Short-pulse laser absorption in very steep plasma density gradients

An analytical fluid model for resonance absorption during the oblique incidence by femtosecond laser pulses on a small-scale-length density plasma [k(0)L is an element of(0.1,10)] is proposed. The physics of resonance absorption is analyzed more clearly as we separate the electric field into an electromagnetic part and an electrostatic part. It is found that the characteristics of the physical quantities (fractional absorption, optimum angle, etc.) in a small-scale-length plasma are quite different from the predictions of classical theory. Absorption processes are generally dependent on the density scale length. For shorter scale length or higher laser intensity, vacuum heating tends to be dominant. It is shown that the electrons being pulled out and then returned to the plasma at the interface layer by the wave field can lead to a phenomenon like wave breaking. This can lead to heating of the plasma at the expanse of the wave energy. It is found that the optimum angle is independent of the laser intensity while the absorption rate increases with the laser intensity, and the absorption rate can reach as high as 25%. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Behavior of ar plasma formed in a high-density plasma source - an ecr reactor

In order to develop the ultra-large scale integration(ULSI), low pressure and high density plasma apparatus are required for etching and deposit of thin films. To understand critical parameters such as the pressure, temperature, electrostatic potential and energy distribution of ions impacting on the wafer, it is necessary to understand how these parameters are influenced by the power input and neutral gas pressure. In the present work, a 2-D hybrid electron fluid-particle ion model has been developed to simulate one of the high density plasma sources-an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) plasma system with various pressures and power inputs in a non-uniform magnetic field. By means of numerical simulation, the energy distributions of argon ion impacting on the wafer are obtained and the plasma density, electron temperature and plasma electrostatic potential are plotted in 3-D. It is concluded that the plasma density depends mainly on both the power input and neutral gas pressure. However, the plasma potential and electron temperature can hardly be affected by the power input, they seem to be primarily dependent on the neutral gas pressure. The comparison shows that the simulation results are qualitatively in good agreement with the experiment measurements.

Two-dimensional simulation of an electron cyclotron resonance plasma source with self-consistent power deposition

Using a refined two-dimensional hybrid-model with self-consistent microwave absorption, we have investigated the change of plasma parameters such as plasma density and ionization rate with the operating conditions. The dependence of the ion current density and ion energy and angle distribution function at the substrate surface vs. the radial position, pressure and microwave power were discussed. Results of our simulation can be compared qualitatively with many experimental measurements.

Theoretical and experimental studies of the bell-jar-top inductively coupled plasma

The present paper describes a systematic study of argon plasmas in a bell-jar inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source over the range of pressure 5-20 mtorr and power input 0.2-0.5 kW, Experimental measurements as well as results of numerical simulations are presented. The models used in the study include the well-known global balance model (or the global model) as well as a detailed two-dimensional (2-D) fluid model of the system, The global model is able to provide reasonably accurate values for the global electron temperature and plasma density, The 2-D model provides spatial distributions of various plasma parameters that make it possible to compare with data measured in the experiments, The experimental measurements were obtained using a tuned Langmuir double-probe technique to reduce the RF interference and obtain the light versus current (I-V) characteristics of the probe. Time-averaged electron temperature and plasma density were measured for various combinations of pressure and applied RF power, The predictions of the 2-D model were found to be in good qualitative agreement with measured data, It was found that the electron temperature distribution T-e was more or less uniform in the chamber, It was also seen that the electron temperature depends primarily on pressure, but is almost independent of the power input, except in the very low-pressure regime. The plasma density goes up almost linearly with the power input.

Parameter-estimation of a spherical top inductively-coupled plasma source with global-model

Using spatially averaged global model, we succeed in obtaining some plasma parameters for a low pressure inductively coupled plasma source of our laboratory. As far as the global balance is concerned, the models can give reasonable results of the parameters, such as the global electron temperature and the ion impacting energy, etc. It is found that the ion flow is hardly affected by the neutral gas pressure. Finally, the magnetic effects are calculated by means of the method. The magnetic field can play an important role to increase plasma density and ion current.

The diagnostics of density distribution for inhomogeneous dense DT plasmas using fast protons

The density distribution of inhomogeneous dense deuterium-tritium plasmas in laser fusion is revealed by the energy loss of fast protons going through the plasma. In our simulation of a plasma density diagnostics, the fast protons used for the diagnostics may be generated in the laser-plasma interaction. Dividing a two-dimensional area into grids and knowing the initial and final energies of the protons, we can obtain a large linear and ill-posed equation set. for the densities of all grids, which is solved with the Tikhonov regularization method. We find that the accuracy of the set plan with four proton sources is better than those of the set plans with less than four proton sources. Also we have done the density reconstruction especially. for four proton sources with and without assuming circularly symmetrical density distribution, and find that the accuracy is better for the reconstruction assuming circular symmetry. The error is about 9% when no noise is added to the final energy for the reconstruction of four proton sources assuming circular symmetry. The accuracies for different random noises to final proton energies with four proton sources are also calculated.

Exchange energy shifts under dense plasma conditions

The variation of the energy interval between the intercombination line ( 1s2p(P-3(1))-> 1s(2)) and the resonance line ( 1s2p(P-1(1))-> 1s(2)) of He-like aluminium with plasma density and temperature is investigated. Since such energy interval is equivalent to the exchange energy of the state 1s2p(P-3(1)), we consider the dependence of this energy shift on the plasma environment. It was found that the shifts of exchange energy increase ( decrease) with the increase of electron density ( electron temperature), and the shifts of exchange energy become more sensitive to the electron density as the electron temperature decreases, i. e. in the strongly coupled plasma regime. An approximately linear relation is found between the shifts of exchange energy and the electron density. The results show that dense plasma effects are very important for the simulation of the spectral fine structure. The relative shifts between the intercombination ( 1s2p(P-3(1))-> 1s(2)) and the resonance line ( 1s2p(P-1(1))-> 1s(2)) are discussed for diagnostic applications.

Ion acceleration in laser-excited plasma wake fields

The dynamics of the plasma ions in the wake fields of short, ultraintense laser pulses in underdense plasmas are investigated analytically and numerically. Owing to the large ion-to-electron mass ratio, the motion of plasma ions in-such wake fields has often been assumed to be neglectable. It is shown that when the laser intensity exceeds 10(20) W/cm(2), the ion motion can no longer be ignored. In this case, ion momentum peaks appear behind the laser pulse, which correspond with the ion density peaks. The laser-excited wake field appears to be effective for ion acceleration, in particular to ions with high-charge numbers. The dependence of ion acceleration on the laser intensity, pulse width, and background plasma density is discussed. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Generation of plasma intrinsic oscillation at the front surface of a target irradiated by a circularly polarized laser pulse

In laser-target interaction, the effects of laser intensity on plasma oscillation at the front surface of targets have been investigated by one-dimensional particle in cell simulations. The periodical oscillations of the ion density and electrostatic field at the front surface of the targets are reported for the first time, which is considered as an intrinsic property of the target excited by the laser. The oscillation period depends only on initial plasma density and is irrelevant with laser intensity. Flattop structures with curves in ion phase space are found with a more intense laser pulse due to the larger amplitude variation of the electrostatic field. A simple but valid model is proposed to interpret the curves.

Intense local plasma heating by stopping of ultrashort ultraintense laser pulse in dense plasma

Self-trapping, stopping, and absorption of an ultrashort ultraintense linearly polarized laser pulse in a finite plasma slab of near-critical density is investigated by particle-in-cell simulation. As in the underdense plasma, an electron cavity is created by the pressure of the transmitted part of the light pulse and it traps the latter. Since the background plasma is at near-critical density, no wake plasma oscillation is created. The propagating self-trapped light rapidly comes to a stop inside the slab. Subsequent ion Coulomb explosion of the stopped cavity leads to explosive expulsion of its ions and formation of an extended channel having extremely low plasma density. The energetic Coulomb-exploded ions form shock layers of high density and temperature at the channel boundary. In contrast to a propagating pulse in a lower density plasma, here the energy of the trapped light is deposited onto a stationary and highly localized region of the plasma. This highly localized energy-deposition process can be relevant to the fast ignition scheme of inertial fusion.

Generation of strong quasistatic magnetic fields in interactions of ultraintense and short laser pulses with overdense plasma targets

An analytical fluid model is proposed for the generation of strong quasistatic magnetic fields during normal incidence of a short ultraintense Gaussian laser pulse with a finite spot size on an overdense plasma. The steepening of the electron density profile in the originally homogeneous overdense plasma and the formation of electron cavitation as the electrons are pushed inward by the laser are included self-consistently. It is shown that the appearance of the cavitation plays an important role in the generation of quasistatic magnetic fields: the strong plasma inhomogeneities caused by the formation of the electron cavitation lead to the generation of a strong axial quasistatic magnetic field B-z. In the overdense regime, the generated quasistatic magnetic field increases with increasing laser intensity, while it decreases with increasing plasma density. It is also found that, in a moderately overdense plasma, highly intense laser pulses can generate magnetic fields similar to 100 MG and greater due to the transverse linear mode conversion process.

The study of helicon plasma source

Helicon plasma source is known as efficient generator of uniform and high density plasma. A helicon plasma source was developed for investigation of plasma neutralization and plasma lens in the Institute of Modern Physics in China. In this paper, the characteristics of helicon plasma have been studied by using Langmuir four-probe and a high argon plasma density up to 3.9x10(13) cm(-3) have been achieved with the Nagoya type III antenna at the conditions of the magnetic intensity of 200 G, working gas pressure of 2.8x10(-3) Pa, and rf power of 1200 W with a frequency of 27.12 MHz. In the experiment, the important phenomena have been found: for a given magnetic induction intensity, the plasma density became greater with the increase in rf power and tended to saturation, and the helicon mode appeared at the rf power between 200 and 400 W.

The effects of coil current distribution in a cylindrical electron-cyclotron-resonance reactor

Using a 2-D hybrid model, the authors have found that external currents play an important role in the plasma parameters in the reactor. The plasma density, temperature and electrostatic potential would be significantly influenced by the applied external currents.