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This study reports the first experimental demonstration of surface contamination cleaning from a high-repetition supply of thin-tape targets for laser-driven carbon-ion acceleration. The adsorption of contaminants containing protons, mainly water vapor and hydrocarbons, on the surface of materials exposed to low vacuum (>10−3 Pa) suppresses carbon-ion acceleration. The newly developed contamination cleaner heats a 5-μm-thick nickel tape to over 400 °C in 100 ms by induction heating. In the future, this heating method could be scaled to laser-driven carbon-ion acceleration at rates beyond 10 Hz. The contaminant hydrogen is eliminated from the heated nickel surface, and a carbon source layer—derived from the contaminant carbon—is spontaneously formed by the catalytic effect of nickel. The species of ions accelerated from the nickel film heated to various temperatures have been observed experimentally. When the nickel film is heated beyond ∼150 °C, the proton signal considerably decreases, with a remarkable increase in the number and energy of carbon ions. The Langmuir adsorption model adequately explains the temperature dependence of desorption and re-adsorption of the adsorbed molecules on a heated target surface, and the temperature required for proton-free carbon-ion acceleration can be estimated.

The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) characteristics of radiochromic film (RCF) dosimetry with optical systems were evaluated with an RCF, HD-V2, which is transferred with the line patterns of the resolution test chart. In the evaluation using a GT-X980 flatbed scanner, a high contrast spatial resolution with an MTF of ≥0.8 is limited to about 83.3 μm due to artifacts such as scattering of the HD-V2 transmitted light. To achieve high contrast at higher spatial frequencies, a test bench microdensitometer (TBMD) was developed, and its optical performance, dose equivalent response, and spatial resolution characteristics with MTF were evaluated. The TBMD had a minimum readout focal diameter of 13 μm, and its high contrast spatial resolution with an MTF of ≥0.8 is about 11.9 μm. The result that the optical density error increases with decreasing focal diameter in the TBMD supports our hypothesis that these errors are based on the non-uniformity of the shading and surface roughness of the HD-V2 active layer monomers.

A novel three-dimensional surface analysis system for iron-based solid materials has been developed. This system is composed of a synchrotron Mössbauer source, an X-ray focusing device, a precision stage, a gas flow proportional counter for conversion electron measurements, and multiple multichannel scalers. The performance was evidenced by determining the spatial distribution of the iron oxide abundance on a laser-ablated iron foil surface. This system can be widely utilized as a powerful analytical tool in steel science for corrosion, welding, and laser surface modification.

While generating high harmonics in long media of helium gas, at certain laser intensities and chirp, the spectral shift and split of the harmonic lines were experimentally observed, sometimes exceeding one harmonic order. Beyond reporting these results, numerical simulations were performed to understand the phenomenon. A 3D propagation model was solved under the strong field approximation. According to the simulations, the distortion of the laser beam profile during propagation and the consequently accused change in the conditions of phase matching are responsible for the observations. The observed phenomena can be an excellent tool to produce tunable narrow band harmonic sources covering a broad range around 13.5 nm for spectroscopy and for seeding X-ray lasers, and to understand non-desired detuning of the seed wavelength.

A recombination plasma soft X-ray laser that is associated with Li-like Aluminum ion Al10+ 3d-4f transition (wavelength: 15.47 nm) was investigated to increase the gain coefficient. By optimizing the time interval of the 16-pulse train, higher-density plasma with a low temperature could be generated, and thus, we obtained the gain coefficient of 9.84 cm−1 at the pump laser pulse energy which was as low as 3 J. To further enhance the X-ray laser output energy, the single resonator which was installed by using a Mo/Si multilayer mirror that has a high reflectivity of 0.45 at 15.5 nm, and the X-ray spectrum after the double pass in the lasing medium was measured. As a result, the output intensity was increased to be 1.5 times higher than t=when it was compared with those that were conducted with no X-ray mirror.

We achieved a relative optically thin state in laser-produced heavy element plasmas at determined electron temperatures, which has been predicted by power balance and collisional-radiative models. We also mapped the power-loss processes in sub-nanosecond and nanosecond laser-produced high-Z plasmas. The electron temperature evaluation was in good agreement with the power balance model and was supported by the spectral analysis. The output flux in the soft x-ray region was stronger at a higher critical density.

The extension of the roadmap of shorter wavelength extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray sources is a topic of considerable interest. We have studied the optimized emission from high power and/or high brightness sources based on unresolved transition array (UTA) emission. The peak UTA wavelengths follow a quasi-Moseley’s law as λ=33.82×R∞−1(Z−20.86)−1.61 nm for the laser wavelength of 1064 nm (the critical density of 1 × 1021 cm−3) and λ=165.8×R∞−1(Z−12.44)−1.94 nm for the laser wavelength of 532 nm (the critical density of 4 × 1021 cm−3), respectively. The photon flux decreased with increasing atomic number. We also mapped the optimum electron temperatures and corresponding charge states required to produce strong soft x-ray UTA emission with a photon flux of the order of 1014 photons nm−1 sr−1. The present quasi-Moseley’s law is sufficient for identifying the optimum element for numerous applications, such as material ablation and ionization, nanolithography, and in vivo biological imaging.

The initial stages of the femtosecond (fs) laser ablation process of gold, platinum, and tungsten were observed by single-shot soft x-ray imaging technique. The formation and evolution of soft x-ray Newton’s rings (NRs) were found for the first time. The soft x-ray NRs are caused by the interference between the bulk ablated surface and nanometer-scale thin spallation layer; they originate from the metal surface at pump energy fluence of around 1 J/cm2 and work as a flying soft x-ray beam splitter.

Artificial joint acetabular cup stability is essential for successful total hip arthroplasty. However, a quantitative evaluation approach for clinical use is lacking. We developed a resonance frequency analysis (RFA) system involving a laser system that is fully contactless. This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of laser RFA for evaluating acetabular cup stability. First, the finite element method was performed to determine the vibration mode for analysis. Second, the acetabular cup was press-fitted into a reamed polyurethane cavity that replicated the human acetabular roof. The implanted acetabular cup was vibrated with pulse laser irradiation and the induced vibration was detected with a laser Doppler vibrometer. The time domain signal from the vibrometer was analyzed by fast Fourier transform to obtain the vibration frequency spectrum. After laser RFA, the pull-down force of the acetabular cup was measured as conventional implant fixation strength. The frequency of the first highest amplitude between 2 kHz and 6 kHz was considered as the resonance peak frequency, and its relationship with the pull-down force was assessed. The peak frequency could predict the pull-down force (R2 = 0.859, p < 0.000). Our findings suggest that laser RFA might be useful to measure acetabular cup stability during surgery.

We discuss requirements on relativistic-irradiance (I0 > 1018 W/cm2) high-power (multi-terawatt) ultrashort (femtosecond) lasers for efficient generation of high-order harmonics in gas jet targets in a new regime discovered recently (Pirozhkov et al., 2012). Here, we present the results of several experimental campaigns performed with different irradiances, analyse the obtained results and derive the required laser parameters. In particular, we found that the root mean square (RMS) wavefront error should be smaller than ~100 nm (~λ/8). Further, the angular dispersion should be kept considerably smaller than the diffraction divergence, i.e., μrad level for 100–300-mm beam diameters. The corresponding angular chirp should not exceed 10−2 μrad/nm for a 40-nm bandwidth. We show the status of the J-KAREN-P laser (Kiriyama et al., 2015; Pirozhkov et al., 2017) and report on the progress towards satisfying these requirements.

At the Kansai Photon Science Institute (KPSI, Kyoto, Japan), there are three unique high-power laser facilities. Here, we introduce the features of each facility and some experimental studies, which will be useful to users as a reference.

We investigated the optical emission from the ablating surfaces induced by the irradiations of soft x-ray laser (SXRL) pulses with the aim of estimation of the maximum electron temperature. No emission signal in the spectral range of 400-800 nm could be observed despite the formation of damage structures on the target surfaces. Hence, we estimated an upper limit for the electron temperature of 0.4-0.7 eV for the process duration of 100-1000 ps. Our results imply that the ablation and/or surface modification by the SXRL is not accompanied by plasma formation but is induced by thermo-mechanical pressure, which is so called a spallative ablation. This spallative ablation process occurs in the low electron temperature region of a non-equilibrium state of warm dense matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We irradiated the soft x-ray laser (SXRL) pulses having a wavelength of 13.9 nm, a duration time of 7 ps, and fluences of up to 27 mJ/cm2 to aluminum (Al) surface. After the irradiation process, the modified surface was observed with the visible microscope, the scanning electron microscope, and the atomic force microscope. The surface modifications caused by the SXRL pulses were clearly seen, and it was found that the conical structures having about 70-150 nm in diameters were formed under a single pulse shot. The conical structures were formed in the features with the average depth of about 40 nm, and this value was in accordance with the attenuation length of the SXRL beam for Al. However, those conical structures were deconstructed under the multiple pulse shots exposure. Thermomechanical modeling of SXRL laser interaction with Al surface, which explains nanostructure surface modification, was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomography techniques have been developed based on acoustic emission and elastic-wave propagation to visualize the internal defects in concrete. For instance, the tomography results can reasonably estimate the wave velocity distribution in consideration of P-wave propagation detours, which are supposed to be altered by the disturbance such as internal defects. As for the excitation of elastic waves on the surface of targeted structure, it is generally known that contact time of a steel sphere ball drop depends on the diameter of the ball, and the frequency component generated by the ball impact is derived by the contact time. In this study, to realize remote inspection works, the elastic wave is induced onto the concrete surface by the impact laser system employing high-power pulse, followed by investigating the influence of laser intensity and spot size. To implement the prompt and reasonable laser remote sensing system to damage detection in concrete, high speed scanning of laser pulse irradiation is introduced on the surface of concrete. Amplitude and frequency dependence are analyzed between the ray paths of the propagated elastic waves, calculating P-wave and surface wave propagation time with amplitude attenuation. The applicability of laser-induced elastic wave for the technique is thus investigated when internal defects of concrete is visualized by means of tomography technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A flat-field grazing incidence spectrometer operating on the spectral region from 1 to 10 nm was built for research on physics of high temperature and high energy density plasmas. It consists of a flat-field grating with 2400 lines/mm as a dispersing element and an x-ray charged coupled device (CCD) camera as the detector. The diffraction efficiency of the grating and the sensitivity of the CCD camera were directly measured by use of synchrotron radiation at the BL-11D beamline of the Photon Factory (PF). The influence of contamination to the spectrometer also was characterized. This result enables us to evaluate the absolute number of photons in a wide range wavelength between 1 and 10 nm within an acquisition. We obtained absolutely calibrated spectra from highly charged ion plasmas of Gd, from which a maximum energy conversion efficiency of 0.26% was observed at a Nd:YAG laser intensity of 3 × 1012 W/cm². [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of photomechanical spallation during femtosecond laserablation of fused silica was studied by time-resolvedreflectivity with double pump pulses. Oscillation of reflectivity was caused by interference between the probe pulses reflected at the sample surface and the spallation layer, and was enhanced when the surface was irradiated with the second pump pulse within a time interval, Δt, of several picoseconds after the first pump pulse. However, as Δt was increased, the oscillation amplitude decreased with an exponential decay time of 10 ps. The oscillation disappeared when Δt exceeded 20 ps. This result suggests that the formation time of the spallation layer is approximately 10 ps. A second pump pulse with Δt shorter than 10 ps excites the bulk sample. The spallation layer that is photo-excited by the first and second pump pulses is separated afterward. In contrast, a pulse with Δt longer than the formation time excites and breaks up the spallation layer that has already been separated from the bulk. The formation time of the spallation layer, as determined in this experiment, is attributed to the characteristic time of the mechanical equilibration corresponding to the thickness divided by the sound velocity of the photo-excited layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have characterized the spectral structure and the temporal history of the laser-produced high-Z multi-charged ion plasmas for the efficient water window soft x-ray sources. Strong unresolved transition array emission was observed due to 4d-4f and 4f-5g transitions from Au, Pb, and Bi plasmas in the 280-700 eV photon energy region. The temporal behavior of the emission was essentially similar of that of the laser pulse with a slight delay between different transitions. These results provide feedback for accurate modeling of the atomic processes with the radiative hydrodynamic simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of femtosecond laser ablation of transparent polymers were examined using time-resolved reflectivity. When these polymers were irradiated by a pump pulse with fluence above the ablation threshold of 0.8-2.0 J/cm², we observed the oscillation of the reflectivity caused by the interference between the reflected probe pulses from the sample surface and the thin layer due to the non-thermal photomechanical effects of spallation. As the fluence of the pump pulse increased, the separation velocity of the thin layer increased from 6 km/s to the asymptotic value of 11 km/s. It is suggested that the velocities are determined by shock-wave velocities of the photo-excited layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a benchmark measurement of the electron density profile in the region where the electron density is 1019cm-3 and where the bulk of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission occurs from isotropically expanding spherical high-Z gadolinium plasmas. It was found that, due to opacity effects, the observed EUV emission is mostly produced from an underdense region. We have analyzed timeresolved emission spectra with the aid of atomic structure calculations and find the multiple ion charge states around 18+ during the laser pulse irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Femtosecond laser ablation processes on platinum, gold, and tungsten were observed by the single shot pump and probe reflective imaging using a soft x-ray laser probe. To avoid the timing error due to the jitter, we adopted a posteriori correction technique by simultaneous measurement of timing between the pump and probe pulses for every single shot, using a soft x-ray streak camera. A clear difference was found in the temporal behavior of the dynamical response of the soft x-ray reflectivity depending on the irradiated laser fluence in these three materials. On the other hand, the narrow dark rings were found in Pt and W, while an additional bright ring was found outside the dark disk in Au. Our result gives the experimental data comparable with various numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We irradiated the soft x-ray laser (SXRL) pulses having a wavelength of 13.9 nm, the duration time of 7 ps to aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and gold (Au) surfaces. After the irradiation processes of SXRL beam with laser flux of ∼14 mJ/cm2 for Al case and of ∼21 mJ/cm2 for Cu and Au cases, the modified surfaces were observed with the visible microscope, the scanning electron microscope, and the atomic force microscope. The surface modifications caused by the SXRL irradiations were clearly seen on the surfaces, and it was found that the conical structures having around 100 nm in diameters were formed on the Al surface under a single pulse shot. The conical structures were formed in the features with the average depth of about 40 nm, and this value was in accordance with the attenuation length of the SXRL beam for Al. The modified structure on Al surface induced by SXRL pulse irradiations is different from those of Cu and Au surfaces. The modified structure formed on Al surface induced by the SXRL pulse exposure is interesting as the newly structure. Hence, the SXRL beam would be a candidate for a tool of micromachining, which enable to fabricate of three dimensional structures with nano-meter size on Al surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We numerically investigate image formation in a photoresist for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. We develop a simulation model based on percolation theory, which is applicable to the exposure and development of a metal nanoparticle resist. We model the formation of the negative-tone image by condensation of the resist particles after the absorption of EUV photons. We validate the model by making a comparison between the calculated and experimental contrast curve of the resist and show that the calculation reproduces the critical behavior of the image formation. With the model, we investigate the line width roughness of the image, which is caused by the effect of stochastic distribution of EUV photons, (e.g., photon shot noise). We discuss the dependence of the roughness on the dose as well as on the properties of the resist material, such as the absorption length, at a wavelength of 13.5 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simplified flash-lamp pumped high-average-power Nd:YAG nanosecond laser system based on a master oscillator power amplifier platform was developed toward outside laser remote sensing. The performance of the laser system was demonstrated, obtaining 4 J output pulse energy with a 50 Hz operating frequency. Thermal lens effects were compensated for by using only simple image relays and up to 97% of the laser energy could be contained in the focal spot. The developed laser system was constructed using only components suitable for operation under outside conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterized the spectral structure of the soft X-ray emission and determined the plasma parameters in laser-produced highly charged platinum plasmas. The spectral structure observed originated from Pt21+ to Pt34+ ions, emissions from which overlapped to produce a high output flux in the carbon-window soft X-ray spectral region. Using dual laser pulse irradiation, we observed the maximum output flux, which was 20% larger than that obtained under single-laser irradiation, and the evolution of a strongly absorbed spectral structure, which was attributed to the effects of both opacity and long-scale length of the expanding pre-plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate high conversion efficiency for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission at 6.5–6.7 nm from multiple laser beam-produced one-dimensional spherical plasmas. Multiply charged-state ions produce strong resonance emission lines, which combine to yield intense unresolved transition arrays (UTAs) in Gd, Tb, and Mo. At an optimum laser intensity of 1 × 1012 W/cm2, which is estimated to yield an electron temperature of around 100 eV, the maximum in-band EUV conversion efficiency (CE) was observed to be 0.8%, which is one of the highest values ever reported due to the reduction of plasma expansion loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A grazing incidence reflection-type soft X-ray microscope, using a Fresnel zone plate and a soft X-ray laser with wavelength 13.9 nm and pulse width 7 ps, was developed. Submicron size groove structures made on a Pt film were clearly captured at a single shot exposure, with spatial resolution of about 360 nm. A wide field view of 100 µm square was secured under the Kohler illumination. This microscope also had a large depth of focus of more than 100 µm and was proven to have a sufficient performance for observing surface morphological changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]