau, which is characteristic of this type of magnetometer using a narrow pump and probe beams, can be used in arrays of magnetometers because it enables stable operation with little sensitivity fluctuation from changes in pump beam power.
A fundamental component of an integrated quantum optical circuit is an on-chip beam-splitter operating at the single-photon level. Here, we demonstrate the monolithic integration of an on-demand quantum emitter in the form of a single self-assembled InGaAs quantum dot (QD) with a compact (>10 μm), air clad, free standing directional coupler acting as a beam-splitter for anti-bunched light. The device was tested by using single photons emitted by a QD embedded in one of the input arms of the device. We verified the single-photon nature of the QD signal by performing Hanbury Brown-Twiss measurements and demonstrated single-photon beam splitting by cross-correlating the signal from the separate output ports of the directional coupler.
We propose a compact chaotic laser device, which consists of a semiconductor laser and a two-dimensional (2D) external cavity for delayed optical feedback. The overall size of the device is within 230 μm × 1 mm. A long time delay sufficient for chaos generation can be achieved with the small area by the multiple reflections at the 2D cavity boundary, and the feedback strength is controlled by the injection current to the external cavity. We experimentally demonstrate that a variety of output properties, including chaotic output, can be selectively generated by controlling the injection current to the external cavity.
We present the realization of a compact micro-wave frequency synthesizer for an atom interferometer based on stimulated Raman transitions, applied to transportable inertial sensing. Our set-up is intended to address the hyperfine transitions of {sup 87}Rb at 6.8 GHz. The prototype is evaluated both in the time and the frequency domain by comparison with state-of-the-art frequency references developed at Laboratoire national de métrologie et d'essais−Systémes de référence temps espace (LNE-SYRTE). In free-running mode, it features a residual phase noise level of −65 dB rad{sup 2} Hz{sup −1} at 10 Hz offset frequency and a white phase noise level in the order of −120 dB rad{sup 2} Hz{sup −1} for Fourier frequencies above 10 kHz. The phase noise effect on the sensitivity of the atomic interferometer is evaluated for diverse values of cycling time, interrogation time, and Raman pulse duration. To our knowledge, the resulting contribution is well below the sensitivity of any demonstrated cold atom inertial sensors based on stimulated Raman transitions. The drastic improvement in terms of size, simplicity, and power consumption paves the way towards field and mobile operations.
A matrix of Silicon Photo Multipliers has been developed for light readout from a large area 1 in. × 1 in. LaBr{sub 3} crystal. The system has been characterized in the laboratory and its performance compared to that of a conventional photo multiplier tube. A pulse duration of 100 ns was achieved, which opens up to spectroscopy applications at high counting rates. The energy resolution measured using radioactive sources extrapolates to 3%–4% in the energy range E{sub γ} = 3–5 MeV, enabling gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements at good energy resolution. The results reported here are of relevance in view of the development of compact gamma-ray detectors with spectroscopy capabilities, such as an enhanced gamma-ray camera for high power fusion plasmas, where the use of photomultiplier is impeded by space limitation and sensitivity to magnetic fields.
A compact tilt accelerometer with high sensitivity at low frequency was designed to provide low frequency corrections for the feedback signal of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory active seismic attenuation system. It has been developed using a Tungsten Carbide ceramic knife-edge hinge designed to avoid the mechanical 1/f noise believed to be intrinsic in polycrystalline metallic flexures. Design and construction details are presented; prototype data acquisition and control limitations are discussed. The instrument's characterization reported here shows that the hinge is compatible with being metal-hysteresis-free, and therefore also free of the 1/f noise generated by the dislocation Self-Organized Criticality in the metal. A tiltmeter of this kind will be effective to separate the ground tilt component from the signal of horizontal low frequency seismometers, and to correct the ill effects of microseismic tilt in advanced seismic attenuation systems.
We investigate the stagnation phase of a three-dimensional (3D), magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a compact, tungsten wire-array Z pinch, under the simplifying assumption of negligible radiative loss. In particular, we address the ability of one-dimensional (1D) analytic theory to describe the time evolution of spatially averaged plasma properties from 3D simulation. The complex fluid flows exhibited in the stagnated plasma are beyond the scope of 1D theory and result in centrifugal force as well as enhanced thermal transport. Despite these complications, a 1D homogeneous (i.e., shockless) stagnation solution can capture the increase of on-axis density and pressure during the initial formation of stagnated plasma. Later, when the stagnated plasma expands outward into the imploding plasma, a 1D shock solution describes the decrease of on-axis density and pressure, as well as the growth of the shock accretion region.
A new Thomson scattering system using standard commercially available components has been designed for the non-axisymmetric plasmas of the Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH). The beam, generated by a frequency doubled Continuum PL DLS 2 J Nd:YAG laser, is passed vertically through an entrance Brewster window and an aperturing baffle system to minimize the stray laser light that could enter the collection optics. The beam line has been designed with an 8 m propagation distance to the mid-plane of the CTH device with the beam diameter kept less than 3 mm inside the plasma volume. The beam exits the vacuum system through another Brewster window and enters a beam dump, again to minimize the stray light in the vacuum chamber. Light collection, spectral processing, and signal detection are accomplished with an f/#∼ 1 aspheric lens, a commercially available Holospec f/1.8 spectrometer, and an Andor iStar DH740-18U-C3 image intensified camera. Spectral rejection of stray laser light, if needed, can be performed with the use of an optional interference filter at the spectrometer input. The system has been developed for initial single point measurements of plasmas with core electron temperatures of approximately 20–300 eV and densities of 5 × 10{sup 18} to 5 × 10{sup 19} m{sup −3} dependent upon operational scenario.
We consider a class of many-body Hamiltonians composed of a free (kinetic) part and a multi-particle (potential) interaction with a compactness assumption on the latter part. We investigate the mean field limit of such quantum systems following the Wigner measures approach. We prove in particular the propagation of these measures along the flow of a nonlinear (Hartree) field equation. This enhances and complements some previous results of the same type shown in Z. Ammari and F. Nier and Fröhlich et al. [“Mean field limit for bosons and propagation of Wigner measures,” J. Math. Phys. 50(4), 042107 (2009); Z. Ammari and F. Nier and Fröhlich et al., “Mean field propagation of Wigner measures and BBGKY hierarchies for general bosonic states,” J. Math. Pures Appl. 95(6), 585–626 (2011); Z. Ammari and F. Nier and Fröhlich et al., “Mean-field- and classical limit of many-body Schrödinger dynamics for bosons,” Commun. Math. Phys. 271(3), 681–697 (2007)].
A compact and high-particle-flux thermal-lithium-beam source for two-dimensional measurement of electron density profiles has been developed. The thermal-lithium-beam oven is heated by a carbon heater. In this system, the maximum particle flux of the thermal lithium beam was ∼4 × 10{sup 19} m{sup −2} s{sup −1} when the temperature of the thermal-lithium-beam oven was 900 K. The electron density profile was evaluated in the small tokamak device HYBTOK-II. The electron density profile was reconstructed using the thermal-lithium-beam probe data and this profile was consistent with the electron density profile measured with a Langmuir electrostatic probe. We confirm that the developed thermal-lithium-beam probe can be used to measure the two-dimensional electron density profile with high time and spatial resolutions.
We present a new approach to semi-global potential energy surface fitting that uses the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) constrained least squares procedure to exploit an extremely flexible form for the potential function, while at the same time controlling the risk of overfitting and avoiding the introduction of unphysical features such as divergences or high-frequency oscillations. Drawing from a massively redundant set of overlapping distributed multi-dimensional Gaussian functions of inter-atomic separations we build a compact full-dimensional surface for malonaldehyde, fit to explicitly correlated coupled cluster CCSD(T)(F12*) energies with a root mean square deviations accuracy of 0.3%–0.5% up to 25 000 cm{sup −1} above equilibrium. Importance-sampled diffusion Monte Carlo calculations predict zero point energies for malonaldehyde and its deuterated isotopologue of 14 715.4(2) and 13 997.9(2) cm{sup −1} and hydrogen transfer tunnelling splittings of 21.0(4) and 3.2(4) cm{sup −1}, respectively, which are in excellent agreement with the experimental values of 21.583 and 2.915(4) cm{sup −1}.
Generation of circularly polarized light in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral region (about 25 eV–250 eV) is highly desirable for applications in spectroscopy and microscopy but very challenging to achieve in a small-scale laboratory. We present a compact apparatus for generation of linearly and circularly polarized EUV radiation from a gas-discharge plasma light source between 50 eV and 70 eV photon energy. In this spectral range, the 3p absorption edges of Fe (54 eV), Co (60 eV), and Ni (67 eV) offer a high magnetic contrast often employed for magneto-optical and electron spectroscopy as well as for magnetic imaging. We simulated and designed an instrument for generation of linearly and circularly polarized EUV radiation and performed polarimetric measurements of the degree of linear and circular polarization. Furthermore, we demonstrate first measurements of the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Co 3p absorption edge with a plasma-based EUV light source. Our approach opens the door for laboratory-based, element-selective spectroscopy of magnetic materials and spectro-microscopy of ferromagnetic domains.
Active interrogation using neutrons is an effective method for detecting shielded nuclear material. A lightweight, lunch-box-sized, battery-operated neutron source would enable new concepts of operation in the field. We have developed at-scale components for a highly portable, completely self-contained, pulsed Deuterium-Tritium (DT) neutron source producing 14 MeV neutrons with average yields of 10{sup 7} n/s. A gated, field ionization ion source using etched electrodes has been developed that produces pulsed ion currents up to 500 nA. A compact Cockcroft-Walton high voltage source is used to accelerate deuterons into a metal hydride target for neutron production. The results of full scale DT tests using the field ionization source are presented.
The RF properties of an accelerating structure, and the pulse structure and charge per bunch in the electron beam propagating through it are important parameters that determine the impact of beam loading in the structure. The injector linac of the Compact Ultrafast Terahertz Free-Electron Laser (CUTE-FEL) has been operated with two different pulse structures during initial commissioning experiments and the effect of beam loading on the accelerated electron beam parameters has been studied analytically for these two pulse structures. This paper discusses the analytical study of beam loading in a Standing Wave, Plane Wave Transformer linac employed in the CUTE-FEL setup, and a possible technique for its compensation for the electron beam parameters of the CUTE-FEL. A parametric study has been performed to study beam loading for different beam currents and to optimize injection time of the electron beam to compensate beam loading. Results from the parametric study have also been used to explain previously observed results from acceleration experiments in the CUTE-FEL setup.
A novel compact time-resolved electron diffractometer has been built with the primary goal of studying the ultrafast molecular dynamics of photoexcited gas-phase molecules. Here, we discuss the design of the electron gun, which is triggered by a Ti:Sapphire laser, before detailing a series of calibration experiments relating to the electron-beam properties. As a further test of the apparatus, initial diffraction patterns have been collected for thin, polycrystalline platinum samples, which have been shown to match theoretical patterns. The data collected demonstrate the focusing effects of the magnetic lens on the electron beam, and how this relates to the spatial resolution of the diffraction pattern.