We report results of ablation experiments of different materials through Ni grid with an intense XUV laser beam. As a source of XUV radiation (energy of about 100 J) with wavelength of 46.9 nm was used high-current capillary discharge driver. Ablated footprints were analyzed by optical microscope and by an atomic-force microscope (AFM). It was found that structure and period of diffraction pattern on PMMA sample (both in ablation and desorption area) depend on the distance from grid to the sample surface. Depth of ablation craters in a single window of PMMA for single shot was about of 80 nm, and period changes from 400 nm (on the edge) to 190 nm (in the middle) for grid further from surface, and from 400 nm (on the edge) to 10 nm (in the middle) for closer grid. Contrary to this, no diffraction patterns in ablation region and only slightly visible on the edge in the desorption region were observed on the surface of GaAs, SiC and Si samples for single shot. Depth of ablated craters in ablation region was about 100 nm for GaAs, 20 nm for Si and up to 5 nm for SiC. In desorption region depth of ablated craters is relatively shallow (up to 5 nm for GaAs and up to 2 nm for Si and SiC). In the case of irradiation samples by 5 shots ablated craters are deeper, but situation with diffraction pattern is the same as in the case of single shot for all materials.
Thin film Al filters, very popular for their high transmittance in the wavelength range 17 to 67 nm and simultaneously low transmittance in the visible and near UV region, are prone to oxidation. The amorphous Al2O3 layers on the Al surfaces have much smaller transmittance than the bulk Al material, and, therefore, they strongly influence the total transmittance of the filter. This paper gives not only the transmittance of very old Al filters, but also maps the transmittance development of Al filters in two years span since their delivery in not controlled atmosphere. Surprisingly, it turned out that while the transmission of surface layers (present on filters since the very beginning) slightly increases with time, the average attenuation rate per unit filter thickness of the bulk material (Al) with time dramatically rises.
Two kinds of pulsed lasers in Japan and Czech Republic were used to irradiate various sample materials to investigate the surface erosion thresholds under very hazardous environments including nuclear fusion chambers. The first was ArF laser in ILT and the second was XUV laser in IPP. These data were in-cooperated with our former data to build up our material strength data for our succeeding applications of various materials to a variety of fields. As an example, we proposed surface erosion monitors to notice the fusion chamber maintenance times with which the facilities can be protected from the collapses under very severe operation conditions. These kinds of monitors are expected to be useful for future different kinds of mechanical structures not only for the fusion chambers but also various chambers for many purposes. Special upconversion phosphors are also newly proposed to be used as the candidate materials to measure the thermal inputs onto the front surfaces of the armor structures. Optical transparent SiC was also newly tested to enrich our data base for our future diagnostic and protection possibilities.
This paper reports on the experimental results of interaction of focused XUV laser beam (wavelength 46.9 nm) with Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) sample. Laser-beam footprints in the region near the tangential focus of spherical mirror with/without multi-layer reflecting coating are presented and discussed. Reflection coefficients of these two spherical mirrors are published as well.
The area, where interaction of focused XUV laser radiation with solid surface takes place, can be divided according to local fluency into desorption region (if fluency is larger than zero and smaller than ablation threshold) and ablation region (if fluency is equal or larger than this threshold). It turned out that a direct nanostructuring (e.g. imprinting diffraction pattern created on edges of windows of proximity standing grid) is possible in the desorption region only. While for femtosecond pulses the particle (atom/molecule) removal-efficiency η in the desorption region is very small (η < 10%), and hence, it can be easily distinguished from the ablation region with η ~ 100%, for nanosecond pulses in desorption region this η rises at easily ablated materials from 0% at the periphery up to ~90% at the ablation contour and, therefore, the boundary between these two regions can be found with the help of nanostructuring only. This rise of removal efficiency could be explained by gradually increased penetration depth (due to gradually removed material) during laser pulse. This is a warning against blind using crater shape for fluency mapping in the case of long laser pulses. On the other hand it is a motivation to study an ablation plum (or ablation jet) and to create a knowledge bank to be used at future numerical modeling of this process.
It has been designed a new type of interferometer working in extreme ultraviolet (XUV) region and intended for direct
imprinting of densest possible (for given wavelength) interference pattern into a substrate.
The interferometer belongs to the wave-front division category: each of its two aspheric mirrors reflects approximately
one half of incoming laser beam and focuses it into a point image. Both focused beams have to intersect each other, and
in the intersection region an interference pattern is generated. The closer the intersection region is to the abovementioned
point images, the smaller the interference field is, but simultaneously the smaller the fringe-pitch is.
This paper describes interferometer design (inclusive fringe-pitch calculation, and inclusive design of multilayer
reflection coatings for the wavelength 46.9 nm (Ar8+ laser) – ensuring equal reflectivity at different reflection angles).
The interferometer design is supplemented not only by ray-tracing verification of straight shape of interference fringes in
ideal interferometer, but also by modelling of interference pattern of real interferometer with various misalignments as
well as with random deformation of mirrors. These data enable to define necessary production as well as alignment
tolerances.
This paper reports on the experimental results of CAPEX apparatus (repetitive discharge-pumped laser working at the
wavelength 46.9 nm), mainly on its beam characteristics (laser pulse energy, and laser beam profile). The divergence of
XUV laser for two capillary lengths (232mm/400mm) is presented as well.
It is well known that at interaction of femtosecond Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation (XUV) with a surface it is possible – according to local fluency - to distinguish two main regions: the desorption region (when efficiency η of removing particles is <10%), and the ablation region (when efficiency η ~ 100%). In this case, the ablation threshold determination is very simple and relatively accurate. It was e.g. shown that with the help of mapping of morphology of the ablationdug- craters it is possible to determine the fluency distribution in/near the beam focus. However, recently we found that (1) the desorption efficiency η for nanosecond pulses is much higher than that for femtosecond ones and spans from zero at the periphery imprint to ~90% at the ablation threshold; this complicates the ablation threshold determination; (2) the direct nano-structuring of solid surfaces is possible only in the desorption region (e.g. the diffraction pattern generated in windows of in-proximity-standing-grid [K.Kolacek et.al., Laser and Particle Beams 30, 57-63, (2012)] is visible only in these parts of laser-beam-spot, which correspond to the desorption region). This prompted us to use this nano-patterning for determination of ablation threshold contour. The best possibility seems to be covering the laser beam spot by interference pattern. For that, it was necessary to develop a new type of interferometer, which (a) provides as dense interference pattern as possible, (b) uses practically all the energy of laser beam, (c) works with focused beams. Such interferometer has been designed and is described in this contribution.
We report results of experiments connected with surface modification of materials with an intense extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser beam. Irradiated by the laser beam from a discharge-plasma EUV source (with wavelength of 46.9 nm) based on a high-current capillary discharge driver, the samples have been investigated by atomic-force microscope (AFM). The laser beam is focused with a spherical Si/Sc multilayer-coated mirror on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), gold-covered- PMMA and gallium arsenide (GaAs) samples. It turned out that desorption and ablation regimes, which are observed in all these cases strongly depends on substrate materials.
For testing and application purposes we have built a new small Marx generator capable to run in a repetitive regime. Its
repeating frequency is currently up to 1 Hz. The generator is covered by metal sheets and feeds the CAPEX facility and
ensures its full independence on the CAPEX-U machine (using another Marx generator). This paper reports on the first
experimental results of a new experimental set-up of the CAPEX apparatus (repetitive lasing at 46.9 nm), mainly on set-up
description, electrical parameters, and laser pulse stability in the repetitive regime.
Activity of our laboratory in the field of pulsed high-current proximity-wall-stabilised discharges - media for XUV/soft X-ray generation and amplification (XUV/soft X-ray lasing), and our effort to demonstrate lasing of discharge-based sources at the wavelength <15 nm are described. While lasing on the wavelength of 46,9 nm (Ne-like Ar ions) is in capillary discharge routinely achieved (due to excitation pumping scheme), lasing on the wavelength below 15 nm either has been demonstrated in laser-created plasma in Ne-/Ni-like ions of metal vapours (also due to excitation pumping scheme) or has been predicted for H-like N ions (recombination pumping scheme). For the excitation pumping of metal vapours a wire exploding in water locally compressed by focused shock wave is being prepared. The recombination pumping of N is examined in the capillary discharge geometry known from the former experiments with Ar, but at higher discharge currents (>60 kA).
The article reviews the progress in the development of discharge-pumped soft X-ray lasers. Especially the results of the last decade proved that discharge created plasmas in capillaries are sufficiently uniform to allow for soft x-ray amplification. Amplification conditions and population inversion mechanisms are briefly reviewed. Then the activities in individual fields are summarized with emphasis on the gas filled capillaries which obey electron-collisional excitation pumping. Namely these capillaries can work as an efficient, table-top, high average power soft X-ray lasers capable to produce millijoule-level laser pulses at a repetition rate of several Hz, with a corresponding spectral brightness. Finally, some of tested applications are also briefly mentioned.
The capillary experiment CAPEX was reconstructed to approach conditions suitable for creation of population inversion in Ne-like Ar. The reconstruction consisted in substitution of a ceramics capillary for former plastic one, in remarkable reduction of the pre-ionization current, and in change of Ar filling and pumping geometry. The soft X-ray spectroscopic measurements prior to and after this reconstruction are described. It is shown that the reconstruction resulted in appearance (under certain conditions) of the strong spectral line at the wavelength of laser transition (46.9 nm) that dominates the spectrum even at exposition 50 ns.
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