Correction to:Nuclear Science and Techniques(2025)36:100 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-025-01692-6 In this article,Fig.9 appeared incorrectly and have now been corrected in the original publication.For completeness a...Correction to:Nuclear Science and Techniques(2025)36:100 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-025-01692-6 In this article,Fig.9 appeared incorrectly and have now been corrected in the original publication.For completeness and transparency,both correct and incorrect versions are displayed below.展开更多
The article contains an error regarding the electron spectra displayed in Figs.4 and 5 and the data extracted from these spectra.The measurements were made with the SESAME magnetic spectrometer,the working principle o...The article contains an error regarding the electron spectra displayed in Figs.4 and 5 and the data extracted from these spectra.The measurements were made with the SESAME magnetic spectrometer,the working principle of which is recalled in Fig.1.Specifically,a magnetic dipole is used to separate charged particles(electrons in the case of this experiment)depending on their energy,charge and mass.The deflected particles then hit an imaging plate(IP)and deposit energy in its sensitive layer.The kinetic energy of the particles can be evaluated from their impact position on the IP and their number can be inferred from the local energy deposition.展开更多
The pulse duration is a critical parameter of picosecond-petawatt laser systems because it directly affects the results of high-energy-density physics experiments.This study systematically investigated the effects of ...The pulse duration is a critical parameter of picosecond-petawatt laser systems because it directly affects the results of high-energy-density physics experiments.This study systematically investigated the effects of the spectral width,central wavelength and beam-pointing deviations on pulse duration stability at the SG-Ⅱfacility.A theoretical analysis of the relationship between spectra and pulse duration is conducted to quantify the impact on pulse duration stability,and the results are further validated through experimental measurements.In addition,beam-pointing deviations at the stretcher significantly affect the pulse duration.For example,a 27μrad deviation can induce a 30%pulse duration variation.In contrast,the compressor exhibits greater robustness.Based on simulation and experimental results,we identify operational tolerance ranges for spectral width and beam-pointing deviation to maintain pulse duration stability within 5%at the SG-Ⅱfacility.These findings provide critical guidance for optimizing the performance and reliability of chirped-pulse amplification/optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification-based high-power laser systems.展开更多
Driving of the nuclear fusion reaction p+^(11)B3α+8.7 MeV under laboratory conditions by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter has become a popular field of research,owing to its numerous potential a...Driving of the nuclear fusion reaction p+^(11)B3α+8.7 MeV under laboratory conditions by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter has become a popular field of research,owing to its numerous potential applications:as an alternative to deuterium-tritium for fusion energy production,astrophysics studies,and alpha-particle generation for medical treatment.One possible scheme for laser-driven p-^(11)B reactions is to direct a beam of laser-accelerated protons onto a boron(B)sample(the so-called“pitcher-catcher”scheme).This technique has been successfully implemented on large high-energy lasers,yielding hundreds of joules per shot at low repetition.We present here a complementary approach,exploiting the high repetition rate of the VEGA III petawatt laser at CLPU(Spain),aiming at accumulating results from many interactions at much lower energy,to provide better control of the parameters and the statistics of the measurements.Despite a moderate energy per pulse,our experiment allowed exploration of the laser-driven fusion process with tens(up to hundreds)of laser shots.The experiment provided a clear signature of the reactions involved and of the fusion products,accumulated over many shots,leading to an improved optimization of the diagnostics for experimental campaigns of this type.In this paper,we discuss the effectiveness of laser-driven p-11B fusion in the pitcher-catcher scheme,at a high repetition rate,addressing the challenges of this experimental scheme and highlighting its critical aspects.Our proposed methodology allows evaluation of the performance of this scheme for laser-driven alpha particle production and can be adapted to high-repetition-rate laser facilities with higher energy and intensity.展开更多
We demonstrate a novel picosecond optical parametric preamplification to generate high-stability, high-energy and high-contrast seed pulses. The 5ps seed pulse is amplified from 60pJ to 300μJ with an 8.6ps/ 3mJ pump ...We demonstrate a novel picosecond optical parametric preamplification to generate high-stability, high-energy and high-contrast seed pulses. The 5ps seed pulse is amplified from 60pJ to 300μJ with an 8.6ps/ 3mJ pump laser in a signal stage of short pulse non-collinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification. The total gain is more than 106 and the rms energy stability is under 1.35%. The contrast ratio is higher than 10s within a scale of 20ps before the main pulse. Consequently, the improvement factor of the signal contrast is approximately equal to the gain 106 outside the pump window.展开更多
After reaching a world record of 10 PW,the peak power development of the titanium-sapphire(Ti:sapphire)PW ultraintense lasers has hit a bottleneck,and it seems to be difficult to continue increasing due to the difficu...After reaching a world record of 10 PW,the peak power development of the titanium-sapphire(Ti:sapphire)PW ultraintense lasers has hit a bottleneck,and it seems to be difficult to continue increasing due to the difficulty of manufacturing larger Ti:sapphire crystals and the limitation of parasitic lasing that can consume stored pump energy.Unlike coherent beam combining,coherent Ti:sapphire tiling is a viable solution for expanding Ti:sapphire crystal sizes,truncating transverse amplified spontaneous emission,suppressing parasitic lasing,and,importantly,not requiring complex space-time tiling control.A theoretical analysis of the above features and an experimental demonstration of high-quality laser amplification are reported.The results show that the addition of a 2×2 tiled Ti:sapphire amplifier to today’s 10 PW ultraintense laser is a viable technique to break the 10 PW limit and directly increase the highest peak power recorded by a factor of 4,further approaching the exawatt class.展开更多
Laser wakefield accelerators （LWFAs） are considered to be one of the most compeuuve next- generation accelerator candidates. In this paper, we will study the potential high-flux electron beam production of an LWFA d...Laser wakefield accelerators （LWFAs） are considered to be one of the most compeuuve next- generation accelerator candidates. In this paper, we will study the potential high-flux electron beam production of an LWFA driven by petawatt-level laser pulses. In our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, an optimal set of parameters gives -40 nC of charge with 2 PW laser power, thus -400 kA of instantaneous current if we assume the electron beam duration is 100 fs. This high flux and its secondary radiation are widely applicable in nuclear and QED physics, industrial imaging, medical and biological studies.展开更多
Laser-accelerated high-flux-intensity heavy-ion beams are important for new types of accelerators.A particle-in-cell program(Smilei) is employed to simulate the entire process of Station of Extreme Light(SEL) 100 PW l...Laser-accelerated high-flux-intensity heavy-ion beams are important for new types of accelerators.A particle-in-cell program(Smilei) is employed to simulate the entire process of Station of Extreme Light(SEL) 100 PW laser-accelerated heavy particles using different nanoscale short targets with a thickness of 100 nm Cr, Fe, Ag, Ta, Au, Pb, Th and U, as well as 200 nm thick Al and Ca. An obvious stratification is observed in the simulation. The layering phenomenon is a hybrid acceleration mechanism reflecting target normal sheath acceleration and radiation pressure acceleration, and this phenomenon is understood from the simulated energy spectrum,ionization and spatial electric field distribution. According to the stratification, it is suggested that high-quality heavy-ion beams could be expected for fusion reactions to synthesize superheavy nuclei. Two plasma clusters in the stratification are observed simultaneously, which suggest new techniques for plasma experiments as well as thinner metal targets in the precision machining process.展开更多
In the 2015 review paper‘Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide’a comprehensive overview of the current status of highpower facilities of>200 TW was presented.This was largely based on facility specifications,with some ...In the 2015 review paper‘Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide’a comprehensive overview of the current status of highpower facilities of>200 TW was presented.This was largely based on facility specifications,with some description of their uses,for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions,secondary source generation,and inertial confinement fusion(ICF).With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification(CPA),which made these lasers possible,we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed.We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online,with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction.In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multi-disciplinary applications,which demands much higher repetition rates,delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths:mid-IR facilities.So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status,we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes,and some of the critical issues facing their development.展开更多
The use of ultra-high intensity laser beams to achieve extreme material states in the laboratory has become almost routine with the development of the petawatt laser. Petawatt class lasers have been constructed for sp...The use of ultra-high intensity laser beams to achieve extreme material states in the laboratory has become almost routine with the development of the petawatt laser. Petawatt class lasers have been constructed for specific research activities,including particle acceleration, inertial confinement fusion and radiation therapy, and for secondary source generation(x-rays, electrons, protons, neutrons and ions). They are also now routinely coupled, and synchronized, to other large scale facilities including megajoule scale lasers, ion and electron accelerators, x-ray sources and z-pinches. The authors of this paper have tried to compile a comprehensive overview of the current status of petawatt class lasers worldwide.The definition of ‘petawatt class' in this context is a laser that delivers >200 TW.展开更多
We present the design and experiment of a broadband optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier(OPCPA) which provides high conversion efficiency and good beam quality at 808 nm wavelength. Using a three-dimensional spa...We present the design and experiment of a broadband optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier(OPCPA) which provides high conversion efficiency and good beam quality at 808 nm wavelength. Using a three-dimensional spatial and temporal numerical model, several design considerations necessary to achieve high conversion efficiency, good beam quality and good output stability are discussed. To improve the conversion efficiency and broaden the amplified signal bandwidth simultaneously, the nonlinear crystal length and OPCPA parameters are analyzed and optimized with the concept of dissipating amplified idler between optical parametric amplification(OPA) of two crystals configuration.In the experiment, an amplifier consisting of two OPCPA stages of ‘L’ type configuration was demonstrated by using the optimized parameters. An amplified signal energy of 160 mJ was achieved with a total pump-to-signal efficiency of 35%(43% efficiency for the OPCPA stage 2). The output bandwidth of signal pulse reached 80 nm and the signal pulse was compressed to 24 fs. The energy stability reached 1.67% RMS at 3% pump energy variation. The optimized OPCPA amplifier operates at a repetition rate of 1 Hz and is used as a front-end injection for the main amplifier of SG-II 5PW laser facility.展开更多
Temporal contrast is one of the crucial physical determinants which guarantee the successful performance of laser–matter interaction experiments. We generally reviewed the influences on the temporal contrast in three...Temporal contrast is one of the crucial physical determinants which guarantee the successful performance of laser–matter interaction experiments. We generally reviewed the influences on the temporal contrast in three categories of noises based on the requirement by the physical mechanisms. The spatiotemporal influences on temporal contrast at the focal region of the chromatic aberration and propagation time difference introduced by large-aperture broadband spatial filters, which were spatiotemporally coupled with compression and focusing, were calculated and discussed with a practical case in SG-Ⅱ5 PW ultrashort petawatt laser. The system-wide spatiotemporal coupling existing in large-aperture broadband ultrashort petawatt lasers was proved to be one of the possible causes of temporal contrast degradation in the focal region.展开更多
There are several petawatt-scale laser facilities around the world and the fidelity of the pulses to target is critical in achieving the highest focused intensities and the highest possible contrast. The United Kingdo...There are several petawatt-scale laser facilities around the world and the fidelity of the pulses to target is critical in achieving the highest focused intensities and the highest possible contrast. The United Kingdom has three such laser facilities which are currently open for access to the academic community: Orion at AWE, Aldermaston and Vulcan & Astra-Gemini at the Central Laser Facility(CLF), STFC(Science and Technology Facilities Council)Rutherford Appleton Laboratory(RAL). These facilities represent the two main classes of petawatt facilities: the mixed OPCPA/Nd:glass high-energy systems of Orion and Vulcan and the ultra-short-pulse Ti:Sapphire system of AstraGemini. Many of the techniques used to enhance and control the pulse generation and delivery to target have been pioneered on these facilities. In this paper, we present the system designs which make this possible and discuss the contrast enhancement schemes that have been implemented.展开更多
A new generation of high power laser facilities will provide laser pulses with extremely high powers of 10 petawatt(PW)and even 100 PW, capable of reaching intensities of 1023 W/cm^2 in the laser focus. These ultra-hi...A new generation of high power laser facilities will provide laser pulses with extremely high powers of 10 petawatt(PW)and even 100 PW, capable of reaching intensities of 1023 W/cm^2 in the laser focus. These ultra-high intensities are nevertheless lower than the Schwinger intensity IS= 2.3×1029 W/cm^2 at which the theory of quantum electrodynamics(QED) predicts that a large part of the energy of the laser photons will be transformed to hard Gamma-ray photons and even to matter, via electron–positron pair production. To enable the investigation of this physics at the intensities achievable with the next generation of high power laser facilities, an approach involving the interaction of two colliding PW laser pulses is being adopted. Theoretical simulations predict strong QED effects with colliding laser pulses of 10 PW focused to intensities 10^(22) W/cm^2.展开更多
As optical parametric chirped pulse amplification has been widely adopted for the generation of extreme intensity laser sources,nonlinear crystals of large aperture are demanded for high-energy amplifiers.Yttrium calc...As optical parametric chirped pulse amplification has been widely adopted for the generation of extreme intensity laser sources,nonlinear crystals of large aperture are demanded for high-energy amplifiers.Yttrium calcium oxyborate(YCa_(4)O(BO_(3))_(3),YCOB)is capable of being grown with apertures exceeding 100 mm,which makes it possible for application in systems of petawatt scale.In this paper,we experimentally demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge,an ultra-broadband non-collinear optical parametric amplifier with YCOB for petawatt-scale compressed pulse generation at 800 nm.Based on the SG-II 5 PW facility,amplified signal energy of approximately 40 J was achieved and pump-to-signal conversion efficiency was up to 42.3%.A gain bandwidth of 87 nm was realized and supported a compressed pulse duration of 22.3 fs.The near-field and wavefront aberration represented excellent characteristics,which were comparable with those achieved in lithium triborate-based amplifiers.These results verified the great potential for YCOB utilization in the future.展开更多
The significance of laser-driven polarized beam acceleration has been increasingly recognized in recent years.We propose an efficient method for generating polarized proton beams from a pre-polarized hydrogen halide g...The significance of laser-driven polarized beam acceleration has been increasingly recognized in recent years.We propose an efficient method for generating polarized proton beams from a pre-polarized hydrogen halide gas jet,utilizing magnetic vortex acceleration enhanced by a laser-driven plasma bubble.When a petawatt laser pulse passes through a pre-polarized gas jet,a bubble-like ultra-nonlinear plasma wave is formed.As a portion of the particles constituting this wave,background protons are swept by the acceleration field of the bubble and oscillate significantly along the laser propagation axis.Some of the pre-accelerated protons in the plasma wave are trapped by the acceleration field at the rear side of the target.This acceleration field is intensified by the transverse expansion of the laser-driven magnetic vortex,resulting in energetic polarized proton beams.The spin of energetic protons is determined by their precession within the electromagnetic field,which is described using the Thomas-Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equation in analytical models and particle-in-cell simulations.Multidimensional simulations reveal that monoenergetic proton beams with an energy of hundreds of MeV,a beam charge of hundreds of pC,and a beam polarization of tens of percent can be produced at laser powers of several petawatts.Such laser-driven polarized proton beams have promise for application in polarized beam colliders,where they can be utilized to investigate particle interactions and to explore the properties of matter under extreme conditions.展开更多
文摘Correction to:Nuclear Science and Techniques(2025)36:100 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-025-01692-6 In this article,Fig.9 appeared incorrectly and have now been corrected in the original publication.For completeness and transparency,both correct and incorrect versions are displayed below.
文摘The article contains an error regarding the electron spectra displayed in Figs.4 and 5 and the data extracted from these spectra.The measurements were made with the SESAME magnetic spectrometer,the working principle of which is recalled in Fig.1.Specifically,a magnetic dipole is used to separate charged particles(electrons in the case of this experiment)depending on their energy,charge and mass.The deflected particles then hit an imaging plate(IP)and deposit energy in its sensitive layer.The kinetic energy of the particles can be evaluated from their impact position on the IP and their number can be inferred from the local energy deposition.
基金partially supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA25020306)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Grant No.62175247)。
文摘The pulse duration is a critical parameter of picosecond-petawatt laser systems because it directly affects the results of high-energy-density physics experiments.This study systematically investigated the effects of the spectral width,central wavelength and beam-pointing deviations on pulse duration stability at the SG-Ⅱfacility.A theoretical analysis of the relationship between spectra and pulse duration is conducted to quantify the impact on pulse duration stability,and the results are further validated through experimental measurements.In addition,beam-pointing deviations at the stretcher significantly affect the pulse duration.For example,a 27μrad deviation can induce a 30%pulse duration variation.In contrast,the compressor exhibits greater robustness.Based on simulation and experimental results,we identify operational tolerance ranges for spectral width and beam-pointing deviation to maintain pulse duration stability within 5%at the SG-Ⅱfacility.These findings provide critical guidance for optimizing the performance and reliability of chirped-pulse amplification/optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification-based high-power laser systems.
基金funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Program(Grant Agreement No.101052200-EUROfusion)funding from LASERLAB-EUROPE(Grant Agreement No.871124,European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program)+5 种基金supported in part by the United States Department of Energy under Grant No.DE-FG02-93ER40773We also acknowledge support from Grant No.PID2021-125389OA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER,UEby“ERDF A Way of Making Europe”by the European Union and Unidad de Investigación Consolidada of Junta de Castilla y León UIC 167supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.12375125the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universitiesthe support of the Czech Science Foundation through Grant No.GACR24-11398S.
文摘Driving of the nuclear fusion reaction p+^(11)B3α+8.7 MeV under laboratory conditions by interaction between high-power laser pulses and matter has become a popular field of research,owing to its numerous potential applications:as an alternative to deuterium-tritium for fusion energy production,astrophysics studies,and alpha-particle generation for medical treatment.One possible scheme for laser-driven p-^(11)B reactions is to direct a beam of laser-accelerated protons onto a boron(B)sample(the so-called“pitcher-catcher”scheme).This technique has been successfully implemented on large high-energy lasers,yielding hundreds of joules per shot at low repetition.We present here a complementary approach,exploiting the high repetition rate of the VEGA III petawatt laser at CLPU(Spain),aiming at accumulating results from many interactions at much lower energy,to provide better control of the parameters and the statistics of the measurements.Despite a moderate energy per pulse,our experiment allowed exploration of the laser-driven fusion process with tens(up to hundreds)of laser shots.The experiment provided a clear signature of the reactions involved and of the fusion products,accumulated over many shots,leading to an improved optimization of the diagnostics for experimental campaigns of this type.In this paper,we discuss the effectiveness of laser-driven p-11B fusion in the pitcher-catcher scheme,at a high repetition rate,addressing the challenges of this experimental scheme and highlighting its critical aspects.Our proposed methodology allows evaluation of the performance of this scheme for laser-driven alpha particle production and can be adapted to high-repetition-rate laser facilities with higher energy and intensity.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 11604350 and 61405211
文摘We demonstrate a novel picosecond optical parametric preamplification to generate high-stability, high-energy and high-contrast seed pulses. The 5ps seed pulse is amplified from 60pJ to 300μJ with an 8.6ps/ 3mJ pump laser in a signal stage of short pulse non-collinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification. The total gain is more than 106 and the rms energy stability is under 1.35%. The contrast ratio is higher than 10s within a scale of 20ps before the main pulse. Consequently, the improvement factor of the signal contrast is approximately equal to the gain 106 outside the pump window.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2022YFA1604401)the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee Program(Grant Nos.22560780100 and 23560750200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.61925507).
文摘After reaching a world record of 10 PW,the peak power development of the titanium-sapphire(Ti:sapphire)PW ultraintense lasers has hit a bottleneck,and it seems to be difficult to continue increasing due to the difficulty of manufacturing larger Ti:sapphire crystals and the limitation of parasitic lasing that can consume stored pump energy.Unlike coherent beam combining,coherent Ti:sapphire tiling is a viable solution for expanding Ti:sapphire crystal sizes,truncating transverse amplified spontaneous emission,suppressing parasitic lasing,and,importantly,not requiring complex space-time tiling control.A theoretical analysis of the above features and an experimental demonstration of high-quality laser amplification are reported.The results show that the addition of a 2×2 tiled Ti:sapphire amplifier to today’s 10 PW ultraintense laser is a viable technique to break the 10 PW limit and directly increase the highest peak power recorded by a factor of 4,further approaching the exawatt class.
基金supported by Extreme Light Infrastructure- Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) Phase Ⅱa project co-financed by the Romanian Government and European Union through the European Regional Development FundThe EPOCH code project was funded by the UK EPSRC grants EP/G054950/1, EP/ G056803/1, EP/G055165/1 and EP/ M022463/1
文摘Laser wakefield accelerators （LWFAs） are considered to be one of the most compeuuve next- generation accelerator candidates. In this paper, we will study the potential high-flux electron beam production of an LWFA driven by petawatt-level laser pulses. In our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, an optimal set of parameters gives -40 nC of charge with 2 PW laser power, thus -400 kA of instantaneous current if we assume the electron beam duration is 100 fs. This high flux and its secondary radiation are widely applicable in nuclear and QED physics, industrial imaging, medical and biological studies.
基金support from the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.XDB34030000)the National Key R & D Program of China (No.2022YFA1602404)+2 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1832129)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.2017309)the Program for Innovative Research Team (in Science and Technology) in University of Henan Province of China (No.21IRTSTHN011)。
文摘Laser-accelerated high-flux-intensity heavy-ion beams are important for new types of accelerators.A particle-in-cell program(Smilei) is employed to simulate the entire process of Station of Extreme Light(SEL) 100 PW laser-accelerated heavy particles using different nanoscale short targets with a thickness of 100 nm Cr, Fe, Ag, Ta, Au, Pb, Th and U, as well as 200 nm thick Al and Ca. An obvious stratification is observed in the simulation. The layering phenomenon is a hybrid acceleration mechanism reflecting target normal sheath acceleration and radiation pressure acceleration, and this phenomenon is understood from the simulated energy spectrum,ionization and spatial electric field distribution. According to the stratification, it is suggested that high-quality heavy-ion beams could be expected for fusion reactions to synthesize superheavy nuclei. Two plasma clusters in the stratification are observed simultaneously, which suggest new techniques for plasma experiments as well as thinner metal targets in the precision machining process.
文摘In the 2015 review paper‘Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide’a comprehensive overview of the current status of highpower facilities of>200 TW was presented.This was largely based on facility specifications,with some description of their uses,for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions,secondary source generation,and inertial confinement fusion(ICF).With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification(CPA),which made these lasers possible,we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed.We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online,with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction.In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multi-disciplinary applications,which demands much higher repetition rates,delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths:mid-IR facilities.So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status,we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes,and some of the critical issues facing their development.
文摘The use of ultra-high intensity laser beams to achieve extreme material states in the laboratory has become almost routine with the development of the petawatt laser. Petawatt class lasers have been constructed for specific research activities,including particle acceleration, inertial confinement fusion and radiation therapy, and for secondary source generation(x-rays, electrons, protons, neutrons and ions). They are also now routinely coupled, and synchronized, to other large scale facilities including megajoule scale lasers, ion and electron accelerators, x-ray sources and z-pinches. The authors of this paper have tried to compile a comprehensive overview of the current status of petawatt class lasers worldwide.The definition of ‘petawatt class' in this context is a laser that delivers >200 TW.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Nos.11304332,11704392,and 61705245)
文摘We present the design and experiment of a broadband optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier(OPCPA) which provides high conversion efficiency and good beam quality at 808 nm wavelength. Using a three-dimensional spatial and temporal numerical model, several design considerations necessary to achieve high conversion efficiency, good beam quality and good output stability are discussed. To improve the conversion efficiency and broaden the amplified signal bandwidth simultaneously, the nonlinear crystal length and OPCPA parameters are analyzed and optimized with the concept of dissipating amplified idler between optical parametric amplification(OPA) of two crystals configuration.In the experiment, an amplifier consisting of two OPCPA stages of ‘L’ type configuration was demonstrated by using the optimized parameters. An amplified signal energy of 160 mJ was achieved with a total pump-to-signal efficiency of 35%(43% efficiency for the OPCPA stage 2). The output bandwidth of signal pulse reached 80 nm and the signal pulse was compressed to 24 fs. The energy stability reached 1.67% RMS at 3% pump energy variation. The optimized OPCPA amplifier operates at a repetition rate of 1 Hz and is used as a front-end injection for the main amplifier of SG-II 5PW laser facility.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 11304332)Key Projects of International Cooperation in Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Temporal contrast is one of the crucial physical determinants which guarantee the successful performance of laser–matter interaction experiments. We generally reviewed the influences on the temporal contrast in three categories of noises based on the requirement by the physical mechanisms. The spatiotemporal influences on temporal contrast at the focal region of the chromatic aberration and propagation time difference introduced by large-aperture broadband spatial filters, which were spatiotemporally coupled with compression and focusing, were calculated and discussed with a practical case in SG-Ⅱ5 PW ultrashort petawatt laser. The system-wide spatiotemporal coupling existing in large-aperture broadband ultrashort petawatt lasers was proved to be one of the possible causes of temporal contrast degradation in the focal region.
文摘There are several petawatt-scale laser facilities around the world and the fidelity of the pulses to target is critical in achieving the highest focused intensities and the highest possible contrast. The United Kingdom has three such laser facilities which are currently open for access to the academic community: Orion at AWE, Aldermaston and Vulcan & Astra-Gemini at the Central Laser Facility(CLF), STFC(Science and Technology Facilities Council)Rutherford Appleton Laboratory(RAL). These facilities represent the two main classes of petawatt facilities: the mixed OPCPA/Nd:glass high-energy systems of Orion and Vulcan and the ultra-short-pulse Ti:Sapphire system of AstraGemini. Many of the techniques used to enhance and control the pulse generation and delivery to target have been pioneered on these facilities. In this paper, we present the system designs which make this possible and discuss the contrast enhancement schemes that have been implemented.
基金support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFA0300803)support from the Project of Shanghai HIgh repetition rate XFEL aNd Extreme light facility(SHINE)+13 种基金the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDB16)support from the EPSRC,UK(Nos.EP/L013975 and EP/N022696/1)support from Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics(ELI-NP) Phase IIa project co-financed by the Romanian Government and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fundsupport from EPSRC(No.EP/M018091/1)support from EPSRC(No.EP/M018555/1)STFC(Nos.ST/J002062/1 and ST/P002021/1)Horizon2020 funding from the European Research Council(ERC)(No.682399)support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11622547,11875319,11875091,11474360,and 11175255)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFA0404802)the Science Challenge Program(No.TZ2016005)the Hunan Province Science and Technology Program of China(No.2017RS3042)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11347028,11405083,and 11675075)UK Engineering and Physics Sciences Research Council(Nos.EP/G054940/1,EP/G055165/1,and EP/G056803/1)
文摘A new generation of high power laser facilities will provide laser pulses with extremely high powers of 10 petawatt(PW)and even 100 PW, capable of reaching intensities of 1023 W/cm^2 in the laser focus. These ultra-high intensities are nevertheless lower than the Schwinger intensity IS= 2.3×1029 W/cm^2 at which the theory of quantum electrodynamics(QED) predicts that a large part of the energy of the laser photons will be transformed to hard Gamma-ray photons and even to matter, via electron–positron pair production. To enable the investigation of this physics at the intensities achievable with the next generation of high power laser facilities, an approach involving the interaction of two colliding PW laser pulses is being adopted. Theoretical simulations predict strong QED effects with colliding laser pulses of 10 PW focused to intensities 10^(22) W/cm^2.
基金partially supported by the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation(No.20ZR1464400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Nos.12074399,12204500 and 12004403)+4 种基金the Key Projects of Intergovernmental International Scientific and Technological Innovation Cooperation(No.2021YFE0116700)the Shanghai Sailing Program(No.22YF1455300)the International Partnership Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.181231KYSB20170022)the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Nos.CXJJ-21S015,XDA25020311 and XDA25020105)NSAF(No.U1930126)
文摘As optical parametric chirped pulse amplification has been widely adopted for the generation of extreme intensity laser sources,nonlinear crystals of large aperture are demanded for high-energy amplifiers.Yttrium calcium oxyborate(YCa_(4)O(BO_(3))_(3),YCOB)is capable of being grown with apertures exceeding 100 mm,which makes it possible for application in systems of petawatt scale.In this paper,we experimentally demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge,an ultra-broadband non-collinear optical parametric amplifier with YCOB for petawatt-scale compressed pulse generation at 800 nm.Based on the SG-II 5 PW facility,amplified signal energy of approximately 40 J was achieved and pump-to-signal conversion efficiency was up to 42.3%.A gain bandwidth of 87 nm was realized and supported a compressed pulse duration of 22.3 fs.The near-field and wavefront aberration represented excellent characteristics,which were comparable with those achieved in lithium triborate-based amplifiers.These results verified the great potential for YCOB utilization in the future.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.12075081 and 12404395)the Innovation Group Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China(Grant No.2024AFA038)Bin Liu acknowledges the support of Guangdong High Level Innovation Research Institute Project,Grant No.2021B0909050006.
文摘The significance of laser-driven polarized beam acceleration has been increasingly recognized in recent years.We propose an efficient method for generating polarized proton beams from a pre-polarized hydrogen halide gas jet,utilizing magnetic vortex acceleration enhanced by a laser-driven plasma bubble.When a petawatt laser pulse passes through a pre-polarized gas jet,a bubble-like ultra-nonlinear plasma wave is formed.As a portion of the particles constituting this wave,background protons are swept by the acceleration field of the bubble and oscillate significantly along the laser propagation axis.Some of the pre-accelerated protons in the plasma wave are trapped by the acceleration field at the rear side of the target.This acceleration field is intensified by the transverse expansion of the laser-driven magnetic vortex,resulting in energetic polarized proton beams.The spin of energetic protons is determined by their precession within the electromagnetic field,which is described using the Thomas-Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equation in analytical models and particle-in-cell simulations.Multidimensional simulations reveal that monoenergetic proton beams with an energy of hundreds of MeV,a beam charge of hundreds of pC,and a beam polarization of tens of percent can be produced at laser powers of several petawatts.Such laser-driven polarized proton beams have promise for application in polarized beam colliders,where they can be utilized to investigate particle interactions and to explore the properties of matter under extreme conditions.
