Development of soft x-ray time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy system with a two-dimensional angle-resolved time-of-flight analyzer at SPring-8 BL07LSU

We have developed a soft x-ray time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy system using synchrotron radiation (SR) at SPring-8 BL07LSU and an ultrashort pulse laser system. Two-dimensional angle-resolved measurements were performed with a time-of-flight-type analyzer. The photoemission spectroscopy system is synchronized to light pulses of SR and laser using a time control unit. The performance of the instrument is demonstrated by mapping the band structure of a Si(111) crystal over the surface Brillouin zones and observing relaxation of the surface photo-voltage effect using the pump (laser) and probe (SR) method.     

Single-frequency coherent terahertz-wave generation using two Cr:forsterite lasers pumped using one Nd:YAG laser

We have developed a compact terahertz-wave generator using two small Cr:forsterite lasers with single Nd:YAG laser pumping based on difference frequency generation in a GaP crystal. A Cr:forsterite laser was constructed with diffraction gratings, by which the pulse duration and delay time of the Cr:forsterite laser depend on the Cr:forsterite laser energy and the cavity length. The Cr:forsterite laser energy was tuned using the optical alignment and pumping energy. Temporal overlap of two Cr:forsterite laser pulses was realized at the GaP crystal. A single-frequency terahertz wave was generated at energy of 4.7 pJ around 2.95 THz using a 30-cm-long Cr:forsterite laser system.     

Use of an CXP8 X-ray streak camera for measuring the time characteristics of X rays emitted by a laser plasma

The time dependence of the X-ray intensity from targets exposed to single-shot or successive picosecond laser pulses at the NEODIM facility was obtained by direct measurements. The measurements were taken using an CXP8 streak camera (produced by the Research Institute of Pulse Techniques) with a picosecond time resolution under different operating conditions of the facility. The observed X-ray pulses had a half-height duration of 15–50 ps and a rise time of 5 ps at a ∼1.5-ps duration of the effecting laser pulse. Under actual experimental conditions, it was ascertained that time dependences of the X-ray intensity could be recorded for more than 200 spatial elements on a single record at a sweep duration of 0.5 ns per frame and a time resolution of <5 ps.     

Short pulse laser train for laser plasma interaction experiments

A multiframe, high-time resolution pump-probe diagnostic consisting of a consecutive train of ultrashort laser pulses (approximately ps) has been developed for use with a chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system. A system of high quality windows is used to create a series of 1054 nm picosecond-laser pulses which are injected into the CPA system before the pulse stretcher and amplifiers. By adding or removing windows in the pulse train forming optics, the number of pulses can be varied. By varying the distance and thickness of the respective optical elements, the time in between the pulses, i.e., the time in between frames, can be set. In our example application, the CPA pulse train is converted to 527 nm using a KDP crystal and focused into a preformed plasma and the reflected laser light due to stimulated Raman scattering is measured. Each pulse samples different plasma conditions as the plasma evolves in time, producing more data on each laser shot than with a single short pulse probe. This novel technique could potentially be implemented to obtain multiple high-time resolution measurements of the dynamics of physical processes over hundreds of picoseconds or even nanoseconds with picosecond resolution on a single shot.     

准分子激光脉冲直写刻蚀速率与能量密度的关系

为了探索低成本、大深宽比加工方法,建立了实用的准分子激光微加工系统.以玻璃为实验靶材,用精密微动平台准确调节靶材位置,利用波长248nm的KrF准分子激光器,研究了准分子激光直写刻蚀过程中平均刻蚀速率与激光脉冲能量密度之间的关系.加工出的沟槽剖面形状均呈现锥型,单脉冲烧蚀速率随脉冲数的增加而减小,激光脉冲对材料的刻蚀具有能量阈值,加工槽的深度具有上限值.采用平行激光束或对加工过程进行动态控制还可实现矩形深槽或圆柱深孔的加工.     

Some peculiarities of the construction of an acousto-optic delay line with direct detection

A function approximating the response of an acousto-optic delay line to a rectangular input action was determined in view of the structural, electrical, and physical parameters of an acousto-optic modulator, laser, and photoelastic medium. The duration of the input pulse and the cross-sectional diameter of the laser beam are the decisive factors in the formation of the output response. The diffraction efficiency was calculated. The results were experimentally verified for the case of the application of a rectangular pulse to the delay-line input. The waveforms of the input and output pulses are presented.     

Green and ultraviolet pulse generation with a compact, fiber laser, chirped-pulse amplification system for aerosol fluorescence measurements

We use a compact chirped-pulse amplified system to harmonically generate ultrashort pulses for aerosol fluorescence measurements. The seed laser is a compact, all-normal dispersion, mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser with a 1050 nm center wavelength operating at 41 MHz. Average powers of more than 1.2 W at 525 nm and 350 mW at 262 nm are generated with <500?fs pulse durations. The pulses are time-stretched with high-dispersion fiber, amplified by a high-power, large-mode-area fiber amplifier, and recompressed using a chirped volume holographic Bragg grating. The resulting high-peak-power pulses allow for highly efficient harmonic generation. We also demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge, the use of a mode-locked ultraviolet source to excite individual biological particles and other calibration particles in an inlet air flow as they pass through an optical chamber. The repetition rate is ideal for biofluorescence measurements as it allows faster sampling rates as well as the higher peak powers as compared to previously demonstrated Q-switched systems while maintaining a pulse period that is longer than the typical fluorescence lifetimes. Thus, the fluorescence excitation can be considered to be quasicontinuous and requires no external synchronization and triggering.     

Digital Phase Modulation and Correlation Processing of Ultrasound Signals for Pulsed Measurements in an Inhomogeneous Medium

A method and hardware for ultrasonic control of an inhomogeneous gaseous medium are presented. An algorithm based on digital phase modulation of pulse signals and their correlation processing is used to increase the resolution of an ultrasonic device. The algorithm allows high-resolution measurements of the time delay between the ultrasound pulses that arrive at a receiver along different propagation paths in an inhomogeneous medium. It is shown that it is possible to measure small values of time delays by analyzing the asymmetry of the cross correlation functions of signals. Laboratory experimental measurements carried out under scattering of ultrasound in an inhomogeneous airflow are described. The possibility of measuring relative time delays of 3–5 μs of pulses at the 40-kHz carrier frequency of ultrasound is shown.     

Formation of subwavelength grating on molybdenum mirrors using a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser system operating at 10 Hz

We report formation of subwavelength surface grating over large surface area of molybdenum mirror by multiple irradiation of amplified femtosecond laser pulses from a homemade Ti:sapphire oscillator-amplifier laser system in a raster scan configuration. The laser system delivered 2 mJ, 80 fs duration laser pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz. Various parameters such as pulse fluence, number of pulses, laser polarization, scan speed, and scan steps were optimized to obtain uniform subwavelength gratings. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy measurements were conducted to analyze the elemental composition of mirror surfaces before and after laser treatment.     

Note: a simple technique for reduction of the fall time and enhancement of the peak power of diode side-pumped intracavity frequency doubled repetitively Q-switched green laser pulse

A simple method to reduce the fall time and enhancement of peak power of intracavity generated Q-switched green pulses is demonstrated. In this method, a mirror with partial transmission at the fundamental lasing wavelength is inserted in front of the nonlinear crystal inside a conventional linear intracavity frequency doubled configuration to form two coupled sub-cavities. The coupled cavity configuration exhibits considerable improvement in the pulse quality. The fall time and timing jitter of the green pulses are reduced by a factor of 2.5 and 4.5, respectively, in comparison to an intracavity frequency doubled system with nearly identical cavity parameters and the peak power of the green pulses is considerably increased. The pulse shape from the Q-switched coupled cavity green laser system is analyzed using the rate equation model. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment.     

Synchronized and configurable source of electrical pulses for x-ray pump-probe experiments

A method is described for the generation of software tunable patterns of nanosecond electrical pulses. The bipolar, high repetition rate (up to 250 MHz), fast rise time (<30 ps), square pulses are suitable for applications such as the excitation sequence in dynamic pump-probe experiments. Synchronization with the time structure of a synchrotron facility is possible as well as fine control of the relative delay in steps of 10 ps. The pulse generator described here is used to excite magnetic nanostructures with current pulses. Having an excitation system which can match the high repetition rate of a synchrotron allows for utilization of the full x-ray flux and is needed in experiments which require a large photon flux. The fast rise times allow for picosecond time resolution in pump-probe experiments. All pulse pattern parameters are configurable by software.     

Synchronization of Thomson scattering measurements on MAST using an FPGA based "Smart" trigger unit

The MAST Thomson scattering diagnostic has recently been upgraded to make electron density and temperature measurements at 130 points across the 1.5 m diameter of the plasma. The new system is able to take 240 measurements per second using eight Nd:YAG lasers, each running at 30 Hz. The exact firing time of these lasers is adjusted with 100 ns precision using a field programmable gate array based trigger unit. Trigger pulses are produced to fire the lamps of all lasers and the Q switches with the appropriate delay depending on the warm-up status. The lasers may be fired in rapid bursts so as to achieve a high temporal resolution over eight points separated down to the microsecond level. This trigger unit receives optical trigger events and signals from external sources, allowing the trigger sequences to be resynchronized to the start of the plasma pulse and further events during the shot such as the entry of a fuelling pellet or randomly occurring plasma events. This resynchronization of the laser firing sequence allows accurate and reproducible measurements of fast plasma phenomena.     

X-ray diffraction in the pulsed laser heated diamond anvil cell

We have developed in situ x-ray synchrotron diffraction measurements of samples heated by a pulsed laser in the diamond anvil cell at pressure up to 60 GPa. We used an electronically modulated 2-10 kHz repetition rate, 1064-1075 nm fiber laser with 1-100 μs pulse width synchronized with a gated x-ray detector (Pilatus) and time-resolved radiometric temperature measurements. This enables the time domain measurements as a function of temperature in a microsecond time scale (averaged over many events, typically more than 10,000). X-ray diffraction data, temperature measurements, and finite element calculations with realistic geometric and thermochemical parameters show that in the present experimental configuration, samples 4 μm thick can be continuously temperature monitored (up to 3000 K in our experiments) with the same level of axial and radial temperature uniformities as with continuous heating. We find that this novel technique offers a new and convenient way of fine tuning the maximum sample temperature by changing the pulse width of the laser. This delicate control, which may also prevent chemical reactivity and diffusion, enables accurate measurement of melting curves, phase changes, and thermal equations of state.     

Fast-Pulse Detection for Isotopic Abundance Determination By Resonance Ionization,Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACT

A linear time-of-flight mass spectrometer with static electrode voltages was developed for isotopic abundance measurements and showed good resolving power (620) for atomic ions. Positive ions, produced by multiphoton excitations, were detected by a microchannel plate detector that featured low noise and good pulse height distribution. Signal pulses were too fast for precise quantification by currently available transient digitizers. A gated pulse counter, which used AND logic circuitry to direct pulses for different isotopes into separate channels of a counter, was developed for quantification of the signal pulses and results for isotopic ratio measurements showed good precision, 0.3% to 1% relative standard deviation. The time-of-flight mass spectrometer with gated pulse counter was particularly well matched to pulsed laser ionization, because it could detect all isotopes of the selected element ionized in each laser pulse, and it did not impose a limit on the laser pulse repetition rate.     

AlGaAs DH pump laser for photoluminescence lifetime measurements

The use of GaAlAs double heterostructure lasers as a pulsed excitation source for photoluminescence time-decay measurements is described. Subnanosecond laser pulses easily allow the determination of luminescence decay times >/=500 ps using a single photon counting system. In contrast to mode-locked gas or dye lasers, this new technique utilizes simple equipment (diode laser and pulse generator) and requires no special alignment or tuning procedures.     

Acousto-optic modulator system for femtosecond laser pulses

Femtosecond laser pulses have made a revolution in multiphoton excitation microscopy, micromachining, and optical storage for their unprecedented high peak power. However, modulation of their intensity with acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is frustrated by dispersion which results in a significant stretch in pulse width. Here we report a scheme composed of two acousto-optic deflectors (AODs) to modulate the intensity of the femtosecond laser pulses with simultaneous compensation for the temporal dispersion. With commercial AODs, we demonstrated such an AOM system for the femtosecond laser pulses with overall transmission efficiency of around 80%. The pulse width of the exit beam is 115-177 fs for an input pulse of 110 fs, across the wavelength range of 720-920 nm when the temporal dispersion compensation is optimally tuned at 800 nm. The fluorescence intensity in a two-photon microscopy experiment performed using this system increased 5.5-fold over that of the uncompensated AOM.     

A compact, low jitter, nanosecond rise time, high voltage pulse generator with variable amplitude

In this paper, a compact, low jitter, nanosecond rise time, command triggered, high peak power, gas-switch pulse generator system is developed for high energy physics experiment. The main components of the system are a high voltage capacitor, the spark gap switch and R = 50 Ω load resistance built into a structure to obtain a fast high power pulse. The pulse drive unit, comprised of a vacuum planar triode and a stack of avalanche transistors, is command triggered by a single or multiple TTL (transistor-transistor logic) level pulses generated by a trigger pulse control unit implemented using the 555 timer circuit. The control unit also accepts user input TTL trigger signal. The vacuum planar triode in the pulse driving unit that close the first stage switches is applied to drive the spark gap reducing jitter. By adjusting the charge voltage of a high voltage capacitor charging power supply, the pulse amplitude varies from 5 kV to 10 kV, with a rise time of <3 ns and the maximum peak current up to 200 A (into 50 Ω). The jitter of the pulse generator system is less than 1 ns. The maximum pulse repetition rate is set at 10 Hz that limited only by the gas-switch and available capacitor recovery time.     

Note: Optical trigger device with sub-picosecond timing jitter and stability

We are presenting the design, construction, and overall performance of the optical trigger device. This device generates an electrical signal synchronously to the detected ultra-short optical pulse. The device was designed for application in satellite laser ranging and laser time transfer experiments, time correlated photon counting and similar experiments, where picosecond timing resolution and detection delay stability are required. It consists of the ultrafast optical detector, signal discriminator, output pulse forming circuit, and output driver circuits. It was constructed as a single compact device to optimize their matching and maintain stability. The detector consists of an avalanche photodiode--both silicon and germanium types may be used to cover the wavelength range of 350-1550 nm. The analogue signal of this photodiode is sensed by the ultrafast comparator with 8 GHz bandwidth. The ps clock distribution circuit is used to generate the fast rise/fall time output pulses of pre-set length. The trigger device timing performance is excellent: the random component of the timing jitter is typically 880 fs, the temperature dependence of the detection delay was measured to be 370 fs/K. The systematic error contribution depends on the laser used and its stability. The sub-ps values have been obtained for various laser sources.     

CO2 laser pulse shortening by laser ablation of a metal target

A repeatable and flexible technique for pulse shortening of laser pulses has been applied to transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO(2) laser pulses. The technique involves focusing the laser output onto a highly reflective metal target so that plasma is formed, which then operates as a shutter due to strong laser absorption and scattering. Precise control of the focused laser intensity allows for timing of the shutter so that different temporal portions of the pulse can be reflected from the target surface before plasma formation occurs. This type of shutter enables one to reduce the pulse duration down to ~2 ns and to remove the low power, long duration tails that are present in TEA CO(2) pulses. The transmitted energy is reduced as the pulse duration is decreased but the reflected power is ~10 MW for all pulse durations. A simple laser heating model verifies that the pulse shortening depends directly on the plasma formation time, which in turn is dependent on the applied laser intensity. It is envisaged that this plasma shutter will be used as a tool for pulse shaping in the search for laser pulse conditions to optimize conversion efficiency from laser energy to useable extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation for EUV source development.     

Construction and development of a time-resolved x-ray magnetic circular dichroism-photoelectron emission microscopy system using femtosecond laser pulses at BL25SU SPring-8

A femtosecond pulsed laser system has been installed at the BL25SU soft x-ray beamline at SPring-8 for time-resolved pump-probe experiments with synchronization of the laser pulses to the circularly polarized x-ray pulses. There are four different apparatuses situated at the beamline; for photoemission spectroscopy, two-dimensional display photoelectron diffraction, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) with electromagnetic coils, and photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM). All four can be used for time-resolved experiments, and preliminary investigations have been carried out using the PEEM apparatus to observe magnetization dynamics in combination with XMCD. In this article, we describe the details of the stroboscopic pump-probe XMCD-PEEM experiment, and present preliminary data. The repetition rate of the laser pulses is set using a pulse selector to match the single bunches of SPring-8's hybrid filling pattern, which consists of several single bunches and a continuous bunch train. Electrons ejected during the bunch train, which do not provide time-resolved signal, are eliminated by periodically reducing the channel plate voltage using a custom-built power supply. The pulsed laser is used to create 300 ps long magnetic field pulses, which cause magnetic excitations in micron-sized magnetic elements which contain magnetic vortex structures. The observed frequency of the motion is consistent with previously reported observations and simulations.