Graduate Exam Abstract
Clayton Bargsten
M.S. Final
December 18, 2015, 10:30 am - 11:30 am
ERC Room A210
VOLUMETRIC CREATION OF ULTRA-HIGH-ENERGY-DENSITY PLASMA BY IRRADIATION OF ORDERED NANOWIRE ARRAYS
Abstract: Creating appreciable volumes of Ultra-
High-Energy Density (UHED) matter in
the laboratory is a challenge. Recent
developments in the fabrication of
vertically aligned nanowire array
targets, in coordination with ultra-high-
contrast femtosecond laser pulses
focused to relativistic intensity, has
opened the door to creating UHED
matter using compact laser facilities
with laser pulses of ~ 0.6 J. These
high aspect ratio, vertically aligned
nanostructure targets are shown to
allow the laser energy to penetrate
deep into the near-solid density
material and heat plasmas to keV
temperatures, generating Gbar
pressures that are only surpassed in
the laboratory by the central hot-spot
of highly compressed thermonuclear
fusion plasmas. The depth of the
heated volume is key in governing the
properties of these new UHED
plasmas, and is reported here for the
first time in vertically aligned nanowire
arrays using a buried-tracer technique.
In this study, arrays of 55 nm diameter
nanowires, manufactured with a
variable length segment of nickel on
top of a buried cobalt segment, were
irradiated with relativistic femtosecond
laser pulses of (4 ± 1) x 1019 W
cm-2 intensity. Buried Co atoms are
observed to ionize to the He-like state
for depths greater than 4 µm, in good
agreement with particle-in-cell
simulations. The measured heat
penetration demonstrates that the
UHED plasma regime can be
accessed with small high repetition
rate lasers.
Adviser: Jorge Rocca
Co-Adviser: N/A
Non-ECE Member: Jacob Roberts, Physics
Member 3: Mario Marconi, ECE
Addional Members: N/A
Publications:
• Purvis, M; Shlyaptsev, V; Hollinger, R; Bargsten, C; Pukhov, A; Prieto, A; Wang, Y; Luther, B; Yin, L; Wang, S; Rocca, J. Relativistic plasma nanophotonics for ultrahigh energy density physics. Nature Photonics. 7, 796-800 (2013).
• Bargsten, C; Hollinger, R; Shlyaptsev, V; Pukhov, A; Keiss, D; Townsend, A; Wang, Y; Wang, S; Prieto, A; Rocca, J. Volumetric Heating of Ultra-High Energy Density Relativistic Plasmas by Ultrafast Laser Irradiation of Aligned Nanowire Arrays. Bulletin of the American Physical Society 59 (2014).
• Hollinger, R; Bargsten, C; Shlyaptsev, V; Pukhov, A; Purvis, M; Townsend, A; Keiss, D; Wang, Y; Wang, S; Prieto, A; Rocca, J. "X-ray Emission Characteristics of Ultra-High Energy Density Relativistic Plasmas Created by Ultrafast Laser Irradiation of Nanowire Arrays." Bulletin of the American Physical Society 59 (2014).
• Purvis, M; Rocca, J; Hollinger, R; Bargsten, C; Shlyaptsev, V; Luther, B; Pukhov, A; Menoni, C; Wang, Y; Yin, L; Prieto, A; Townsend, A; Keiss, D. "Ultra-High Energy Density Relativistic Plasmas and X-ray Generation by Ultrafast Laser Irradiation of Nanowire Arrays." In CLEO: QELS_Fundamental Science, pp. FTu2D-5. Optical Society of America, 2014.
• Rocca, J; Purvis, M; Shlyaptsev, V; Hollinger, R; Bargsten, C; Pukhov, A; Keiss, D; Townsend, A; Prieto, A; Wang, Y; Yin, L; Wang, S; Luther, B; Woolston, M. Ultra-High Energy Density Relativistic Plasmas by Ultrafast Laser Irradiation of Aligned Nanowire Arrays. Annual meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics. Bulletin of the American Physical Society. 58 (2013).
• Shlyaptsev, V; Pukhov, A; Purvis, M; Hollinger, R; Bargsten, C; Rocca, J. Simulations of Ultra-HED Plasmas Created by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation of Vertically Aligned Nanowire Arrays. Annual meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics. Bulletin of the American Physical Society. 58 (2013).
Program of Study:
ECE 404: Experiments-Optical Electronics
ECE 441: Optical Electronics
ECE 503: Ultrafast Optics
ECE 505: Nanostructures: Fund. & Apps.
ECE 506: Opt. Int. & Laser Metrology
ECE 546: Laser Fundamentals & Devices
ECE 580A: Experimental Nanophotonics A
PHYS 771C: Adv Tpcs - Plasma Physics
