Nanometer-scale characterization of laser-driven compression, shocks, and phase transitions, by x-ray scattering using free electron lasers

Kluge, T.; Rödel, Christian; Rödel, Melanie; Pełka, A.; McBride, E. E.; Fletcher, L. B.; Harmand, M.; Krygier, A.; Higginbotham, Andrew; Bußmann, Michael; Galtier, E.; Gamboa, E. J.; García, Alejandro Laso; Garten, Marco; Glenzer, S. H.; Gutt, Christian; Lee, H. J.; Nagler, Bob; Schumaker, W.; Tavella, F.; Zacharias, Malte; Schramm, U.; Cowan, T. E.

doi:10.1063/1.5008289

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…In the SAXS geometry the scattering pattern is obtained in Born approximation by the absolute square of the exit wave Fourier transform [36]. With an appropriate model for the density in real space, the gradient of the expanded plasma and other spatial features can be characterized by fitting the respective correlation function to the scat-tering pattern in reciprocal space [46].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation of Ultrafast Solid-Density Plasma Dynamics Using Femtosecond X-Ray Pulses from a Free-Electron Laser

Kluge¹,

Rödel²,

Metzkes-Ng³

et al. 2018

Phys. Rev. X

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The complex physics of the interaction between short pulse high intensity lasers and solids is so far hardly accessible by experiments. As a result of missing experimental capabilities to probe the complex electron dynamics and competing instabilities, this impedes the development of compact laser-based next generation secondary radiation sources, e.g. for tumor therapy [1,2], laboratory-astrophysics [3,4], and fusion [5]. At present, the fundamental plasma dynamics that occur at the nanometer and femtosecond scales during the laser-solid interaction can only be elucidated by simulations. Here we show experimentally that small angle X-ray scattering of femtosecond X-ray free-electron laser pulses facilitates new capabilities for direct in-situ characterization of intense short-pulse laser plasma interaction at solid density that allows simultaneous nanometer spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution, directly verifying numerical simulations of the electron density dynamics during the short pulse high intensity laser irradiation of a solid density target. For laser-driven grating targets, we measure the solid density plasma expansion and observe the generation of a transient grating structure in front of the pre-inscribed grating, due to plasma expansion, which is an hitherto unknown effect. We expect that our results will pave the way for novel time-resolved studies, guiding the development of future laser-driven particle and photon sources from solid targets.The solid density plasmas created in the interaction of an ultra-short, ultra-high intensity (UHI) laser pulse with a solid target are a source of femtosecond, highcharge electron[6] and ion bunches[7-10], extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation [11][12][13], and neutrons [14], making them promising candidates for future particle accelerators or radiation sources. Until now a fundamental impediment of the ongoing research of UHI laser-solid interactions has been the limited experimental capability of diagnosing the basic processes during the laser interaction on the relevant scales that range from sub-femtosecond to hundreds of femtoseconds and from few nanometers to few hundred nanometers. Some of the most important physical processes are, for example, the generation of plasma oscillations [15] and plasma waves [16], electron transport and plasma * .kluge@hzdr.de heating [17,18], instability development [16,[19][20][21][22][23][24], and the generation of strong magnetic fields [17]. A fundamental process is the expansion of the irradiated plasma into vacuum [25][26][27] during the laser interaction, governing the surface dynamics and laser absorption both prior to and during the laser main pulse.For each application a correspondingly tailored surface structure can enhance laser absorption and interaction, electron acceleration, and hence all subsequent processes. In fact, it has been shown that a preplasma density gradient, e.g. generated by laser intensity prior to the main pulse, strongly affects absorption[28] and the generation of secondary radiation such...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation of Ultrafast Solid-Density Plasma Dynamics Using Femtosecond X-Ray Pulses from a Free-Electron Laser

Kluge¹,

Rödel²,

Metzkes-Ng³

et al. 2018

Phys. Rev. X

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“…With this length scale and a two-phase approximation, the technique is of broad importance to the study of material defects (16), degradation (17), precipitation (18), biological studies (19), and porosity analysis (20)(21)(22)(23). Thus, the current setup allows high strain rate void evolution to be monitored in the rear SAXS detector and correlated to the lattice strain response (i.e., Bragg diffraction) monitored in the front WAXS detector, and previous experiments have indicated that such measurements should be feasible (24)(25)(26).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Femtosecond quantification of void evolution during rapid material failure

et al. 2020

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Understanding high-velocity impact, and the subsequent high strain rate material deformation and potential catastrophic failure, is of critical importance across a range of scientific and engineering disciplines that include astrophysics, materials science, and aerospace engineering. The deformation and failure mechanisms are not thoroughly understood, given the challenges of experimentally quantifying material evolution at extremely short time scales. Here, copper foils are rapidly strained via picosecond laser ablation and probed in situ with femtosecond x-ray free electron (XFEL) pulses. Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) monitors the void distribution evolution, while wide-angle scattering (WAXS) simultaneously determines the strain evolution. The ability to quantifiably characterize the nanoscale during high strain rate failure with ultrafast SAXS, complementing WAXS, represents a broadening in the range of science that can be performed with XFEL. It is shown that ultimate failure occurs via void nucleation, growth, and coalescence, and the data agree well with molecular dynamics simulations.

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“…On the other hand, this means that the increase of asymmetry for the on-resonance shots at the same delays can not be caused by geometric changes and hence must be due to a change of the opacity at the resonant energy. Since the cross section of bf transitions is similar within the range of the two XFEL photon energies used in the experiment (within ±25%), the large increase of asymmetry in the on-resonance shots must be due to an increase of f Cu due to bb transitions [26], whose existence was measured independently with a temporally and spatially integrating spectrometer (see Fig. 2 in Methods).…”

Section: Case 1: Geometric Changesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Probing ultrafast laser plasma processes inside solids with resonant small-angle X-ray scattering

Gaus¹,

Bischoff²,

Bußmann³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Extreme states of matter exist throughout the universe e.g. inside planetary cores, stars or astrophysical jets. Such conditions are generated in the laboratory in the interaction of powerful lasers with solids, and their evolution can be probed with femtosecond precision using ultra-short X-ray pulses to study laboratory astrophysics, laser-fusion research or compact particle acceleration. X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns and their asymmetries occurring at X-ray energies of atomic bound-bound transitions contain information on the volumetric nanoscopic distribution of density, ionization and temperature. Buried heavy ion structures in high intensity laser irradiated solids expand on the nanometer scale following heat diffusion, and are heated to more than 2 million Kelvin. These experiments demonstrate resonant SAXS with the aim to better characterize dynamic processes in extreme laboratory plasmas.

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Nanometer-scale characterization of laser-driven compression, shocks, and phase transitions, by x-ray scattering using free electron lasers

Cited by 14 publications

References 69 publications

Observation of Ultrafast Solid-Density Plasma Dynamics Using Femtosecond X-Ray Pulses from a Free-Electron Laser

Observation of Ultrafast Solid-Density Plasma Dynamics Using Femtosecond X-Ray Pulses from a Free-Electron Laser

Femtosecond quantification of void evolution during rapid material failure

Probing ultrafast laser plasma processes inside solids with resonant small-angle X-ray scattering

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