Generation of Cold Magnetized Relativistic Plasmas at the Rear of Thin Foils Irradiated by Ultra-High-Intensity Laser Pulses

A scheme to generate magnetized relativistic plasmas in a laboratory setting is proposed. It is based on the interaction of ultra-high-intensity sub-picosecond laser pulses with few-micron-thick foils or films. By means of Particle-In-Cell simulations, it is shown that energetic electrons produced by the laser and evacuated at the rear of the target trigger an expansion of the target, building up a strong azimuthal magnetic field. It is shown that in the expanding plasma sheath, a ratio of the magnetic pressure and the electron rest-mass energy density exceeds unity, whereas the plasma pressure is lower than the magnetic pressure and the electron gyroradius is lower than the plasma dimension. This scheme can be utilized to study astrophysical extreme phenomena such as relativistic magnetic reconnection in laboratory.

SECONDARY ELECTRON EMISSION FROM THIN ALUMINIUM FOILS PRODUCED BY HIGH ENERGY ELECTRON BEAMS

The description of the experimental equipment and technique for measuring the secondary emission of elec-trons (SEE) with application of accelerated electrons at the linear accelerator of the IHEPNP NSC KIPT with ener-gies up to 30 MeV and a standard secondary emission monitor [1] are presented. Experimental data of secondary electron emission yields from thin aluminum targets (8 and 50 μm) for primary electron beam energies of 16 and 25 MeV have been experimentally measured. The analysis of the experimental data and their comparison with the theory are carried out. It is shown that the proposed technique for measuring the yields of secondary electron emis-sion is useful and applied for study of low-energy and δ-electrons yields from thin foils, as well as to research the effect of the density effect depending on the energy of the primary electron beam.

CHARACTERIZATION OF PHOTODIODES FOR DETECTION OF VARIATIONS IN PART-TO-PART GAP AND WELD PENETRATION DEPTH DURING REMOTE LASER WELDING OF COPPER-TO-STEEL BATTERY TAB CONNECTORS

This paper addresses sensor characterization to detect variations in part-to-part gap and weld penetration depth using photodiode-based signals during Remote Laser Welding (RLW) of battery tab connectors. Photodiode-based monitoring has been implemented largely for structural welds due to its relatively low cost and ease of automation. However, research in sensor characterization, monitoring and diagnosis of weld defects during joining of battery tab connectors is at an infancy and results are inconclusive. Motivated by the high variability during the welding process of dissimilar metallic thin foils, this paper aims to characterize the signals generated by a photodiode-based sensor to determine whether variations in weld quality can be isolated and diagnosed. Photodiode-based signals were collected during RLW of copper-to-steel thin-foil lap joint (Ni-plated copper 300 μm to Ni-plated steel 300 μm). The presented methodology is based on the evaluation of the energy intensity and scatter level of the signals. The energy intensity gives information about the amount of radiation emitted during the welding process, and the scatter level is associated with the accumulated and un-controlled variations. Findings indicated that part-to-part gap variations can be diagnosed by observing the step-change in the plasma signal, with no significant contribution given by the back-reflection. Results further suggested that over-penetration corresponds to significant increment of the scatter level in the sensor signals. Opportunities for automatic isolation and diagnosis of defective welds based on supervised machine learning are discussed.

Structuring Free-Standing Foils for Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration Experiments

The recent development of petawatt-class laser systems sets a focus on the development of ultra-thin free-standing targets to access enhanced particle acceleration schemes vital for future applications, such as, medical and laser-driven nuclear physics. Specific strategies are required to improve the laser-to-particle energy conversion efficiency and increase the maximum particle energy. One of the promising approaches is based on the target design optimization; either by tuning key parameters which will strongly affect the laser-matter interaction process (e.g., material, composition, density, thickness, lateral dimensions, and shape) or by using micro/nanostructures on the target surface. At ELI-NP, considerable efforts are dedicated to extend the target capabilities beyond simple planar target design and develop complex targets with tailored properties suitable for high-power laser-plasma interaction experiments, as well as for studies with gamma and positrons beams. The paper provides an overview of the manufacturing capabilities currently available within ELI-NP Targets Laboratory for providing users with certain types of solid targets, specifically micro/nanostructured gold and copper foils and microns thick, porous anodized alumina. Also, optimization studies of alternative patterns (micro/nanodots) on silicon substrate are presented for future implementation on metallic free-standing thin foils.

Effect of Martensitic Transformation and Grain Misorientation on Surface Roughening Behavior of Stainless Steel Thin Foils

The surface roughening (Ra), martensitic phase transformation (MPT), and grain misorientation (GMO) behavior of stainless steel 304 and 316 in various grain sizes (Dg) were studied experimentally, including five cycles of sequential uniaxial tensile stress testing and Scanning Electron Microscope-Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (SEM-EBSD) investigation. The MPT and GMO characteristics were sequentially investigated using tensile testing and SEM-EBSD analysis. The correlation between MPT, GMO, martensitic volume fraction (Mf), and Ra behavior were investigated. The experimental results showed that increasing the total strain from 5.0% to 25.0% increased the MPT, GMO, and Mf, which were transformed from the metastable austenitic phase in stainless steel (SUS) 304. The increasing total strain increased Ra for all kinds of Dg. Furthermore, SUS 304 and SUS 316 were used to compare the roughening mechanism. The MPT was very high and spread uniformly in fine grain of SUS 304 thin foil, but the MPT was low and not uniform in coarse grain of SUS 304 thin foil. There was no MPT in SUS 316 thin foil, both in coarse and fine grain. The GMO in fine grains, both in SUS 304 and SUS 316 thin foils, spread uniformly. The GMO in coarse grains, both in SUS 304 and SUS 316 thin foils, did not spread uniformly. Surface roughness increased higher in coarse grain than fine grain for both of SUS 304 and SUS 316 thin foil. SUS 304 increased higher than SUS 316 thin foil. The effect of inhomogeneous deformation due to the MPT is a more important factor than GMO in coarse grain.

Photodiode-Based In-Process Monitoring of Part-to-Part Gap and Weld Penetration Depth in Remote Laser Welding of Copper-to-Steel Battery Tab Connectors

This paper addresses in-process monitoring of part-to-part gap and weld penetration depth using photodiode-based signals during Remote Laser Welding (RLW) of battery tab connectors. Photodiode-based monitoring has been largely implemented for structural welds due to its relatively low cost and ease of automation. However, the application of photodiode-based monitoring to RLW of thin foils of dissimilar metals for battery tab connectors remains an unexplored area of research and will be addressed in this paper. Motivated by the high variability during the welding process of thin foils of dissimilar metals, this paper aims to evaluate the photodiode-based signals to determine if variations in weld quality can be isolated and diagnosed. The main focus is in diagnosing defective weld conditions caused by part-to-part gap variations and/or excessive weld penetration depth. Photodiode-based signals have been collected during RLW of copper-to-steel thin foils lap joint (Ni-plated copper 300 μm to Ni-plated steel 300 μm). The methodology is based on the evaluation of the energy intensity and scatter level of the signals. The energy intensity gives information about the amount of radiation emitted during the welding process, and the scatter level is associated to the accumulated and un-controlled variations. Findings indicated that part-to-part gap variations can be diagnosed by observing the step-change in the plasma signal, with no significant contribution given by the back-reflection. Results further suggested that over-penetration corresponds to significant increment of the scatter level in the sensor signals. Opportunities for automatic isolation and diagnosis of defective welds based on supervised machine learning will be discussed throughout the paper.