Related papers: Meter-Scale, Conditioned Hydrodynamic Optical-Fiel…
We present experiments and numerical simulations which demonstrate that fully-ionized, low-density plasma channels could be formed by hydrodynamic expansion of plasma columns produced by optical field ionization (OFI). Simulations of the…
We demonstrate optical guiding of high-intensity laser pulses in long, low density hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized (HOFI) plasma channels. An axicon lens is used to generate HOFI plasma channels with on-axis electron densities as low as…
Hydrodynamic optically-field-ionized (HOFI) plasma channels up to 100mm long are investigated. Optical guiding is demonstrated of laser pulses with a peak input intensity of $6\times10^{17}$ W cm$^{-2}$ through 100mm long plasma channels…
We demonstrate experimentally that hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized (HOFI) plasma channels can be generated at kHz-scale pulse repetition rates, in a static gas cell and for an extended period. Using a pump-probe arrangement, we show via…
In recent years, hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized (HOFI) channels have emerged as a promising technique to create laser waveguides suitable for guiding tightly-focused laser pulses in a plasma, as needed for laser-plasma accelerators.…
We demonstrate a new highly tunable technique for generating meter-scale low density plasma waveguides. Such guides can enable electron acceleration to tens of GeV in a single stage. Plasma waveguides are imprinted in hydrogen gas by…
Hydrodynamic plasma waveguides initiated by optical field ionization (OFI) have recently become a key component of multi-GeV laser wakefield accelerators. Here, we present the most complete and accurate experimental and simulation-based…
Using femtosecond laser pulses at 800 and 400 nm, we characterize the formation of underdense channels in air generated by laser filamentation at the millijoule energy level by means of transverse interferometry. We find that using tight…
Preformed plasma channels are essential for guiding high-power laser pulses over extended distances in laser wakefield accelerators, enabling the generation of multi-GeV electron beams for applications such as free-electron lasers and…
A method of creating plasma channels with controllable depth and transverse profile for the guiding of short, high power laser pulses for efficient electron acceleration is proposed. The plasma channel produced by the hydrogen-filled…
Creating extended, highly homogeneous plasma columns like that required by plasma wakefield accelerators can be a challenge. We study the propagation of ultra-short, TW power ionizing laser pulses in a 10-meter-long rubidium vapor and the…
Plasmas with anisotropic electron velocity distribution functions are needed for the controlled study of kinetic plasma instabilities in the laboratory. We demonstrate that such plasma can be produced using ultrashort laser pulses via…
Laser-plasma accelerators present a promising alternative to conventional accelerators. To fully exploit the extreme amplitudes of the plasma fields and produce high-quality beams, precise control over electron injection into the…
The excitation of THz radiation by the interaction of an ultra short laser pulse with the modes of a miniature corrugated plasma waveguide is considered. The axially corrugated waveguide supports the electromagnetic (EM) modes with…
We describe a simple scheme, truncated-channel injection, to inject electrons directly into the wakefield driven by a drive pulse guided by an all-optical plasma channel. We use this approach to generate dark-current-free 1.2 GeV, 4.5 %…
This thesis is about the designing and constructing a microwave ion source. The ions are generated in a thermal and dense hydrogen plasma by microwave induction. The plasma is generated by using a microwave source with a frequency of 2.45…
We demonstrate resonant excitation of a plasma wave by a train of short laser pulses guided in a pre-formed plasma channel, for parameters relevant to a plasma-modulated plasma accelerator (P-MoPA). We show experimentally that a train of $N…
The introduction of mid-IR optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers (OPCPAs) has catalyzed interest in multi-millijoule, infrared femtosecond pulse-based filamentation. As tunneling ionization is a fundamental first stage in these…
Localized plasma waves can be generated by suddenly ionizing extrinsic semiconductors with spatially periodic dopant densities. The built-in electrostatic potentials at the metallurgical junctions, combined with electron density ripples,…
Fundamental to many applications of laser pulses in science and technology is an extended interaction length with matter that significantly exceeds the distance over which the pulse would normally diffract and transversely spread. At low…