RESUMO
This report describes an active solid target positioning device for driving plasma mirrors with high repetition rate ultra-high intensity lasers. The position of the solid target surface with respect to the laser focus is optically monitored and mechanically controlled on the nm scale to ensure reproducible interaction conditions for each shot at arbitrary repetition rate. We demonstrate the target capabilities by driving high-order harmonic generation from plasma mirrors produced on glass targets with a near-relativistic intensity few-cycle pulse laser system operating at 1 kHz. During experiments, residual target surface motion can be actively stabilized down to 47 nm (root mean square), which ensures sub-300-as relative temporal stability of the plasma mirror as a secondary source of coherent attosecond extreme ultraviolet radiation in pump-probe experiments.
RESUMO
As a high-intensity laser-pulse reflects on a plasma mirror, high-order harmonics of the incident frequency can be generated in the reflected beam. We present a numerical study of the phase properties of these individual harmonics, and demonstrate experimentally that they can be coherently controlled through the phase of the driving laser field. The harmonic intrinsic phase, resulting from the generation process, is directly related to the coherent sub-laser-cycle dynamics of plasma electrons, and thus constitutes a new experimental probe of these dynamics.
RESUMO
The full characterization of a time resolved x-ray spectrometer is presented. It is based on the coupling of a conical crystal with a subpicosecond x-ray streak camera. The detector is designed to operate in accumulation mode at high repetition rate (up to 1 kHz) allowing signal to noise ratio as high as 10(4):1. Optical switches have been used to limit the jitter induced in the subpicosecond range, demonstrating the very long term stability (a few hours) of the entire device. The data analysis have been developed to get the spectral and temporal resolution of an ultrashort laser-plasma-based x-ray source.
RESUMO
We present a new mechanism for high-order harmonic generation by reflection of a laser beam from an overdense plasma, efficient even at moderate laser intensities (down to Igamma2 approximately 4x10(15) W cm-2 microm2). In this mechanism, a transient phase matching between the electromagnetic field and plasma oscillations within a density gradient leads to the emission of harmonics up to the plasma frequency. These plasma oscillations are periodically excited in the wake of attosecond electron bunches which sweep across the density gradient. This process leads to a train of unevenly spaced chirped attosecond pulses and, hence, to broadened and chirped harmonics. This last effect is confirmed experimentally.
RESUMO
We have used point-projection K-shell absorption spectroscopy to infer the ionization and recombination dynamics of transient aluminum plasmas. Two femtosecond beams of the 100 TW laser at the LULI facility were used to produce an aluminum plasma on a thin aluminum foil (83 or 50 nm), and a picosecond x-ray backlighter source. The short-pulse backlighter probed the aluminum plasma at different times by adjusting the delay between the two femtosecond driving beams. Absorption x-ray spectra at early times are characteristic of a dense and rather homogeneous plasma. Collisional-radiative atomic physics coupled with hydrodynamic simulations reproduce fairly well the measured average ionization as a function of time.
RESUMO
Improving the temporal contrast of ultrashort and ultraintense laser pulses is a major technical issue for high-field experiments. This can be achieved using a so-called "plasma mirror." We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the plasma mirror that allows us to quantitatively assess the performances of this system. Our experimental results include time-resolved measurements of the plasma mirror reflectivity, and of the phase distortions it induces on the reflected beam. Using an antireflection coated plate as a target, an improvement of the contrast ratio by more than two orders of magnitude can be achieved with a single plasma mirror. We demonstrate that this system is very robust against changes in the pulse fluence and imperfections of the beam spatial profile, which is essential for applications.
