Understanding the physics of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) emission and nozzle damage is critical for the long-term operation of laser experiments with gas targets, particularly at facilities looking to produce stable sources of radiation at high repetition rates. We present a theoretical model of plasma formation and electrostatic charging when high-power lasers are focused inside gases. The model can be used to estimate the amplitude of gigahertz EMPs produced by the laser and the extent of damage to the gas jet nozzle. Looking at a range of laser and target properties relevant to existing high-power laser systems, we find that EMP fields of tens to hundreds of kV/m can be generated several metres from the gas jet. Model predictions are compared with measurements of EMPs, plasma formation and nozzle damage from two experiments on the VEGA-3 laser and one experiment on the Vulcan Petawatt laser.

This paper provides a summary of recent research connected with the shock ignition (SI) concept of the inertial confinement fusion which was carried out at PALS. In the experiments, Cu planar targets coated with a thin CH layer were used. Two-beam irradiation experiment was applied to investigate the effect of preliminary produced plasma to shock-wave generation. The 1ω or 3ω main beam with a high intensity >1015 W/cm2 generates shock wave, while the other 1ω beam with the intensity below 1014 W/cm2 creates CH pre-plasma simulating the pre-compressed plasma related to SI. Influence of laser wavelength on absorbed energy transfer to shock wave was studied by means of femtosecond interferometry and measuring the crater volume. To characterize the hot electron and ion emission, two-dimensional (2D) Kα-imaging of Cu plasma and grid collector measurements were used. In single 1ω beam experiments energy transport by fast electrons produced by resonant absorption made a significant contribution to shock-wave pressure. However, two-beam experiments with 1ω main beam show that the pre-plasma is strongly degrading the scalelength which leads to decreasing the fast electron energy contribution to shock pressure. In both the single 3ω beam experiments and the two-beam experiments with the 3ω main beam, do not show any clear influence of fast electron transport on shock-wave pressure. The non-monotonic behavior of the scalelength at changing the laser beam focal radius in both presence and absence of pre-plasma reflects the competition of plasma motion and electron heat conduction under the conditions of one-dimensional and 2D plasma expansion at large and small focal radii, respectively.

The experimental study of the plasma projectile acceleration in the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration (LICPA) scheme is reported. In the experiment performed at the kilojoule PALS laser facility, the parameters of the projectile were measured using interferometry, a streak camera and ion diagnostics, and the measurements were supported by two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. It is shown that in the LICPA accelerator with a 200-J laser driver, a 4-μg gold plasma projectile is accelerated to the velocity of 140 km/s with the energetic acceleration efficiency of 15–19% which is significantly higher than those achieved with the commonly used ablative acceleration and the highest among the ones measured so far for any projectiles accelerated to the velocities ≥100 km/s. This achievement opens the possibility of creation and investigation of high-energy-density matter states with the use of moderate-energy lasers and may also have an impact on the development of the impact ignition approach to inertial confinement fusion.

The paper is a continuation of research carried out at Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) related to the shock ignition (SI) approach in inertial fusion, which was carried out with use of 1ω main laser beam as the main beam generating a shock wave. Two-layer targets were used, consisting of Cu massive planar target coated with a thin polyethylene layer, which, in the case of two-beam irradiation geometry, simulate conditions related to the SI scenario. The investigations presented in this paper are related to the use of 3ω to create ablation pressure for high-power shock wave generation. The interferometric studies of the ablative plasma expansion, complemented by measurements of crater volumes and Kα emission, clearly demonstrate the effect of changing the incident laser intensity due to changing the focal radius on efficiency of laser energy transfer to a shock wave and fast electron emission. The efficiency of the energy transfer increases with the radius of the focused laser beam. The pre-plasma does not significantly change the character of this effect. However, it unambiguously results in the increasing temperature of fast electrons, the total energy of which remains very small (<0.1% of the laser energy). This study shows that the optimal radius from the point of view of 3ω radiation energy transfer to the shock wave is the maximal one used in these experiments and equal to 200 µm that corresponds to the minimal effect of two-dimensional (2D)-expansion. Such a result is typical for the ablation process determined by electron conductivity energy transfer under the conditions of one-dimensional or 2D matter expansion without any appreciable effect due to energy transfer by fast electrons. The 2D simulations based on application of the ALANT-HE code and an analytical model that includes generation and transport of hot electrons has been used to support of experimental data.

The effect of laser intensity on characteristics of the plasma ablated from a low-Z (CH) planar target irradiated by a 250 ps, 0.438 µm laser pulse with the intensity of up to 1016 W/cm2 as well as on parameters of the laser-driven shock generated in the target for various scale-lengths of preformed plasma was investigated at the kilojoule Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) laser facility. Characteristics of the plasma were measured with the use of 3-frame interferometry, ion diagnostics, an X-ray spectrometer, and Kα imaging. Parameters of the shock generated in a Cl doped CH target by the intense 3ω laser pulse were inferred by numerical hydrodynamic simulations from the measurements of craters produced by the shock in the massive Cu target behind the CH layer. It was found that the pressure of the shock generated in the plastic layer is relatively weakly influenced by the preplasma (the pressure drop due to the preplasma presence is ~10–20%) and at the pulse intensity of ~1016 W/cm2 the maximum pressure reaches ~80–90 Mbar. However, an increase in pressure of the shock with the laser intensity is slower than predicted by theory for a planar shock and the maximum pressure achieved in the experiment is by a factor of ~2 lower than predicted by the theory. Both at the preplasma absence and presence, the laser-to-hot electrons energy conversion efficiency is small, ~1% or below, and the influence of hot electrons on the generated shock is expected to be weak.

This paper aims at investigation of efficiency of an ablative plasma energy transfer into a massive aluminum target using different atomic number ablators. For this reason, several target materials representing a wide range of atomic numbers (Z = 3.5–73) were used. The experiment was carried out at the iodine Prague Asterix Laser System. The laser provided a 250 ps pulse with energy of 130 J at the third harmonic frequency (λ3 = 0.438 μm). To study the plasma stream configurations a four-frame X-ray pinhole camera was used. The electron temperature of the plasma in the near-surface target region was measured by means of an X-ray spectroscopy. The efficiency of the plasma energy transport to the target was determined via the crater volume measurement using the crater replica technique. The experimental results were compared with two-dimensional numerical simulations where the plasma dynamics was based on the one-fluid, two temperature model, including radiation transport in diffusive approximation and ionization kinetics. It was shown that the plasma expansion geometry plays an important role in the ablative plasma energy transfer into the target.

This paper reports on properties of a plasma formed by sequential action of two laser beams on a flat target, simulating the conditions of shock-ignited inertial confinement fusion target exposure. The experiments were performed using planar targets consisting of a massive copper (Cu) plate coated with a thin plastic (CH) layer, which was irradiated by the 1ω PALS laser beam (λ = 1.315 μm) at the energy of 250 J. The intensity of the fixed-energy laser beam was scaled by varying the focal spot radius. To imitate shock ignition conditions, the lower-intensity auxiliary 1ω beam created CH-pre-plasma which was irradiated by the main beam with a delay of 1.2 ns, thus generating a shock wave in the massive part of the target. To study the parameters of the plasma treated by the two-beam irradiation of the targets, a set of various diagnostics was applied, namely: (i) Two-channel polaro-interferometric system irradiated by the femtosecond laser (~40 fs), (ii) spectroscopic measurements in the X-ray range, (iii) two-dimensional (2D)-resolved imaging of the Kα line emission from Cu, (iv) measurements of the ion emission by means of ion collectors, and (v) measurements of the volume of craters produced in a massive target providing information on the efficiency of the laser energy transfer to the shock wave. The 2D numerical simulations have been used to support the interpretation of experimental data. The general conclusion is that the fraction of the main laser beam energy deposited into the massive copper at two-beam irradiation decreases in comparison with the case of pre-plasma. The reason is that the pre-formed and expanding plasma deteriorates the efficiency of the energy transfer from the main laser pulse to a solid part of the targets by means of the fast electrons and the wave of an electron thermal conductivity.

The paper is directed to the study of high-temperature plasma and ablation plasma formation as well as efficiency of the laser energy transfer to solid targets irradiated by laser pulses with intensities of 1–50 PW/cm2 and duration of 200–300 ps, i.e., at conditions corresponding to the characteristics of the laser spike designed to generate the igniting shock wave in the shock ignition concept. The experiments have been performed at Prague Asterix Laser System. The iodine laser delivered 250 ps (full width at half maximum) pulses with the energy in the range of 100–600 J at the first (λ1 = 1.315 µm) and third (λ3 = 0.438 µm) harmonic frequencies. The focal spot radius of the laser beam on the surface of Al or Cu targets made was gradually decreased from 160 to 40 µm. The diagnostic data collected using three-frame interferometry, X-ray spectroscopy, and crater replica technique were interpreted by two-dimensional numerical and analytical modeling which included generation and transport of fast electrons. The coupling parameter Iλ2 was varied in the range of 1 × 1014−8 × 1016 Wμm2/cm2 covering the regimes of weak to intense fast electron generation. The dominant contribution of fast electron energy transfer into the ablation process and shock wave generation was found when using the first harmonic laser radiation, the focal spot radius of 40–100 µm, and the laser energy of 300–600 J.

In our earlier papers, we demonstrated that plasma pressure decreases with the growing atomic number of the target material. That experimentally confirmed fact brought about a question whether it would be possible to collimate the Al plasma outflow by using plastic plasma as a compressor. To prove that idea we used in our next experiments a plastic target with an Al cylindrical insert of 400 µm in diameter. The measurements were carried out at the Prague Asterix Laser System iodine laser facility. The laser provided a 250 ps (full width at half maximum (FWHM)) pulse with energy of 130 J at the third harmonic frequency (λ3 = 0.438 µm). The focal spot diameters (ΦL) 800, 1000, and 1200 µm ensured predominance of the plastic plasma amount high enough for the effective Al plasma compression. To study the Al plasma stream propagation and its interaction with plastic plasma a three-frame interferometric system and an X-ray camera were used. The experiment provided a proof that creation of the collimated Al plasma jet by action of outer plastic plasma is feasible. In order to discuss of the experimental results a thorough theoretical analysis was carried out.

Our earlier papers demonstrate a very simple method of plasma jet formation, consisting in irradiating a massive planar target of a relatively high atomic number by a partly defocused laser beam. Our present interest is concentrated on interaction of the plasma jet with other media. This paper is aimed at investigations of interaction of two jets launched successively on Cu target. Our attention was paid to the role of radiative cooling in the plasma jet formation. The experiment was carried out at the PALS iodine laser facility. The laser provided a 250-ps (full width at half maximum) pulse with energy of 130 J at the third harmonic frequency (λ3 = 0.438 µm). Two successive jets were produced on a massive flat Cu target provided with a cylindrical channel 5 mm long and 400 µm in diameter. Since the focal spot diameter of the laser beam on the target surface was larger than that of the channel (800 µm), the annular irradiation of the target face resulted in creation of the first plasma jet, whereas the second jet was produced by action of the central part of laser beam on the channel wall. Three-frame interferometric system, X-ray streak camera, and a set of ion collectors were used as diagnostic tools.