Sample records for nanosecond pulsed dielectric

  1. A Tesla-type repetitive nanosecond pulse generator for solid dielectric breakdown research.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Liang; Pan, Ya Feng; Su, Jian Cang; Zhang, Xi Bo; Wang, Li Min; Fang, Jin Peng; Sun, Xu; Lui, Rui

    2013-10-01

    A Tesla-type repetitive nanosecond pulse generator including a pair of electrode and a matched absorption resistor is established for the application of solid dielectric breakdown research. As major components, a built-in Tesla transformer and a gas-gap switch are designed to boost and shape the output pulse, respectively; the electrode is to form the anticipated electric field; the resistor is parallel to the electrode to absorb the reflected energy from the test sample. The parameters of the generator are a pulse width of 10 ns, a rise and fall time of 3 ns, and a maximum amplitude of 300 kV. By modifying the primary circuit of the Tesla transformer, the generator can produce both positive and negative pulses at a repetition rate of 1-50 Hz. In addition, a real-time measurement and control system is established based on the solid dielectric breakdown requirements for this generator. With this system, experiments on test samples made of common insulation materials in pulsed power systems are conducted. The preliminary experimental results show that the constructed generator is capable to research the solid dielectric breakdown phenomenon on a nanosecond time scale.

  2. Mach 5 bow shock control by a nanosecond pulse surface dielectric barrier discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nishihara, M.; Takashima, K.; Rich, J. W.

    2011-06-15

    Bow shock perturbations in a Mach 5 air flow, produced by low-temperature, nanosecond pulse, and surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), are detected by phase-locked schlieren imaging. A diffuse nanosecond pulse discharge is generated in a DBD plasma actuator on a surface of a cylinder model placed in air flow in a small scale blow-down supersonic wind tunnel. Discharge energy coupled to the actuator is 7.3-7.8 mJ/pulse. Plasma temperature inferred from nitrogen emission spectra is a few tens of degrees higher than flow stagnation temperature, T = 340 {+-} 30 K. Phase-locked Schlieren images are used to detect compression waves generatedmore » by individual nanosecond discharge pulses near the actuator surface. The compression wave propagates upstream toward the baseline bow shock standing in front of the cylinder model. Interaction of the compression wave and the bow shock causes its displacement in the upstream direction, increasing shock stand-off distance by up to 25%. The compression wave speed behind the bow shock and the perturbed bow shock velocity are inferred from the Schlieren images. The effect of compression waves generated by nanosecond discharge pulses on shock stand-off distance is demonstrated in a single-pulse regime (at pulse repetition rates of a few hundred Hz) and in a quasi-continuous mode (using a two-pulse sequence at a pulse repetition rate of 100 kHz). The results demonstrate feasibility of hypersonic flow control by low-temperature, repetitive nanosecond pulse discharges.« less

  3. Ozone and dinitrogen monoxide production in atmospheric pressure air dielectric barrier discharge plasma effluent generated by nanosecond pulse superimposed alternating current voltage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takashima, Keisuke; Kaneko, Toshiro

    2017-06-01

    The effects of nanosecond pulse superposition to alternating current voltage (NS + AC) on the generation of an air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma and reactive species are experimentally studied, along with measurements of ozone (O3) and dinitrogen monoxide (N2O) in the exhausted gas through the air DBD plasma (air plasma effluent). The charge-voltage cycle measurement indicates that the role of nanosecond pulse superposition is to induce electrical charge transport and excess charge accumulation on the dielectric surface following the nanosecond pulses. The densities of O3 and N2O in NS + AC DBD are found to be significantly increased in the plasma effluent, compared to the sum of those densities generated in NS DBD and AC DBD operated individually. The production of O3 and N2O is modulated significantly by the phase in which the nanosecond pulse is superimposed. The density increase and modulation effects by the nanosecond pulse are found to correspond with the electrical charge transport and the excess electrical charge accumulation induced by the nanosecond pulse. It is suggested that the electrical charge transport by the nanosecond pulse might result in the enhancement of the nanosecond pulse current, which may lead to more efficient molecular dissociation, and the excess electrical charge accumulation induced by the nanosecond pulse increases the discharge coupling power which would enhance molecular dissociation.

  4. Time domain dielectric spectroscopy of nanosecond pulsed electric field induced changes in dielectric properties of pig whole blood.

    PubMed

    Zhuang, Jie; Kolb, Juergen F

    2015-06-01

    The dielectric spectra of fresh pig whole blood in the β-dispersion range after exposure to 300-nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) with amplitude higher than the supra-electroporation threshold for erythrocytes were recorded by time domain reflectometry dielectric spectroscopy. The implications of the dielectric parameters on the dynamics of post-pulse pore development were discussed in light of the Cole-Cole relaxation model. The temporal development of the Cole-Cole parameters indicates that nsPEFs induced significant poration and swelling of erythrocytes within the first 5 min. The results also show that the majority of erythrocytes could not fully recover from supra-electroporation up to 30 min. The findings of this study suggest that time domain dielectric spectroscopy is a promising label-free and real-time physiological measuring technique for nsPEF-blood related biomedical applications, capable of following the conformational and morphological changes of cells. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Simulations of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharges in atmospheric pressure air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Soo Bak, Moon; Cappelli, Mark A.

    2013-03-21

    This paper describes simulations of nanosecond pulse plasma formation between planer electrodes covered by dielectric barriers in air at atmospheric pressure and 340 K. The plasma formation process starts as electrons detach from negative ions of molecular oxygen that are produced from the previous discharge pulse. An ionization front is found to form close to the positively biased electrode and then strengthens and propagates towards the grounded electrode with increasing gap voltage. Charge accumulation and secondary emission from the grounded electrode eventually lead to sheath collapse. One interesting feature is a predicted reversal in gap potential due to the accumulatedmore » charge, even when there is no reversal in applied potential. The simulation results are compared to recent measurement of mid-gap electric field under the same discharge conditions [Ito et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 065002 (2011)].« less

  6. Production of atmospheric pressure diffuse nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge using the array needles-plate electrode in air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, De-zheng; Wang, Wen-chun; Jia, Li; Nie, Dong-xia; Shi, Heng-chao

    2011-04-01

    In this paper, a bidirectional high pulse voltage with 20 ns rising time is employed to generate an atmospheric pressure diffuse dielectric barrier discharge using the array needles-plate electrode configuration. Both double needle and multiple needle electrode configurations nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges are investigated. It is found that a diffuse discharge plasma with low gas temperature can be obtained, and the plasma volume increases with the increase of the pulse peak voltage, but remains almost constant with the increase of the pulse repetition rate. In addition to showing the potential application on a topographically nonuniform surface treatment of the discharge, the multiple needle-plate electrode configuration with different needle-plate electrode gaps are also employed to generate diffuse discharge plasma.

  7. Plasma density enhancement in atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier discharges by high-voltage nanosecond pulse in the pulse-on period: a PIC simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sang, Chaofeng; Sun, Jizhong; Wang, Dezhen

    2010-02-01

    A particle-in-cell (PIC) plus Monte Carlo collision simulation is employed to investigate how a sustainable atmospheric pressure single dielectric-barrier discharge responds to a high-voltage nanosecond pulse (HVNP) further applied to the metal electrode. The results show that the HVNP can significantly increase the plasma density in the pulse-on period. The ion-induced secondary electrons can give rise to avalanche ionization in the positive sheath, which widens the discharge region and enhances the plasma density drastically. However, the plasma density stops increasing as the applied pulse lasts over certain time; therefore, lengthening the pulse duration alone cannot improve the discharge efficiency further. Physical reasons for these phenomena are then discussed.

  8. On the boundary flow using pulsed nanosecond DBD plasma actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Zi-Jie; Cui, Y. D.; Li, Jiun-Ming; Zheng, Jian-Guo; Khoo, B. C.

    2018-05-01

    Our previous studies in quiescent air environment [Z. J. Zhao et al., AIAA J. 53(5) (2015) 1336; J. G. Zheng et al., Phys. Fluids 26(3) (2014) 036102] reveal experimentally and numerically that the shock wave generated by the nanosecond pulsed plasma is fundamentally a microblast wave. The shock-induced burst perturbations (overpressure and induced velocity) are found to be restricted to a very narrow region (about 1 mm) behind the shock front and last only for a few microseconds. These results indicate that the pulsed nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator has stronger local effects in time and spatial domain. In this paper, we further investigate the effects of pulsed plasma on the boundary layer flow over a flat plate. The present investigation reveals that the nanosecond pulsed plasma actuator generates intense perturbations and tends to promote the laminar boundary over a flat plate to turbulent flow. The heat effect after the pulsed plasma discharge was observed in the external flow, lasting a few milliseconds for a single pulse and reaching a quasi-stable state for multi-pulses.

  9. Multiple current peaks in room-temperature atmospheric pressure homogenous dielectric barrier discharge plasma excited by high-voltage tunable nanosecond pulse in air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, De-Zheng; Wang, Wen-Chun; Zhang, Shuai

    2013-05-13

    Room temperature homogenous dielectric barrier discharge plasma with high instantaneous energy efficiency is acquired by using nanosecond pulse voltage with 20-200 ns tunable pulse width. Increasing the voltage pulse width can lead to the generation of regular and stable multiple current peaks in each discharge sequence. When the voltage pulse width is 200 ns, more than 5 organized current peaks can be observed under 26 kV peak voltage. Investigation also shows that the organized multiple current peaks only appear in homogenous discharge mode. When the discharge is filament mode, organized multiple current peaks are replaced by chaotic filament current peaks.

  10. The formation of diffuse discharge by short-front nanosecond voltage pulses and the modification of dielectrics in this discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Orlovskii, V. M.; Panarin, V. A.; Shulepov, M. A.

    2014-07-01

    The dynamics of diffuse discharge formation under the action of nanosecond voltage pulses with short fronts (below 1 ns) in the absence of a source of additional preionization and the influence of a dielectric film on this process have been studied. It is established that the diffuse discharge is induced by the avalanche multiplication of charge initiated by high-energy electrons and then maintained due to secondary breakdowns propagating via ionized gas channels. If a dielectric film (polyethylene, Lavsan, etc.) is placed on the anode, then multiply repeated discharge will lead to surface and bulk modification of the film material. Discharge-treated polyethylene film exhibits a change in the optical absorption spectrum in the near-IR range.

  11. Study on the mode-transition of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge between uniform and filamentary by controlling pressures and pulse repetition frequencies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Sizhe; Lu, Xinpei

    2016-09-01

    We investigate the temporally resolved evolution of the nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a moderate 6mm gap under various pressures and pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) by intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) images, using synthetic air and its components oxygen and nitrogen. It is found that the pressures are very different when the DBD mode transits between uniform and filamentary in air, oxygen, and nitrogen. The PRFs can also obviously affect the mode-transition. The transition mechanism in the pulsed DBD is not Townsend-to-streamer, which is dominant in the traditional alternating-voltage DBDs. The pulsed DBD in a uniform mode develops in the form of plane ionization wave, due to overlap of primary avalanches, while the increase in pressure disturbs the overlap and DBD develops in streamer instead, corresponding to the filamentary mode. Increasing the initiatory electron density by pre-ionization methods may contribute to discharge uniformity at higher pressures. We also find that the dependence of uniformity upon PRF is non-monotonic.

  12. Uniform and non-uniform modes of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in atmospheric air: fast imaging and spectroscopic measurements of electric field.

    PubMed

    Liu, Chong; Dobrynin, Danil; Fridman, Alexander

    2014-06-25

    In this study, we report experimental results on fast ICCD imaging of development of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric air and spectroscopic measurements of electric field in the discharge. Uniformity of the discharge images obtained with nanosecond exposure times were analyzed using chi-square test. The results indicate that DBD uniformity strongly depends on applied (global) electric field in the discharge gap, and is a threshold phenomenon. We show that in the case of strong overvoltage on the discharge gap (provided by fast rise times), there is transition from filamentary to uniform DBD mode which correlates to the corresponding decrease of maximum local electric field in the discharge.

  13. Uniform and non-uniform modes of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in atmospheric air: fast imaging and spectroscopic measurements of electric field

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Chong; Dobrynin, Danil; Fridman, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    In this study, we report experimental results on fast ICCD imaging of development of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric air and spectroscopic measurements of electric field in the discharge. Uniformity of the discharge images obtained with nanosecond exposure times were analyzed using chi-square test. The results indicate that DBD uniformity strongly depends on applied (global) electric field in the discharge gap, and is a threshold phenomenon. We show that in the case of strong overvoltage on the discharge gap (provided by fast rise times), there is transition from filamentary to uniform DBD mode which correlates to the corresponding decrease of maximum local electric field in the discharge. PMID:25071294

  14. Study on the mode-transition of nanosecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge between uniform and filamentary by controlling pressures and pulse repetition frequencies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, S.; Pei, X.; Hasnain, Q.; Nie, L.; Lu, X.

    2016-02-01

    In this paper, we investigate the temporally resolved evolution of the nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a moderate 6 mm discharge gap under various pressures and pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) by intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) images, using dry air and its components oxygen and nitrogen. It is found that the pressures are very different when the mode transits between uniform and filamentary in air, oxygen, and nitrogen. The PRFs can also obviously affect the mode-transition. The transition mechanism in the pulsed DBD is not Townsend-to-Streamer, which is dominant in the traditional alternating-voltage DBD. The pulsed DBD in a uniform mode develops in the form of plane ionization wave due to overlap of primary avalanches, while the increase in pressure disturbs the overlap and discharge develops in streamer, corresponding to the filamentary mode. Increasing the initial electron density by pre-ionization may contribute to discharge uniformity at higher pressures. We also found that the dependence of homogeneity upon PRF is a non-monotonic one.

  15. Multiple pulse nanosecond laser induced damage threshold on hybrid mirrors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vanda, Jan; Muresan, Mihai-George; Bilek, Vojtech; Sebek, Matej; Hanus, Martin; Lucianetti, Antonio; Rostohar, Danijela; Mocek, Tomas; Škoda, Václav

    2017-11-01

    So-called hybrid mirrors, consisting of broadband metallic surface coated with dielectric reflector designed for specific wavelength, becoming more important with progressing development of broadband mid-IR sources realized using parametric down conversion system. Multiple pulse nanosecond laser induced damage on such mirrors was tested by method s-on-1, where s stands for various numbers of pulses. We show difference in damage threshold between common protected silver mirrors and hybrid silver mirrors prepared by PVD technique and their variants prepared by IAD. Keywords: LIDT,

  16. Investigation of nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge using plate-to-plate electrode with asymmetric dielectric arrangement in airflow

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qi, Haicheng; School of Physics Science and Technology, Anshan Normal University, Anshan 114005; Fan, Zhihui

    Atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma is produced in airflow by applying nanosecond high voltage pulses with peak voltage about 35 kV and rising time about 40 ns on a plate-to-plate electrode arrangement. The effects of airflow rate (0–50 m/s) on the discharge characteristics are investigated under different barrier conditions (the bare anode case and the bare cathode case). For both cases, the breakdown voltage and the time lag increase distinctly and the discharge intensity decreases sharply when the airflow rate increases from 0 to 30 m/s, and then keep almost constant until the airflow rate is further increased to 50 m/s. For the baremore » anode case (the cathode is covered by dielectric plate), the discharge mode transforms gradually from filamentary to diffuse discharge with the increasing airflow rate. While for the bare cathode case, some micro-discharge channels are still excited, though the discharge becomes more diffuse when the airflow rate is higher than 30 m/s. By acquiring the time-resolved images of the discharge, it is proved that it is the primary discharge which becomes diffuse when airflow is introduced and the following two discharges of the same voltage pulse occur principally at the positions where the primary discharge is more intense. And in both cases, the plasma temperatures are reduced, but the degree is different. All the phenomena can be explained mainly by the variation of the space charge distribution when the airflow is introduced into the discharge gap. And it is indicated that the bare anode case has an advantage in obtaining diffuse discharge.« less

  17. Control of vortex on a non-slender delta wing by a nanosecond pulse surface dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Guang-yin; Li, Ying-hong; Liang, Hua; Han, Meng-hu; Hua, Wei-zhuo

    2015-01-01

    Wind tunnel experiments are conducted for improving the aerodynamic performance of delta wing using a leading-edge pulsed nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (NS-DBD). The whole effects of pulsed NS-DBD on the aerodynamic performance of the delta wing are studied by balanced force measurements. Pressure measurements and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are conducted to investigate the formation of leading-edge vortices affected by the pulsed NS-DBD, compared to completely stalled flow without actuation. Various pulsed actuation frequencies of the plasma actuator are examined with the freestream velocity up to 50 m/s. Stall has been delayed substantially and significant shifts in the aerodynamic forces can be achieved at the post-stall regions when the actuator works at the optimum reduced frequency of F + = 2. The upper surface pressure measurements show that the largest change of static pressure occurs at the forward part of the wing at the stall region. The time-averaged flow pattern obtained from the PIV measurement shows that flow reattachment is promoted with excitation, and a vortex flow pattern develops. The time-averaged locations of the secondary separation line and the center of the vortical region both move outboard with excitation.

  18. A compact 300 kV solid-state high-voltage nanosecond generator for dielectric wall accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shen, Yi; Wang, Wei; Liu, Yi

    2015-05-15

    Compact solid-state system is the main development trend in pulsed power technologies. A compact solid-state high-voltage nanosecond pulse generator with output voltage of 300 kV amplitude, 10 ns duration (FWHM), and 3 ns rise-time was designed for a dielectric wall accelerator. The generator is stacked by 15 planar-plate Blumlein pulse forming lines (PFL). Each Blumlein PFL consists of two solid-state planar transmission lines, a GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch, and a laser diode trigger. The key components of the generator and the experimental results are reported in this paper.

  19. Influence of ion transport on discharge propagation of nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hua, Weizhuo; Koji, Fukagata

    2017-11-01

    A numerical study has been conducted to understand the streamer formation and propagation of nanosecond pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharge of positive polarity. First we compared the result of different grid configuration to investigate the influence of x and y direction grid spacing on the streamer propagation. The streamer propagation is sensitive to y grid spacing especially at the dielectric surface. The streamer propagation velocity can reach 0.2 cm/ns when the voltage magnitude is 12 kV. A narrow gap was found between the streamer and dielectric barrier, where the plasma density is several orders of magnitude smaller than the streamer region. Analyses on the ion transport in the gap and streamer regions show the different ion transport mechanisms in the two different region. In the gap region, the diffusion of electron toward the dielectric layer decreases the seed electron in the beginning of voltage pulse, resulting that ionization avalanche does not occur. The streamer region is not significantly affected by the diffusion flux toward the dielectric layer, so that ionization avalanche takes place and leads to dramatic increase of plasma density.

  20. [Mechanism of ablation with nanosecond pulsed electric field].

    PubMed

    Cen, Chao; Chen, Xin-hua; Zheng, Shu-sen

    2015-11-01

    Nanosecond pulsed electric field ablation has been widely applied in clinical cancer treatment, while its molecular mechanism is still unclear. Researchers have revealed that nanosecond pulsed electric field generates nanopores in plasma membrane, leading to a rapid influx of Ca²⁺; it has specific effect on intracellular organelle membranes, resulting in endoplasmic reticulum injuries and mitochondrial membrane potential changes. In addition, it may also change cellular morphology through damage of cytoskeleton. This article reviews the recent research advances on the molecular mechanism of cell membrane and organelle changes induced by nanosecond pulsed electric field ablation.

  1. Hybrid micromachining using a nanosecond pulsed laser and micro EDM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Sanha; Kim, Bo Hyun; Chung, Do Kwan; Shin, Hong Shik; Chu, Chong Nam

    2010-01-01

    Micro electrical discharge machining (micro EDM) is a well-known precise machining process that achieves micro structures of excellent quality for any conductive material. However, the slow machining speed and high tool wear are main drawbacks of this process. Though the use of deionized water instead of kerosene as a dielectric fluid can reduce the tool wear and increase the machine speed, the material removal rate (MRR) is still low. In contrast, laser ablation using a nanosecond pulsed laser is a fast and non-wear machining process but achieves micro figures of rather low quality. Therefore, the integration of these two processes can overcome the respective disadvantages. This paper reports a hybrid process of a nanosecond pulsed laser and micro EDM for micromachining. A novel hybrid micromachining system that combines the two discrete machining processes is introduced. Then, the feasibility and characteristics of the hybrid machining process are investigated compared to conventional EDM and laser ablation. It is verified experimentally that the machining time can be effectively reduced in both EDM drilling and milling by rapid laser pre-machining prior to micro EDM. Finally, some examples of complicated 3D micro structures fabricated by the hybrid process are shown.

  2. Physical and biological mechanisms of nanosecond- and microsecond-pulsed FE-DBD plasma interaction with biological objects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dobrynin, Danil

    2013-09-01

    Mechanisms of plasma interaction with living tissues and cells can be quite complex, owing to the complexity of both the plasma and the tissue. Thus, unification of all the mechanisms under one umbrella might not be possible. Here, analysis of interaction of floating electrode dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD) with living tissues and cells is presented and biological and physical mechanisms are discussed. In physical mechanisms, charged species are identified as the major contributors to the desired effect and a mechanism of this interaction is proposed. Biological mechanisms are also addressed and a hypothesis of plasma selectivity and its effects is offered. Spatially uniform nanosecond and sub-nanosecond short-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasmas are gaining popularity in biological and medical applications due to their increased uniformity, lower plasma temperature, lower surface power density, and higher concentration of the active species produced. In this presentation we will compare microsecond pulsed plasmas with nanosecond driven systems and their applications in biology and medicine with specific focus on wound healing and tissue regeneration. Transition from negative to positive streamer will be discussed with proposed hypothesis of uniformity mechanisms of positive streamer and the reduced dependence on morphology and surface chemistry of the second electrode (human body) being treated. Uniform plasma offers a more uniform delivery of active species to the tissue/surface being treated thus leading to better control over the biological results.

  3. Nanosecond bipolar pulse generators for bioelectrics.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Shu; Zhou, Chunrong; Yang, Enbo; Rajulapati, Sambasiva R

    2018-04-26

    Biological effects caused by a nanosecond pulse, such as cell membrane permeabilization, peripheral nerve excitation and cell blebbing, can be reduced or cancelled by applying another pulse of reversed polarity. Depending on the degree of cancellation, the pulse interval of these two pulses can be as long as dozens of microseconds. The cancellation effect diminishes as the pulse duration increases. To study the cancellation effect and potentially utilize it in electrotherapy, nanosecond bipolar pulse generators must be made available. An overview of the generators is given in this paper. A pulse forming line (PFL) that is matched at one end and shorted at the other end allows a bipolar pulse to be produced, but no delay can be inserted between the phases. Another generator employs a combination of a resistor, an inductor and a capacitor to form an RLC resonant circuit so that a bipolar pulse with a decaying magnitude can be generated. A third generator is a converter, which converts an existing unipolar pulse to a bipolar pulse. This is done by inserting an inductor in a transmission line. The first phase of the bipolar pulse is provided by the unipolar pulse's rising phase. The second phase is formed during the fall time of the unipolar pulse, when the inductor, which was previously charged during the flat part of the unipolar pulse, discharges its current to the load. The fourth type of generator uses multiple MOSFET switches stacked to turn on a pre-charged, bipolar RC network. This approach is the most flexible in that it can generate multiphasic pulses that have different amplitudes, delays, and durations. However, it may not be suitable for producing short nanosecond pulses (<100 ns), whereas the PFL approach and the RLC approach with gas switches are used for this range. Thus, each generator has its own advantages and applicable range. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Numerical Simulation of a Nanosecond Pulse Discharge in Mach 5 Flow

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-01-01

    Numerical Simulation of a Nanosecond Pulse Discharge in Mach 5 Flow Jonathan Poggie∗and Nicholas J. Bisek† Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright...was developed for nanosecond- pulse discharges , including real- istic air kinetics, electron energy transport, and compressible bulk gas flow. A reduced...shock waves originating near the sheath edge, consistent with experimental observations. I. Introduction In a nanosecond- pulse discharge , the input

  5. Influence of grid resolution in fluid-model simulation of nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hua, Weizhuo; Fukagata, Koji

    2018-04-01

    Two-dimensional numerical simulation of a surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuator, driven by a nanosecond voltage pulse, is conducted. A special focus is laid upon the influence of grid resolution on the computational result. It is found that the computational result is not very sensitive to the streamwise grid spacing, whereas the wall-normal grid spacing has a critical influence. In particular, the computed propagation velocity changes discontinuously around the wall-normal grid spacing about 2 μm due to a qualitative change of discharge structure. The present result suggests that a computational grid finer than that was used in most of previous studies is required to correctly capture the structure and dynamics of streamer: when a positive nanosecond voltage pulse is applied to the upper electrode, a streamer forms in the vicinity of upper electrode and propagates along the dielectric surface with a maximum propagation velocity of 2 × 108 cm/s, and a gap with low electron and ion density (i.e., plasma sheath) exists between the streamer and dielectric surface. Difference between the results obtained using the finer and the coarser grid is discussed in detail in terms of the electron transport at a position near the surface. When the finer grid is used, the low electron density near the surface is caused by the absence of ionization avalanche: in that region, the electrons generated by ionization is compensated by drift-diffusion flux. In contrast, when the coarser grid is used, underestimated drift-diffusion flux cannot compensate the electrons generated by ionization, and it leads to an incorrect increase of electron density.

  6. Sub-nanosecond resolution electric field measurements during ns pulse breakdown in ambient air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simeni Simeni, Marien; Goldberg, Ben; Gulko, Ilya; Frederickson, Kraig; Adamovich, Igor V.

    2018-01-01

    Electric field during ns pulse discharge breakdown in ambient air has been measured by ps four-wave mixing, with temporal resolution of 0.2 ns. The measurements have been performed in a diffuse plasma generated in a dielectric barrier discharge, in plane-to-plane geometry. Absolute calibration of the electric field in the plasma is provided by the Laplacian field measured before breakdown. Sub-nanosecond time resolution is obtained by using a 150 ps duration laser pulse, as well as by monitoring the timing of individual laser shots relative to the voltage pulse, and post-processing four-wave mixing signal waveforms saved for each laser shot, placing them in the appropriate ‘time bins’. The experimental data are compared with the analytic solution for time-resolved electric field in the plasma during pulse breakdown, showing good agreement on ns time scale. Qualitative interpretation of the data illustrates the effects of charge separation, charge accumulation/neutralization on the dielectric surfaces, electron attachment, and secondary breakdown. Comparison of the present data with more advanced kinetic modeling is expected to provide additional quantitative insight into air plasma kinetics on ~ 0.1-100 ns scales.

  7. Development of a Lumped Element Circuit Model for Approximation of Dielectric Barrier Discharges

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-08-01

    dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas. Based on experimental observations, it is assumed that nanosecond pulsed DBDs, which have been proposed...species for pulsed direct current (DC) dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas. Based on experimental observations, it is assumed that nanosecond...momentum-based approaches. Given the fundamental differences between the novel pulsed discharge approach and the more conventional momentum-based

  8. Transmembrane molecular transport during versus after extremely large, nanosecond electric pulses

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Kyle C.; Weaver, James C.

    2012-01-01

    Recently there has been intense and growing interest in the non-thermal biological effects of nanosecond electric pulses, particularly apoptosis induction. These effects have been hypothesized to result from the widespread creation of small, lipidic pores in the plasma and organelle membranes of cells (supra-electroporation) and, more specifically, ionic and molecular transport through these pores. Here we show that transport occurs overwhelmingly after pulsing. First, we show that the electrical drift distance for typical charged solutes during nanosecond pulses (up to 100 ns), even those with very large magnitudes (up to 10 MV/m), ranges from only a fraction of the membrane thickness (5 nm) to several membrane thicknesses. This is much smaller than the diameter of a typical cell (~16 μm), which implies that molecular drift transport during nanosecond pulses is necessarily minimal. This implication is not dependent on assumptions about pore density or the molecular flux through pores. Second, we show that molecular transport resulting from post-pulse diffusion through minimum-size pores is orders of magnitude larger than electrical drift-driven transport during nanosecond pulses. While field-assisted charge entry and the magnitude of flux favor transport during nanosecond pulses, these effects are too small to overcome the orders of magnitude more time available for post-pulse transport. Therefore, the basic conclusion that essentially all transmembrane molecular transport occurs post-pulse holds across the plausible range of relevant parameters. Our analysis shows that a primary direct consequence of nanosecond electric pulses is the creation (or maintenance) of large populations of small pores in cell membranes that govern post-pulse transmembrane transport of small ions and molecules. PMID:21756883

  9. Nanosecond pulse lasers for retinal applications.

    PubMed

    Wood, John P M; Plunkett, Malcolm; Previn, Victor; Chidlow, Glyn; Casson, Robert J

    2011-08-01

    Thermal lasers are routinely used to treat certain retinal disorders although they cause collateral damage to photoreceptors. The current study evaluated a confined, non-conductive thermal, 3-nanosecond pulse laser in order to determine how to produce the greatest therapeutic range without causing collateral damage. Data were compared with that obtained from a standard thermal laser. Porcine ocular explants were used; apposed neuroretina was also in place for actual laser treatment. After treatment, the retina was removed and a calcein-AM assay was used to assess retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cell viability in the explants. Histological methods were also employed to examine lased transverse explant sections. Three nanoseconds pulse lasers with either speckle- or gaussian-beam profile were employed in the study. Comparisons were made with a 100 milliseconds continuous wave (CW) 532 nm laser. The therapeutic energy range ratio was defined as the minimum visible effect threshold (VET) versus the minimum detectable RPE kill threshold. The 3-nanosecond lasers produced markedly lower minimum RPE kill threshold levels than the CW laser (e.g., 36 mJ/cm(2) for speckle-beam and 89 mJ/cm(2) for gaussian-beam profile nanosecond lasers vs. 7,958 mJ/cm(2) for CW laser). VET values were also correspondingly lower for the nanosecond lasers (130 mJ/cm(2) for 3 nanoseconds speckle-beam and 219 mJ/cm(2) for gaussian-beam profile vs. 1,0346 mJ/cm(2) for CW laser). Thus, the therapeutic range ratios obtained with the nanosecond lasers were much more favorable than that obtained by the CW laser: 3.6:1 for the speckle-beam and 2.5:1 for the gaussian-beam profile 3-nanosecond lasers versus 1.3:1 for the CW laser. Nanosecond lasers, particularly with a speckle-beam profile, provide a much wider therapeutic range of energies over which RPE treatment can be performed, without damage to the apposed retina, as compared with conventional CW lasers. These results may have

  10. Transmembrane molecular transport during versus after extremely large, nanosecond electric pulses.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kyle C; Weaver, James C

    2011-08-19

    Recently there has been intense and growing interest in the non-thermal biological effects of nanosecond electric pulses, particularly apoptosis induction. These effects have been hypothesized to result from the widespread creation of small, lipidic pores in the plasma and organelle membranes of cells (supra-electroporation) and, more specifically, ionic and molecular transport through these pores. Here we show that transport occurs overwhelmingly after pulsing. First, we show that the electrical drift distance for typical charged solutes during nanosecond pulses (up to 100 ns), even those with very large magnitudes (up to 10 MV/m), ranges from only a fraction of the membrane thickness (5 nm) to several membrane thicknesses. This is much smaller than the diameter of a typical cell (∼16 μm), which implies that molecular drift transport during nanosecond pulses is necessarily minimal. This implication is not dependent on assumptions about pore density or the molecular flux through pores. Second, we show that molecular transport resulting from post-pulse diffusion through minimum-size pores is orders of magnitude larger than electrical drift-driven transport during nanosecond pulses. While field-assisted charge entry and the magnitude of flux favor transport during nanosecond pulses, these effects are too small to overcome the orders of magnitude more time available for post-pulse transport. Therefore, the basic conclusion that essentially all transmembrane molecular transport occurs post-pulse holds across the plausible range of relevant parameters. Our analysis shows that a primary direct consequence of nanosecond electric pulses is the creation (or maintenance) of large populations of small pores in cell membranes that govern post-pulse transmembrane transport of small ions and molecules. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Investigation of nanosecond pulse dielectric barrier discharges in still air and in transonic flow by optical methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peschke, P.; Goekce, S.; Leyland, P.; Ott, P.

    2016-01-01

    In the present study the interaction of nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (ns-DBD) actuators with aerodynamic flow up to transonic velocities was investigated. The primary focus was on the influence of the flow on the discharge and the effects of the discharge itself. In addition, the influence of the ns-DBD on a shock-wave was studied. The aim was to improve the understanding of the plasma-flow interaction, a topic that is not yet fully understood, in particular for ns-DBD. The actuator was integrated in two different models, a NACA 3506 compressor blade profile and a bump geometry at the bottom of the wind tunnel. The effect of the rapid energy deposition close to the discharge was examined with the phase-locked schlieren visualisation technique. Images of the plasma acquired with short exposure times revealed information on the discharge evolution. The results show a significant effect of the flow on the discharge characteristics, in particular due to the drop of static pressure. On the other hand, no significant effect of the ns-DBD on the flow was observed due to unfavourable flow conditions, which underlines the importance of the actuator’s placement.

  12. Z-scan study of thermal nonlinearities in silicon naphthalocyanine-toluene solution with the excitations of the picosecond pulse train and nanosecond pulse

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Sidney S.; Wei, Tai-Huei; Huang, Tzer-Hsiang; Chang, Yun-Ching

    2007-02-01

    Using the Z-scan technique, we studied the nonlinear absorption and refraction behaviors of a dilute toluene solution of a silicon naphthalocyanine (Si(OSi(n-hexyl)3)2, SiNc) at 532 nanometer with both a 2.8-nanosecond pulse and a 21-nanosecond (HW1/eM) pulse train containing 11 18-picosecond pulses 7 nanosecond apart. A thermal acoustic model and its steady-state approximation account for the heat generated by the nonradiative relaxations subsequent to the absorption. We found that when the steady-state approximation satisfactorily explained the results obtained with a 21-nanosecond pulse train, only the thermal-acoustic model fit the 2.8-nanosecond experimental results, which supports the approximation criterion established by Kovsh et al.

  13. The role of nanosecond electric pulse-induced mechanical stress in cellular nanoporation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Caleb C.

    Background: Exposures of cells to very short (less than 1 microsecond) electric pulses in the megavolt/meter range have been shown to cause a multitude of effects, both physical and molecular in nature. Physically, nanosecond electrical pulse exposure can disrupt the plasma membrane, leading to a phenomenon known as nanoporation. Nanoporation is the production of nanometer sized holes (less than 2 nanometers in diameter) that can persist for up to fifteen minutes, allowing the flow of ions into and out of the cell. Nanoporation can lead to secondary physical effects, such as cellular swelling, shrinking and blebbing. Molecularly, nanosecond electrical pulses have been shown to activate signaling pathways, produce oxidative stress, stimulate hormone secretion and induce both apoptotic and necrotic death. The mechanism by which nanosecond electrical pulses cause molecular changes is unknown; however, it is thought the flow of ions, such as calcium, into the cell via nanopores, could be a major cause. The ability of nanosecond electrical pulses to cause membranes to become permeable and to induce apoptosis makes the technology a desirable modality for cancer research; however, the lack of understanding regarding the mechanisms by which nanosecond electrical pulses cause nanoporation impedes further development of this technology. This dissertation documents the genomic and proteomic responses of cells exposed to nanosecond electrical pulses and describes in detail the biophysical effects of these electrical pulses, including the demonstration for the first time of the generation of acoustic pressure transients capable of disrupting plasma membranes and possibly contributing to nanoporation. Methods: Jurkat, clone E6-1 (human lymphocytic cell line), U937 (human lymphocytic cell line), Chinese hamster ovarian cells and adult primary human dermal fibroblasts exposed to nanosecond electrical pulses were subjected to a variety of molecular assays, including flow cytometry

  14. Surface charge dynamics and OH and H number density distributions in near-surface nanosecond pulse discharges at a liquid / vapor interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winters, Caroline; Petrishchev, Vitaly; Yin, Zhiyao; Lempert, Walter R.; Adamovich, Igor V.

    2015-10-01

    The present work provides insight into surface charge dynamics and kinetics of radical species reactions in nanosecond pulse discharges sustained at a liquid-vapor interface, above a distilled water surface. The near-surface plasma is sustained using two different discharge configurations, a surface ionization wave discharge between two exposed metal electrodes and a double dielectric barrier discharge. At low discharge pulse repetition rates (~100 Hz), residual surface charge deposition after the discharge pulse is a minor effect. At high pulse repetition rates (~10 kHz), significant negative surface charge accumulation over multiple discharge pulses is detected, both during alternating polarity and negative polarity pulse trains. Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and two-photon absorption LIF (TALIF) line imaging are used for in situ measurements of spatial distributions of absolute OH and H atom number densities in near-surface, repetitive nanosecond pulse discharge plasmas. Both in a surface ionization wave discharge and in a double dielectric barrier discharge, peak measured H atom number density, [H] is much higher compared to peak OH number density, due to more rapid OH decay in the afterglow between the discharge pulses. Higher OH number density was measured near the regions with higher plasma emission intensity. Both OH and especially H atoms diffuse out of the surface ionization wave plasma volume, up to several mm from the liquid surface. Kinetic modeling calculations using a quasi-zero-dimensional H2O vapor / Ar plasma model are in qualitative agreement with the experimental data. The results demonstrate the experimental capability of in situ radical species number density distribution measurements in liquid-vapor interface plasmas, in a simple canonical geometry that lends itself to the validation of kinetic models.

  15. Characteristics of 2-heptanone decomposition using nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakase, Yuki; Fukuchi, Yuichi; Wang, Douyan; Namihira, Takao; Akiyama, Hidenori; Kumamoto University Collaboration

    2015-09-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOC) evaporate at room temperature. VOCs typically consist of toluene, benzene and ethyl acetate, which are used in cosmetics, dry cleaning products and paints. Exposure to elevated levels of VOCs may cause headaches, dizziness and irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat; they may also cause environmental problems such as air pollution, acid rain and photochemical smog. As such, they require prompt removal. Nanosecond pulsed discharge is a kind of non-thermal plasma consisting of a streamer discharge. Several advantages of nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma have been demonstrated by studies of our research group, including low heat loss, highly energetic electron generation, and the production of highly active radicals. These advantages have shown ns pulsed discharge plasma capable of higher energy efficiency for processes, such as air purification, wastewater treatment and ozone generation. In this research, nanosecond pulsed discharge plasma was employed to treat 2-heptanone, which is a volatile organic compound type and presents several harmful effects. Characteristics of treatment dependent on applied voltage, gas flow rate and input energy density were investigated. Furthermore, byproducts generated by treatment were also investigated.

  16. A trial of ignition innovation of gasoline engine by nanosecond pulsed low temperature plasma ignition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiraishi, Taisuke; Urushihara, Tomonori; Gundersen, Martin

    2009-07-01

    Application of nanosecond pulsed low temperature plasma as an ignition technique for automotive gasoline engines, which require a discharge under conditions of high back pressure, has been studied experimentally using a single-cylinder engine. The nanosecond pulsed plasma refers to the transient (non-equilibrated) phase of a plasma before the formation of an arc discharge; it was obtained by applying a high voltage with a nanosecond pulse (FWHM of approximately 80 or 25 ns) between coaxial cylindrical electrodes. It was confirmed that nanosecond pulsed plasma can form a volumetric multi-channel streamer discharge at an energy consumption of 60 mJ cycle-1 under a high back pressure of 1400 kPa. It was found that the initial combustion period was shortened compared with the conventional spark ignition. The initial flame visualization suggested that the nanosecond pulsed plasma ignition results in the formation of a spatially dispersed initial flame kernel at a position of high electric field strength around the central electrode. It was observed that the electric field strength in the air gap between the coaxial cylindrical electrodes was increased further by applying a shorter pulse. It was also clarified that the shorter pulse improved ignitability even further.

  17. Cellular response to high pulse repetition rate nanosecond pulses varies with fluorescent marker identity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Steelman, Zachary A., E-mail: zachary.steelman@duke.edu; Tolstykh, Gleb P.; Beier, Hope T.

    Nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP's) are a well-studied phenomena in biophysics that cause substantial alterations to cellular membrane dynamics, internal biochemistry, and cytoskeletal structure, and induce apoptotic and necrotic cell death. While several studies have attempted to measure the effects of multiple nanosecond pulses, the effect of pulse repetition rate (PRR) has received little attention, especially at frequencies greater than 100 Hz. In this study, uptake of Propidium Iodide, FM 1–43, and YO-PRO-1 fluorescent dyes in CHO-K1 cells was monitored across a wide range of PRRs (5 Hz–500 KHz) using a laser-scanning confocal microscope in order to better understand how high frequency repetition ratesmore » impact induced biophysical changes. We show that frequency trends depend on the identity of the dye under study, which could implicate transmembrane protein channels in the uptake response due to their chemical selectivity. Finally, YO-PRO-1 fluorescence was monitored in the presence of Gadolinium (Gd{sup 3+}), Ruthenium Red, and in calcium-free solution to elucidate a mechanism for its unique frequency trend. - Highlights: • Pulse repetition rate (PRR) is understudied in nanosecond electric pulsing. • 200 V pulses were applied to CHO-K1 cells from 5 Hz to 500 KHz. • Pulsing was repeated using a variety of fluorophores and imaging conditions. • The response is highly dependent on the fluorophore and the imaging conditions. • This may implicate protein channels in the nanoporation response.« less

  18. Ablation of aluminum nitride films by nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gruzdev, Vitaly; Tzou, Robert; Salakhutdinov, Ildar; Danylyuk, Yuriy; McCullen, Erik; Auner, Gregory

    2009-02-01

    We present results of comparative study of laser-induced ablation of AlN films with variable content of oxygen as a surface-doping element. The films deposited on sapphire substrate were ablated by a single nanosecond pulse at wavelength 248 nm, and by a single femtosecond pulse at wavelength 775 nm in air at normal pressure. Ablation craters were inspected by AFM and Nomarski high-resolution microscope. Irradiation by nanosecond pulses leads to a significant removal of material accompanied by extensive thermal effects, chemical modification of the films around the ablation craters and formation of specific defect structures next to the craters. Remarkable feature of the nanosecond experiments was total absence of thermo-mechanical fracturing near the edges of ablation craters. The femtosecond pulses produced very gentle ablation removing sub-micrometer layers of the films. No remarkable signs of thermal, thermo-mechanical or chemical effects were found on the films after the femtosecond ablation. We discuss mechanisms responsible for the specific ablation effects and morphology of the ablation craters.

  19. Experimental Investigation of Pulsed Nanosecond Streamer Discharges for CO2 Reforming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pachuilo, Michael; Levko, Dima; Raja, Laxminarayan; Varghese, Philip

    2016-09-01

    Rapid global industrialization has led to an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide levels. Plasmas present a great potential for efficient reforming of greenhouse gases. There are several plasma discharges which have been reported for reforming process: dielectric barrier discharges (DBD), microwave discharges, and glide-arcs. Microwave discharges have CO2 conversion energy efficiency of up to 40% at atmospheric conditions, while glide-arcs have 43% and DBD 2-10%. In our study, we analyze a single nanosecond pulsed cathode directed streamer discharge in CO2 at atmospheric pressure and temperature. We have conducted time resolved imaging with spectral bandpass filters of a streamer discharge with an applied negative polarity pulse. The image sequences have been correlated to the applied voltage and current pulses. From the spectral filters we can determine where spatially and temporally excited species are formed. In this talk we report on spectroscopic studies of the discharge and estimate plasma properties such as temperature and density of excited species and electrons. Furthermore, we report on the effects of pulse polarity as well as anodic streamer discharges on the CO2 conversion efficiency. Finally, we will focus on the effects of vibrational excitation on carbon dioxide reforming efficiency for streamer discharges. Our experimental results will be compared with an accompanying plasma computational model studies.

  20. Intense Nanosecond-Pulsed Cavity-Dumped Laser Radiation at 1.04 THz

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilson, Thomas

    2013-03-01

    We report first results of intense far-infrared (FIR) nanosecond-pulsed laser radiation at 1.04 THz from a previously described[2] cavity-dumped, optically-pumped molecular gas laser. The gain medium, methyl fluoride, is pumped by the 9R20 line of a TEA CO2 laser[3] with a pulse energy of 200 mJ. The THz laser pulses contain of 30 kW peak power in 5 nanosecond pulse widths at a pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz. The line width, measured by a scanning metal-mesh FIR Fabry-Perot interferometer, is 100 MHz. The novel THz laser is being used in experiments to resonantly excite coherent ns-pulsed 1.04 THz longitudinal acoustic phonons in silicon doping-superlattices. The research is supported by NASA EPSCoR NNX11AM04A and AFOSR FA9550-12-1-0100 awards.

  1. Atomic oxygen production scaling in a nanosecond-pulsed externally grounded dielectric barrier plasma jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sands, Brian; Schmidt, Jacob; Ganguly, Biswa; Scofield, James

    2014-10-01

    Atomic oxygen production is studied in a capillary dielectric barrier plasma jet that is externally grounded and driven with a 20-ns risetime positive unipolar pulsed voltage at pulse repetition rates up to 25 kHz. The power coupled to the discharge can be easily increased by increasing the pulse repetition rate. At a critical turnover frequency, determined by the net energy density coupled to the discharge, the plasma chemistry abruptly changes. This is indicated by increased plasma conductance and a transition in reactive oxygen species production from an ozone-dominated production regime below the turnover frequency to atomic-oxygen-dominated production at higher pulse rates. Here, we characterize atomic oxygen production scaling using spatially- and temporally-resolved two-photon absorption laser-induced-fluorescence (TALIF). Quantitative results are obtained via calibration with xenon using a similar laser excitation and collection system. These results are compared with quantitative ozone and discharge power measurements using a helium gas flow with oxygen admixtures up to 3%.

  2. Nanosecond pulsed laser welding of high carbon steels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ascari, Alessandro; Fortunato, Alessandro

    2014-03-01

    The present paper deals with the possibility to exploit low-cost, near infra-red, nanosecond pulsed laser sources in welding of high carbon content thin sheets. The exploitation of these very common sources allows to achieve sound weld beads with a good depth-to-width ratio and very small heat affected zones when the proper process parameters are involved. In particular the role of pulse frequency, pulse duration, peak power and welding speed on the characteristics of the weld beads is studied and the advantage of the application of short-pulse laser sources over traditional long-pulse or continuous wave one is assessed.

  3. Nanosecond multiple pulse measurements and the different types of defects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wagner, Frank R.; Natoli, Jean-Yves; Beaudier, Alexandre; Commandré, Mireille

    2017-11-01

    Laser damage measurements with multiple pulses at constant fluence (S-on-1 measurements) are of high practical importance for design and validation of high power photonic instruments. Using nanosecond lasers, it has been recognized long ago that single pulse laser damage is linked to fabrication related defects. Models describing the laser damage probability as the probability of encounter between the high fluence region of the laser beam and the fabrication related defects are thus widely used to analyze the measurements. Nanosecond S-on-1 tests often reveal the "fatigue effect", i.e. a decrease of the laser damage threshold with increasing pulse number. Most authors attribute this effect to cumulative material modifications operated by the first pulses. In this paper we discuss the different situations that are observed upon nanosecond S-on-1 measurements of several different materials using different wavelengths and speak in particular about the defects involved in the laser damage mechanism. These defects may be fabrication-related or laser-induced, stable or evolutive, cumulative or of short lifetime. We will show that the type of defect that is dominating an S-on-1 experiment depends on the wavelength and the material under test and give examples from measurements of nonlinear optical crystals, fused silica and oxide mixture coatings.

  4. Laser induced fluorescence in nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges for CO2 conversion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martini, L. M.; Gatti, N.; Dilecce, G.; Scotoni, M.; Tosi, P.

    2018-01-01

    A CO2 nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge (NRP) is a harsh environment for laser induced fluorescence (LIF) diagnostics. The difficulties arise from it being a strongly collisional system in which the gas composition, pressure and temperature, have quick and strong variations. The relevant diagnostic problems are described and illustrated through the application of LIF to the measurement of the OH radical in three different discharge configurations, with gas mixtures containing CO2 + H2O. These range from a dielectric barrier NRP with He buffer gas, a less hostile case in which absolute OH density measurement is possible, to an NRP in CO2+H2O, where the full set of drawbacks is at work. In the last case, the OH density measurement is not possible with laser pulses and detector time resolution in the ns time scale. Nevertheless, it is shown that with a proper knowledge of the collisional rate constants involved in the LIF process, a collisional energy transfer-LIF methodology is still applicable to deduce the gas composition from the analysis of LIF spectra.

  5. A comparative study for the inactivation of multidrug resistance bacteria using dielectric barrier discharge and nano-second pulsed plasma

    PubMed Central

    Hoon Park, Ji; Kumar, Naresh; Hoon Park, Dae; Yusupov, Maksudbek; Neyts, Erik C.; Verlackt, Christof C. W.; Bogaerts, Annemie; Ho Kang, Min; Sup Uhm, Han; Ha Choi, Eun; Attri, Pankaj

    2015-01-01

    Bacteria can be inactivated through various physical and chemical means, and these have always been the focus of extensive research. To further improve the methodology for these ends, two types of plasma systems were investigated: nano-second pulsed plasma (NPP) as liquid discharge plasma and an Argon gas-feeding dielectric barrier discharge (Ar-DBD) as a form of surface plasma. To understand the sterilizing action of these two different plasma sources, we performed experiments with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria (wild type) and multidrug resistant bacteria (Penicillum-resistant, Methicillin-resistant and Gentamicin-resistant). We observed that both plasma sources can inactivate both the wild type and multidrug-resistant bacteria to a good extent. Moreover, we observed a change in the surface morphology, gene expression and β-lactamase activity. Furthermore, we used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate the variation in functional groups (C-H/C-C, C-OH and C=O) of the peptidoglycan (PG) resulting from exposure to plasma species. To obtain atomic scale insight in the plasma-cell interactions and support our experimental observations, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to study the effects of plasma species, such as OH, H2O2, O, O3, as well as O2 and H2O, on the dissociation/formation of above mentioned functional groups in PG. PMID:26351132

  6. Formation of various types of nanostructures on germanium surface by nanosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mikolutskiy, S. I.; Khasaya, R. R.; Khomich, Yu V.; Yamshchikov, V. A.

    2018-03-01

    The paper describes the formation of micro- and nanostructures in different parts of irradiation zone on germanium surface by multiple action of nanosecond pulses of ArF-laser. It proposes a simple method using only one laser beam without any optional devices and masks for surface treatment. Hexa- and pentagonal cells with submicron dimensions along the surface were observed in peripheral zone of irradiation spot by atomic-force microscopy. Nanostructures in the form of bulbs with rounded peaks with lateral sizes of 40-120 nm were obtained in peripheral low-intensity region of the laser spot. Considering experimental data on material processing by nanosecond laser pulses, a classification of five main types of surface reliefs formed by nanosecond laser pulses with energy density near or slightly above ablation threshold was proposed.

  7. Evaluation of material dispersion using a nanosecond optical pulse radiator.

    PubMed

    Horiguchi, M; Ohmori, Y; Miya, T

    1979-07-01

    To study the material dispersion effects on graded-index fibers, a method for measuring the material dispersion in optical glass fibers has been developed. Nanosecond pulses in the 0.5-1.7-microm region are generated by a nanosecond optical pulse radiator and grating monochromator. These pulses are injected into a GeO(2)-P(2)0(5)-doped silica graded-index fiber. Relative time delay changes between different wavelengths are used to determine material dispersion, core glass refractive index, material group index, and optimum profile parameter of the graded-index fiber. From the measured data, the optimum profile parameter on the GeO(2)-P(2)O(5)-doped silica graded-index fiber could be estimated to be 1.88 at 1.27 microm of the material dispersion free wavelength region and 1.82 at 1.55 microm of the lowest-loss wavelength region in silica-based optical fiber waveguides.

  8. Subcellular Biological Effects of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolb, Juergen F.; Stacey, Michael

    Membranes of biological cells can be charged by exposure to pulsed electric fields. After the potential difference across the barrier reaches critical values on the order of 1 V, pores will form. For moderate pulse parameters of duration and amplitude, the effect is limited to the outer cell membrane. With the exposure to nanosecond pulses of several tens of kilovolts per centimeter, a similar effect is also expected for subcellular membranes and structures. Cells will respond to the disruption by different biochemical processes. This offers possibilities for the development of novel medical therapies, the manipulation of cells and microbiological decontamination.

  9. Effect of Nanosecond RF Pulses on Mitochondrial Membranes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zharkova, L. P.; Romanchenko, I. V.; Bol'shakov, M. A.; Rostov, V. V.

    2017-12-01

    Effect of nanosecond RF pulses on the state of isolated mitochondria and their membranes is investigated. Mitochondrial suspensions are exposed to periodic RF pulses with durations from 4 to 25 ns, frequencies from 0.6 to 1.0 GHz, amplitudes from 0.1 to 36 kV/cm, and pulse repetition frequencies 8-25 Hz. The integrity of the mitochondrial membranes is estimated from their resistance to electric current. The possibility of opening of protein pores with nonspecific permeability is determined from a change in the mitochondrial volume by registration of optical density of organelle suspension.

  10. High-voltage subnanosecond dielectric breakdown

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mankowski, John Jerome

    Current interests in ultrawideband radar sources are in the microwave regime, which correspond to voltage pulse risetimes less than a nanosecond. Some new sources, including the Phillips Laboratory Hindenberg series of hydrogen gas switched pulsers use hydrogen at hundreds of atmospheres of pressure in the switch. Unfortunately, the published data of electrical breakdown of gas and liquid media at these time lengths are relatively scarce. A study was conducted on the electrical breakdown properties of liquid and gas dielectrics at subnanosecond and nanoseconds. Two separate voltage sources with pulse risetimes less than 400 ps were developed. Diagnostic probes were designed and tested for their capability of detecting high voltage pulses at these fast risetimes. A thorough investigation into E-field strengths of liquid and gas dielectrics at breakdown times ranging from 0.4 to 5 ns was performed. The voltage polarity dependence on breakdown strength is observed. Streak camera images of streamer formation were taken. The effect of ultraviolet radiation, incident upon the gap, on statistical lag time was determined.

  11. A distributed parameter model of transmission line transformer for high voltage nanosecond pulse generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiangtao; Zhao, Zheng; Li, Longjie; He, Jiaxin; Li, Chenjie; Wang, Yifeng; Su, Can

    2017-09-01

    A transmission line transformer has potential advantages for nanosecond pulse generation including excellent frequency response and no leakage inductance. The wave propagation process in a secondary mode line is indispensable due to an obvious inside transient electromagnetic transition in this scenario. The equivalent model of the transmission line transformer is crucial for predicting the output waveform and evaluating the effects of magnetic cores on output performance. However, traditional lumped parameter models are not sufficient for nanosecond pulse generation due to the natural neglect of wave propagations in secondary mode lines based on a lumped parameter assumption. In this paper, a distributed parameter model of transmission line transformer was established to investigate wave propagation in the secondary mode line and its influential factors through theoretical analysis and experimental verification. The wave propagation discontinuity in the secondary mode line induced by magnetic cores is emphasized. Characteristics of the magnetic core under a nanosecond pulse were obtained by experiments. Distribution and formation of the secondary mode current were determined for revealing essential wave propagation processes in secondary mode lines. The output waveform and efficiency were found to be affected dramatically by wave propagation discontinuity in secondary mode lines induced by magnetic cores. The proposed distributed parameter model was proved more suitable for nanosecond pulse generation in aspects of secondary mode current, output efficiency, and output waveform. In depth, comprehension of underlying mechanisms and a broader view of the working principle of the transmission line transformer for nanosecond pulse generation can be obtained through this research.

  12. A distributed parameter model of transmission line transformer for high voltage nanosecond pulse generation.

    PubMed

    Li, Jiangtao; Zhao, Zheng; Li, Longjie; He, Jiaxin; Li, Chenjie; Wang, Yifeng; Su, Can

    2017-09-01

    A transmission line transformer has potential advantages for nanosecond pulse generation including excellent frequency response and no leakage inductance. The wave propagation process in a secondary mode line is indispensable due to an obvious inside transient electromagnetic transition in this scenario. The equivalent model of the transmission line transformer is crucial for predicting the output waveform and evaluating the effects of magnetic cores on output performance. However, traditional lumped parameter models are not sufficient for nanosecond pulse generation due to the natural neglect of wave propagations in secondary mode lines based on a lumped parameter assumption. In this paper, a distributed parameter model of transmission line transformer was established to investigate wave propagation in the secondary mode line and its influential factors through theoretical analysis and experimental verification. The wave propagation discontinuity in the secondary mode line induced by magnetic cores is emphasized. Characteristics of the magnetic core under a nanosecond pulse were obtained by experiments. Distribution and formation of the secondary mode current were determined for revealing essential wave propagation processes in secondary mode lines. The output waveform and efficiency were found to be affected dramatically by wave propagation discontinuity in secondary mode lines induced by magnetic cores. The proposed distributed parameter model was proved more suitable for nanosecond pulse generation in aspects of secondary mode current, output efficiency, and output waveform. In depth, comprehension of underlying mechanisms and a broader view of the working principle of the transmission line transformer for nanosecond pulse generation can be obtained through this research.

  13. Pulse intensity characterization of the LCLS nanosecond double-bunch mode of operation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sun, Yanwen; Decker, Franz-Josef; Turner, James

    The recent demonstration of the 'nanosecond double-bunch' operation mode,i.e.two X-ray pulses separated in time between 0.35 and hundreds of nanoseconds and by increments of 0.35 ns, offers new opportunities to investigate ultrafast dynamics in diverse systems of interest. However, in order to reach its full potential, this mode of operation requires the precise characterization of the intensity of each X-ray pulse within each pulse pair for any time separation. Here, a transmissive single-shot diagnostic that achieves this goal for time separations larger than 0.7 ns with a precision better than 5% is presented. Lastly, it also provides real-time monitoring feedbackmore » to help tune the accelerator parameters to deliver double pulse intensity distributions optimized for specific experimental goals.« less

  14. Pulse intensity characterization of the LCLS nanosecond double-bunch mode of operation

    DOE PAGES

    Sun, Yanwen; Decker, Franz-Josef; Turner, James; ...

    2018-03-27

    The recent demonstration of the 'nanosecond double-bunch' operation mode,i.e.two X-ray pulses separated in time between 0.35 and hundreds of nanoseconds and by increments of 0.35 ns, offers new opportunities to investigate ultrafast dynamics in diverse systems of interest. However, in order to reach its full potential, this mode of operation requires the precise characterization of the intensity of each X-ray pulse within each pulse pair for any time separation. Here, a transmissive single-shot diagnostic that achieves this goal for time separations larger than 0.7 ns with a precision better than 5% is presented. Lastly, it also provides real-time monitoring feedbackmore » to help tune the accelerator parameters to deliver double pulse intensity distributions optimized for specific experimental goals.« less

  15. High on/off ratio nanosecond laser pulses for a triggered single-photon source

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, Gang; Liu, Bei; He, Jun; Wang, Junmin

    2016-07-01

    An 852 nm nanosecond laser pulse chain with a high on/off ratio is generated by chopping a continuous-wave laser beam using a Mach-Zehnder-type electro-optic intensity modulator (MZ-EOIM). The detailed dependence of the MZ-EOIM’s on/off ratio on various parameters is characterized. By optimizing the incident beam polarization and stabilizing the MZ-EOIM temperature, a static on/off ratio of 12600:1 is achieved. The dynamic on/off ratios versus the pulse repetition rate and the pulse duty cycle are measured and discussed. The high-on/off-ratio nanosecond pulsed laser system was used in a triggered single-photon source based on a trapped single cesium atom, which reveals clear antibunching.

  16. Measurements of Electric Field in a Nanosecond Pulse Discharge by 4-WAVE Mixing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baratte, Edmond; Adamovich, Igor V.; Simeni Simeni, Marien; Frederickson, Kraig

    2017-06-01

    Picosecond four-wave mixing is used to measure temporally and Picosecond four-wave mixing is used to measure temporally and spatially resolved electric field in a nanosecond pulse dielectric discharge sustained in room air and in an atmospheric pressure hydrogen diffusion flame. Measurements of the electric field, and more precisely the reduced electric field (E/N) in the plasma is critical for determination rate coefficients of electron impact processes in the plasma, as well as for quantifying energy partition in the electric discharge among different molecular energy modes. The four-wave mixing measurements are performed using a collinear phase matching geometry, with nitrogen used as the probe species, at temporal resolution of about 2 ns . Absolute calibration is performed by measurement of a known electrostatic electric field. In the present experiments, the discharge is sustained between two stainless steel plate electrodes, each placed in a quartz sleeve, which greatly improves plasma uniformity. Our previous measurements of electric field in a nanosecond pulse dielectric barrier discharge by picosecond 4-wave mixing have been done in air at room temperature, in a discharge sustained between a razor edge high-voltage electrode and a plane grounded electrode (a quartz plate or a layer of distilled water). Electric field measurements in a flame, which is a high-temperature environment, are more challenging because the four-wave mixing signal is proportional to the to square root of the difference betwen the populations of N2 ground vibrational level (v=0) and first excited vibrational level (v=1). At high temperatures, the total number density is reduced, thus reducing absolute vibrational level populations of N2. Also, the signal is reduced further due to a wider distribution of N2 molecules over multiple rotational levels at higher temperatures, while the present four-wave mixing diagnostics is using spectrally narrow output of a ps laser and a high

  17. DNA Damage in Bone Marrow Cells Induced by Femtosecond and Nanosecond Ultraviolet Laser Pulses.

    PubMed

    Morkunas, Vaidotas; Gabryte, Egle; Vengris, Mikas; Danielius, Romualdas; Danieliene, Egle; Ruksenas, Osvaldas

    2015-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible genotoxic impact of new generation 205 nm femtosecond solid-state laser irradiation on the DNA of murine bone marrow cells in vitro, and to compare the DNA damage caused by both femtosecond and nanosecond UV laser pulses. Recent experiments of corneal stromal ablation in vitro and in vivo applying femtosecond UV pulses showed results comparable with or superior to those obtained using nanosecond UV lasers. However, the possible genotoxic effect of ultrashort laser pulses was not investigated. Mouse bone marrow cells were exposed to different doses of 205 nm femtosecond, 213 and 266 nm nanosecond lasers, and 254 nm UV lamp irradiation. The comet assay was used for the evaluation of DNA damage. All types of irradiation demonstrated intensity-dependent genotoxic impact. The DNA damage induced depended mainly upon wavelength rather than on other parameters such as pulse duration, repetition rate, or beam delivery to a target. Both 205 nm femtosecond and clinically applied 213 nm nanosecond lasers' pulses induced a comparable amount of DNA breakage in cells exposed to the same irradiation dose. To further evaluate the suitability of femtosecond UV laser sources for microsurgery, a separate investigation of the genotoxic and mutagenic effects on corneal cells in vitro and, particularly, in vivo is needed.

  18. Fast Rise Time and High Voltage Nanosecond Pulses at High Pulse Repetition Frequency

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, Kenneth E.; Ziemba, Timothy; Prager, James; Picard, Julian; Hashim, Akel

    2015-09-01

    Eagle Harbor Technologies (EHT), Inc. is conducting research to decrease the rise time and increase the output voltage of the EHT Nanosecond Pulser product line, which allows for independently, user-adjustable output voltage (0 - 20 kV), pulse width (20 - 500 ns), and pulse repetition frequency (0 - 100 kHz). The goals are to develop higher voltage pulses (50 - 60 kV), decrease the rise time from 20 to below 10 ns, and maintain the high pulse repetition capabilities. These new capabilities have applications to pseudospark generation, corona production, liquid discharges, and nonlinear transmission line driving for microwave production. This work is supported in part by the US Navy SBIR program.

  19. Over 0.5 MW green laser from sub-nanosecond giant pulsed microchip laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Lihe; Taira, Takunori

    2016-03-01

    A sub-nanosecond green laser with laser head sized 35 × 35 × 35 mm3 was developed from a giant pulsed microchip laser for laser processing on organic superconducting transistor with a flexible substrate. A composite monolithic Y3Al5O12 (YAG) /Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG/YAG crystal was designed for generating giant pulsed 1064 nm laser. A fibercoupled 30 W laser diode centered at 808 nm was used with pump pulse duration of 245 μs. The 532 nm green laser was obtained from a LiB3O5 (LBO) crystal with output energy of 150 μJ and pulse duration of 268 ps. The sub-nanosecond green laser is interesting for 2-D ablation patterns.

  20. Design of a patterned nanostructure array using a nanosecond pulsed laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshida, Yutaka; Ohnishi, Ko; Matsuo, Yasutaka; Watanabe, Seiichi

    2018-04-01

    For design the patterned nanostructure array (PNSA) on material surface using a nanosecond pulsed laser, we investigated the influence of phase shift between scattered lights on silicon (Si) substrate using 30-nm-wide gold lines (GLs) spacings. At a spacing of 5,871 nm, ten nanodot (ND) arrays were formed at intervals of 533 nm by nanosecond pulsed laser. The results show that the formation of the PNSA was affected by the resonance of scattered light. We conclude that ND arrays were formed with a spacing of Λ = nλ. And we have designed PNSA comprising two ND arrays on the substrate. The PNSA with dimensions of 1,600 nm × 1,600 nm was prepared using GLs.

  1. Introduction of Nano-seconds Pulsed Discharge Plasma and its Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Namihira, Takao; Wang, Douyan; Matsumoto, Takao; Okada, Sho; Akiyama, Hidenori

    During the decades, the developments of high power semiconductor switch, magnetic core and etc have allowed us to manufacture the pulsed power source having higher energy transfer efficiency. As the results, the pulsed discharge has been recognized as one of the promised non-thermal plasma to practical use. In this paper, a generation process, electron energy, impedance and a temperature of the pulsed discharge plasma would be explained. In addition, a nano-seconds pulsed discharge plasma would be introduced as the non-thermal plasma processing giving us the highest energy efficiency and be demonstrated it.

  2. Needle-array to Plate DBD Plasma Using Sine AC and Nanosecond Pulse Excitations for Purpose of Improving Indoor Air Quality

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Li; Yang, Dezheng; Wang, Wenchun; Wang, Sen; Yuan, Hao; Zhao, Zilu; Sang, Chaofeng; Jia, Li

    2016-01-01

    In this study, needle-array to plate electrode configuration was employed to generate an atmospheric air diffuse discharge using both nanosecond pulse and sine AC voltage as excitation voltage for the purpose of improving indoor air quality. Different types of voltage sources and electrode configurations are employed to optimize electrical field distribution and improve discharge stability. Discharge images, electrical characteristics, optical emission spectra, and plasma gas temperatures in both sine AC discharge and nanosecond pulse discharge were compared and the discharge stability during long operating time were discussed. Compared with the discharge excited by sine AC voltage, the nanosecond pulsed discharge is more homogenous and stable, besides, the plasma gas temperature of nanosecond pulse discharge is much lower. Using packed-bed structure, where γ- Al2O3 pellets are filled in the electrode gap, has obvious efficacy in the production of homogenous discharge. Furthermore, both sine AC discharge and nanosecond pulse discharge were used for removing formaldehyde from flowing air. It shows that nanosecond pulse discharge has a significant advantage in energy cost. And the main physiochemical processes for the generation of active species and the degradation of formaldehyde were discussed. PMID:27125663

  3. A nanosecond pulsed laser heating system for studying liquid and supercooled liquid films in ultrahigh vacuum

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xu, Yuntao; Dibble, Collin J.; Petrik, Nikolay G.

    2016-04-26

    A pulsed laser heating system has been developed that enables investigations of the dynamics and kinetics of nanoscale liquid films and liquid/solid interfaces on the nanosecond timescale in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). Details of the design, implementation and characterization of a nanosecond pulsed laser system for transiently heating nanoscale films are described. Nanosecond pulses from a Nd:YAG laser are used to rapidly heat thin films of adsorbed water or other volatile materials on a clean, well-characterized Pt(111) crystal in UHV. Heating rates of ~1010 K/s for temperature increases of ~100 – 200 K are obtained. Subsequent rapid cooling (~5 × 109more » K/s) quenches the film, permitting in-situ, post-mortem analysis using a variety of surface science techniques. Lateral variations in the laser pulse energy are ~ ± 3% leading to a temperature uncertainty of ~ ± 5 K for a temperature jump of 200 K. Initial experiments with the apparatus demonstrate that crystalline ice films initially held at 90 K can be rapidly transformed into liquid water films with T > 273 K. No discernable recrystallization occurs during the rapid cooling back to cryogenic temperatures. In contrast, amorphous solid water films heated below the melting point rapidly crystallize. The nanosecond pulsed laser heating system can prepare nanoscale liquid and supercooled liquid films that persist for nanoseconds per heat pulse in an UHV environment, enabling experimental studies of a wide range of phenomena in liquids and at liquid/solid interfaces.« less

  4. A nanosecond pulsed laser heating system for studying liquid and supercooled liquid films in ultrahigh vacuum.

    PubMed

    Xu, Yuntao; Dibble, Collin J; Petrik, Nikolay G; Smith, R Scott; Joly, Alan G; Tonkyn, Russell G; Kay, Bruce D; Kimmel, Greg A

    2016-04-28

    A pulsed laser heating system has been developed that enables investigations of the dynamics and kinetics of nanoscale liquid films and liquid/solid interfaces on the nanosecond time scale in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). Details of the design, implementation, and characterization of a nanosecond pulsed laser system for transiently heating nanoscale films are described. Nanosecond pulses from a Nd:YAG laser are used to rapidly heat thin films of adsorbed water or other volatile materials on a clean, well-characterized Pt(111) crystal in UHV. Heating rates of ∼10(10) K/s for temperature increases of ∼100-200 K are obtained. Subsequent rapid cooling (∼5 × 10(9) K/s) quenches the film, permitting in-situ, post-heating analysis using a variety of surface science techniques. Lateral variations in the laser pulse energy are ∼±2.7% leading to a temperature uncertainty of ∼±4.4 K for a temperature jump of 200 K. Initial experiments with the apparatus demonstrate that crystalline ice films initially held at 90 K can be rapidly transformed into liquid water films with T > 273 K. No discernable recrystallization occurs during the rapid cooling back to cryogenic temperatures. In contrast, amorphous solid water films heated below the melting point rapidly crystallize. The nanosecond pulsed laser heating system can prepare nanoscale liquid and supercooled liquid films that persist for nanoseconds per heat pulse in an UHV environment, enabling experimental studies of a wide range of phenomena in liquids and at liquid/solid interfaces.

  5. A simple sub-nanosecond ultraviolet light pulse generator with high repetition rate and peak power.

    PubMed

    Binh, P H; Trong, V D; Renucci, P; Marie, X

    2013-08-01

    We present a simple ultraviolet sub-nanosecond pulse generator using commercial ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with peak emission wavelengths of 290 nm, 318 nm, 338 nm, and 405 nm. The generator is based on step recovery diode, short-circuited transmission line, and current-shaping circuit. The narrowest pulses achieved have 630 ps full width at half maximum at repetition rate of 80 MHz. Optical pulse power in the range of several hundreds of microwatts depends on the applied bias voltage. The bias voltage dependences of the output optical pulse width and peak power are analysed and discussed. Compared to commercial UV sub-nanosecond generators, the proposed generator can produce much higher pulse repetition rate and peak power.

  6. Nanosecond laser pulse stimulation of spiral ganglion neurons and model cells.

    PubMed

    Rettenmaier, Alexander; Lenarz, Thomas; Reuter, Günter

    2014-04-01

    Optical stimulation of the inner ear has recently attracted attention, suggesting a higher frequency resolution compared to electrical cochlear implants due to its high spatial stimulation selectivity. Although the feasibility of the effect is shown in multiple in vivo experiments, the stimulation mechanism remains open to discussion. Here we investigate in single-cell measurements the reaction of spiral ganglion neurons and model cells to irradiation with a nanosecond-pulsed laser beam over a broad wavelength range from 420 nm up to 1950 nm using the patch clamp technique. Cell reactions were wavelength- and pulse-energy-dependent but too small to elicit action potentials in the investigated spiral ganglion neurons. As the applied radiant exposure was much higher than the reported threshold for in vivo experiments in the same laser regime, we conclude that in a stimulation paradigm with nanosecond-pulses, direct neuronal stimulation is not the main cause of optical cochlea stimulation.

  7. A large-area diffuse air discharge plasma excited by nanosecond pulse under a double hexagon needle-array electrode.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zhi-Jie; Wang, Wen-Chun; Yang, De-Zheng; Wang, Sen; Zhang, Shuai; Tang, Kai; Jiang, Peng-Chao

    2014-01-01

    A large-area diffuse air discharge plasma excited by bipolar nanosecond pulse is generated under a double hexagon needle-array electrode at atmospheric pressure. The images of the diffuse discharge, electric characteristics, and the optical emission spectra emitted from the diffuse air discharge plasma are obtained. Based on the waveforms of pulse voltage and current, the power consumption, and the power density of the diffuse air discharge plasma are investigated under different pulse peak voltages. The electron density and the electron temperature of the diffuse plasma are estimated to be approximately 1.42×10(11) cm(-3) and 4.4 eV, respectively. The optical emission spectra are arranged to determine the rotational and vibrational temperatures by comparing experimental with simulated spectra. Meanwhile, the rotational and vibrational temperatures of the diffuse discharge plasma are also discussed under different pulse peak voltages and pulse repetition rates, respectively. In addition, the diffuse air discharge plasma can form an area of about 70×50 mm(2) on the surface of dielectric layer and can be scaled up to the required size. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. A compact nanosecond pulse generator for DBD tube characterization.

    PubMed

    Rai, S K; Dhakar, A K; Pal, U N

    2018-03-01

    High voltage pulses of very short duration and fast rise time are required for generating uniform and diffuse plasma under various operating conditions. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) has been generated by high voltage pulses of short duration and fast rise time to produce diffuse plasma in the discharge gap. The high voltage pulse power generators have been chosen according to the requirement for the DBD applications. In this paper, a compact solid-state unipolar pulse generator has been constructed for characterization of DBD plasma. This pulsar is designed to provide repetitive pulses of 315 ns pulse width, pulse amplitude up to 5 kV, and frequency variation up to 10 kHz. The amplitude of the output pulse depends on the dc input voltage. The output frequency has been varied by changing the trigger pulse frequency. The pulsar is capable of generating pulses of positive or negative polarity by changing the polarity of pulse transformer's secondary. Uniform and stable homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge plasma has been produced successfully in a xenon DBD tube at 400-mbar pressure using the developed high voltage pulse generator.

  9. A compact nanosecond pulse generator for DBD tube characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rai, S. K.; Dhakar, A. K.; Pal, U. N.

    2018-03-01

    High voltage pulses of very short duration and fast rise time are required for generating uniform and diffuse plasma under various operating conditions. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) has been generated by high voltage pulses of short duration and fast rise time to produce diffuse plasma in the discharge gap. The high voltage pulse power generators have been chosen according to the requirement for the DBD applications. In this paper, a compact solid-state unipolar pulse generator has been constructed for characterization of DBD plasma. This pulsar is designed to provide repetitive pulses of 315 ns pulse width, pulse amplitude up to 5 kV, and frequency variation up to 10 kHz. The amplitude of the output pulse depends on the dc input voltage. The output frequency has been varied by changing the trigger pulse frequency. The pulsar is capable of generating pulses of positive or negative polarity by changing the polarity of pulse transformer's secondary. Uniform and stable homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge plasma has been produced successfully in a xenon DBD tube at 400-mbar pressure using the developed high voltage pulse generator.

  10. High pulse energy sub-nanosecond Tm-doped fiber laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cserteg, Andras; Guillemet, Sebastien; Hernandez, Yves; Giannone, Domenico

    2012-02-01

    We report a core pumped thulium-doped fiber amplifier that generates 1.4 μJ pulses at 1980 nm with a repetition rate of 3.6 MHz preserving the original spectral bandwidth of the oscillator. The amplifier chain is seeded by a passively modelocked fiber laser with 5 mW output power and the pulses are stretched to 800 picoseconds. The amplifier is core pumped by a single mode erbium fiber laser. The slope efficiency is 35%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of sub nanosecond pulses with energies higher than 1 μJ coming out of a thulium-doped fiber amplifier.

  11. Electromagnetic pulse propagation in dispersive planar dielectrics.

    PubMed

    Moten, K; Durney, C H; Stockham, T G

    1989-01-01

    The responses of a plane-wave pulse train irradiating a lossy dispersive dielectric half-space are investigated. The incident pulse train is expressed as a Fourier series with summing done by the inverse fast Fourier transform. The Fourier series technique is adopted to avoid the many difficulties often encountered in finding the inverse Fourier transform when transform analyses are used. Calculations are made for propagation in pure water, and typical waveforms inside the dielectric half-space are presented. Higher harmonics are strongly attenuated, resulting in a single continuous sinusoidal waveform at the frequency of the fundamental depth in the material. The time-averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) for pulse-train propagation is shown to be the sum of the time-averaged SARs of the individual harmonic components of the pulse train. For the same average power, calculated SARs reveal that pulse trains generally penetrate deeper than carrier-frequency continuous waves but not deeper than continuous waves at frequencies approaching the fundamental of the pulse train. The effects of rise time on the propagating pulse train in the dielectrics are shown and explained. Since most practical pulsed systems are very limited in bandwidth, no pronounced differences between their response and continuous wave (CW) response would be expected. Typical results for pulse-train propagation in arrays of dispersive planar dielectric slabs are presented. Expressing the pulse train as a Fourier series provides a practical way of interpreting the dispersion characteristics from the spectral point of view.

  12. Interaction of gold nanoparticles with nanosecond laser pulses: Nanoparticle heating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nedyalkov, N. N.; Imamova, S. E.; Atanasov, P. A.; Toshkova, R. A.; Gardeva, E. G.; Yossifova, L. S.; Alexandrov, M. T.; Obara, M.

    2011-04-01

    Theoretical and experimental results on the heating process of gold nanoparticles irradiated by nanosecond laser pulses are presented. The efficiency of particle heating is demonstrated by in-vitro photothermal therapy of human tumor cells. Gold nanoparticles with diameters of 40 and 100 nm are added as colloid in the cell culture and the samples are irradiated by nanosecond pulses at wavelength of 532 nm delivered by Nd:YAG laser system. The results indicate clear cytotoxic effect of application of nanoparticle as more efficient is the case of using particles with diameter of 100 nm. The theoretical analysis of the heating process of nanoparticle interacting with laser radiation is based on the Mie scattering theory, which is used for calculation of the particle absorption coefficient, and two-dimensional heat diffusion model, which describes the particle and the surrounding medium temperature evolution. Using this model the dependence of the achieved maximal temperature in the particles on the applied laser fluence and time evolution of the particle temperature is obtained.

  13. Dielectric Barrier Discharges: Pulsed Breakdown, Electrical Characterization and Chemistry

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-06-01

    DIELECTRIC BARRIER DISCHARGES : PULSED BREAKDOWN, ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND CHEMISTRY  R. Brandenburg, H. Höft, T. Hoder, A. Pipa, R...for pulsed driven Dielectric Barrier Discharges (DBDs) in particular. Fast electrical, optical and spectroscopic methods enable the study of...2. REPORT TYPE N/A 3. DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Dielectric Barrier Discharges : Pulsed Breakdown, Electrical Characterization

  14. Liquid Dielectrics in an Inhomogeneous Pulsed Electric Field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shneider, M. N.; Pekker, M.

    2016-08-01

    This book comprehensively describes the phenomena that occur in liquid dielectrics under the influence of an inhomogeneous pulsed electric field. Written by leading experts in the field, it is the first of its kind to address numerous potential applications such as the technology of high-voltage insulation in pulsed inhomogeneous fields, and applications related to cavitation development in liquid dielectrics, plasma treatment of different materials and plasma medicine dealing with living cells. Liquid Dielectrics in an Inhomogeneous Pulsed Electric Field is intended for a broad audience, from students to engineers and scientists, who are interested in current research questions in electrodynamics and hydrodynamics of liquid dielectrics. Part of the IOP Plasma Physics Series

  15. Nanosecond pulse shaping at 780 nm with fiber-based electro-optical modulators and a double-pass tapered amplifier

    DOE PAGES

    Rogers, III, C. E.; Gould, P. L.

    2016-02-01

    Here, we describe a system for generating frequency-chirped and amplitude-shaped pulses on time scales from sub-nanosecond to ten nanoseconds. The system starts with cw diode-laser light at 780 nm and utilizes fiber-based electro-optical phase and intensity modulators, driven by an arbitrary waveform generator, to generate the shaped pulses. These pulses are subsequently amplified to several hundred mW with a tapered amplifier in a delayed double-pass configuration. Frequency chirps up to 5 GHz in 2 ns and pulse widths as short as 0.15 ns have been realized.

  16. Nanosecond pulse shaping at 780 nm with fiber-based electro-optical modulators and a double-pass tapered amplifier.

    PubMed

    Rogers, C E; Gould, P L

    2016-02-08

    We describe a system for generating frequency-chirped and amplitude-shaped pulses on time scales from sub-nanosecond to ten nanoseconds. The system starts with cw diode-laser light at 780 nm and utilizes fiber-based electro-optical phase and intensity modulators, driven by an arbitrary waveform generator, to generate the shaped pulses. These pulses are subsequently amplified to several hundred mW with a tapered amplifier in a delayed double-pass configuration. Frequency chirps up to 5 GHz in 2 ns and pulse widths as short as 0.15 ns have been realized.

  17. Nanostructuring of sapphire using time-modulated nanosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lorenz, P.; Zagoranskiy, I.; Ehrhardt, M.; Bayer, L.; Zimmer, K.

    2017-02-01

    The nanostructuring of dielectric surfaces using laser radiation is still a challenge. The IPSM-LIFE (laser-induced front side etching using in-situ pre-structured metal layer) method allows the easy, large area and fast laser nanostructuring of dielectrics. At IPSM-LIFE a metal covered dielectric is irradiated where the structuring is assisted by a self-organized molten metal layer deformation process. The IPSM-LIFE can be divided into two steps: STEP 1: The irradiation of thin metal layers on dielectric surfaces results in a melting and nanostructuring process of the metal layer and partially of the dielectric surface. STEP 2: A subsequent high laser fluence treatment of the metal nanostructures result in a structuring of the dielectric surface. At this study a sapphire substrate Al2O3(1-102) was covered with a 10 nm thin molybdenum layer and irradiated by an infrared laser with an adjustable time-dependent pulse form with a time resolution of 1 ns (wavelength λ = 1064 nm, pulse duration Δtp = 1 - 600 ns, Gaussian beam profile). The laser treatment allows the fabrication of different surface structures into the sapphire surface due to a pattern transfer process. The resultant structures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The process was simulated and the simulation results were compared with experimental results.

  18. A single-shot nanosecond neutron pulsed technique for the detection of fissile materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gribkov, V.; Miklaszewski, R. A.; Chernyshova, M.; Scholz, M.; Prokopovicz, R.; Tomaszewski, K.; Drozdowicz, K.; Wiacek, U.; Gabanska, B.; Dworak, D.; Pytel, K.; Zawadka, A.

    2012-07-01

    A novel technique with the potential of detecting hidden fissile materials is presented utilizing the interaction of a single powerful and nanosecond wide neutron pulse with matter. The experimental system is based on a Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) device as a neutron source generating pulses of almost mono-energetic 2.45 MeV and/or 14.0 MeV neutrons, a few nanoseconds in width. Fissile materials, consisting of heavy nuclei, are detected utilizing two signatures: firstly by measuring those secondary fission neutrons which are faster than the elastically scattered 2.45 MeV neutrons of the D-D reaction in the DPF; secondly by measuring the pulses of the slower secondary fission neutrons following the pulse of the fast 14 MeV neutrons from the D-T reaction. In both cases it is important to compare the measured spectrum of the fission neutrons induced by the 2.45 MeV or 14 MeV neutron pulse of the DPF with theoretical spectra obtained by mathematical simulation. Therefore, results of numerical modelling of the proposed system, using the MCNP5 and the FLUKA codes are presented and compared with experimental data.

  19. A Novel Nanosecond Pulsed Power Unit for the Formation of ·OH in Water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Shengli; Hu, Sheng; Zhang, Han

    2012-04-01

    A novel nanosecond pulsed power unit was developed for plasma treatment of wastewater, based on the theory of magnetic pulse compression and semiconductor opening switch (SOS). The peak value, rise time and pulse duration of the output voltage were observed to be -51 kV, 60 ns and 120 ns, respectively. The concentrations of ·OH generated by the novel nanosecond pulsed plasma power were determined using the method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the concentrations of ·OH increased with the increase in peak voltage, and the generation rates of ·OH were 4.1 × 10-10 mol/s, 5.7 × 10-10 mol/s, and 7.7 × 10-10 mol/s at 30 kV, 35 kV, and 40 kV, respectively. The efficiency of OH generation was found to be independent of the input parameters for applied power, with an average value of 3.23×10-12 mol/J obtained.

  20. Dental hard tissue ablation using mid-infrared tunable nanosecond pulsed Cr:CdSe laser.

    PubMed

    Lin, Taichen; Aoki, Akira; Saito, Norihito; Yumoto, Masaki; Nakajima, Sadahiro; Nagasaka, Keigo; Ichinose, Shizuko; Mizutani, Koji; Wada, Satoshi; Izumi, Yuichi

    2016-12-01

    Mid-infrared erbium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) and erbium, chromium: yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) lasers (2.94- and 2.78-μm, respectively) are utilized for effective dental hard tissue treatment because of their high absorption in water, hydroxide ion, or both. Recently, a mid-infrared tunable, nanosecond pulsed, all-solid-state chromium-doped: cadmium-selenide (Cr:CdSe) laser system was developed, which enables laser oscillation in the broad spectral range around 2.9 μm. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ablation of dental hard tissue by the nanosecond pulsed Cr:CdSe laser at a wavelength range of 2.76-3.00 μm. Enamel, dentin, and cementum tissue were irradiated at a spot or line at a fluence of 0-11.20 J/cm 2 /pulse (energy output: 0-2.00 mJ/pulse) with a repetition rate of 10 Hz and beam diameter of ∼150 μm on the target (pulse width ∼250 ns). After irradiation, morphological changes, ablation threshold, depth, and efficiency, and thickness of the structurally and thermally affected layer of irradiated surfaces were analyzed using stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and light microscopy of non-decalcified histological sections. The nanosecond pulsed irradiation without water spray effectively ablated dental hard tissue with no visible thermal damage such as carbonization. The SEM analysis revealed characteristic micro-irregularities without major melting and cracks in the lased tissue. The ablation threshold of dentin was the lowest at 2.76 μm and the highest at 3.00 μm. The histological analysis revealed minimal thermal and structural changes ∼20 μm wide on the irradiated dentin surfaces with no significant differences between wavelengths. The efficiency of dentin ablation gradually increased from 3.00 to 2.76 μm, at which point the highest ablation efficiency was observed. The nanosecond pulsed Cr:CdSe laser demonstrated an effective ablation ability of hard dental tissues

  1. Pre-breakdown processes in a dielectric fluid in inhomogeneous pulsed electric fields

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shneider, Mikhail N., E-mail: m.n.shneider@gmail.com; Pekker, Mikhail

    2015-06-14

    We consider the development of pre-breakdown cavitation nanopores appearing in the dielectric fluid under the influence of the electrostrictive stresses in the inhomogeneous pulsed electric field. It is shown that three characteristic regions can be distinguished near the needle electrode. In the first region, where the electric field gradient is greatest, the cavitation nanopores, occurring during the voltage nanosecond pulse, may grow to the size at which an electron accelerated by the field inside the pores can acquire enough energy for excitation and ionization of the liquid on the opposite pore wall, i.e., the breakdown conditions are satisfied. In themore » second region, the negative pressure caused by the electrostriction is large enough for the cavitation initiation (which can be registered by optical methods), but, during the voltage pulse, the pores do not reach the size at which the potential difference across their borders becomes sufficient for ionization or excitation of water molecules. And, in the third, the development of cavitation is impossible, due to an insufficient level of the negative pressure: in this area, the spontaneously occurring micropores do not grow and collapse under the influence of surface tension forces. This paper discusses the expansion dynamics of the cavitation pores and their most probable shape.« less

  2. Note: Tesla based pulse generator for electrical breakdown study of liquid dielectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Veda Prakash, G.; Kumar, R.; Patel, J.; Saurabh, K.; Shyam, A.

    2013-12-01

    In the process of studying charge holding capability and delay time for breakdown in liquids under nanosecond (ns) time scales, a Tesla based pulse generator has been developed. Pulse generator is a combination of Tesla transformer, pulse forming line, a fast closing switch, and test chamber. Use of Tesla transformer over conventional Marx generators makes the pulse generator very compact, cost effective, and requires less maintenance. The system has been designed and developed to deliver maximum output voltage of 300 kV and rise time of the order of tens of nanoseconds. The paper deals with the system design parameters, breakdown test procedure, and various experimental results. To validate the pulse generator performance, experimental results have been compared with PSPICE simulation software and are in good agreement with simulation results.

  3. Impact of nanosecond pulsed electric fields on primary hippocampal neurons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Caleb C.; Payne, Jason A.; Kuipers, Marjorie A.; Thompson, Gary L.; Wilmink, Gerald J.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2012-02-01

    Cellular exposure to nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) are believed to cause immediate creation of nanopores in the plasma membrane. These nanopores enable passage of small ions, but remain impermeable to larger molecules like propidium iodide. Previous work has shown that nanopores are stable for minutes after exposure, suggesting that formation of nanopores in excitable cells could lead to prolonged action potential inhibition. Previously, we measured the formation of nanopores in neuroblastoma cells by measuring the influx of extracellular calcium by preloading cells with Calcium Green-AM. In this work, we explored the impact of changing the width of a single nsPEF, at constant amplitude, on uptake of extracellular calcium ions by primary hippocampal neurons (PHN). Calcium Green was again used to measure the influx of extracellular calcium and FM1-43 was used to monitor changes in membrane conformation. The observed thresholds for nanopore formation in PHN by nsPEF were comparable to those measured in neuroblastoma. This work is the first study of nsPEF effects on PHN and strongly suggests that neurological inhibition by nanosecond electrical pulses is highly likely at doses well below irreversible damage.

  4. Effects of high voltage nanosecond electric pulses on eukaryotic cells (in vitro): A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Batista Napotnik, Tina; Reberšek, Matej; Vernier, P Thomas; Mali, Barbara; Miklavčič, Damijan

    2016-08-01

    For this systematic review, 203 published reports on effects of electroporation using nanosecond high-voltage electric pulses (nsEP) on eukaryotic cells (human, animal, plant) in vitro were analyzed. A field synopsis summarizes current published data in the field with respect to publication year, cell types, exposure configuration, and pulse duration. Published data were analyzed for effects observed in eight main target areas (plasma membrane, intracellular, apoptosis, calcium level and distribution, survival, nucleus, mitochondria, stress) and an additional 107 detailed outcomes. We statistically analyzed effects of nsEP with respect to three pulse duration groups: A: 1-10ns, B: 11-100ns and C: 101-999ns. The analysis confirmed that the plasma membrane is more affected with longer pulses than with short pulses, seen best in uptake of dye molecules after applying single pulses. Additionally, we have reviewed measurements of nsEP and evaluations of the electric fields to which cells were exposed in these reports, and we provide recommendations for assessing nanosecond pulsed electric field effects in electroporation studies. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Ultrashort laser pulses and electromagnetic pulse generation in air and on dielectric surfaces.

    PubMed

    Sprangle, P; Peñano, J R; Hafizi, B; Kapetanakos, C A

    2004-06-01

    Intense, ultrashort laser pulses propagating in the atmosphere have been observed to emit sub-THz electromagnetic pulses (EMPS). The purpose of this paper is to analyze EMP generation from the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with air and with dielectric surfaces and to determine the efficiency of conversion of laser energy to EMP energy. In our self-consistent model the laser pulse partially ionizes the medium, forms a plasma filament, and through the ponderomotive forces associated with the laser pulse, drives plasma currents which are the source of the EMP. The propagating laser pulse evolves under the influence of diffraction, Kerr focusing, plasma defocusing, and energy depletion due to electron collisions and ionization. Collective effects and recombination processes are also included in the model. The duration of the EMP in air, at a fixed point, is found to be a few hundred femtoseconds, i.e., on the order of the laser pulse duration plus the electron collision time. For steady state laser pulse propagation the flux of EMP energy is nonradiative and axially directed. Radiative EMP energy is present only for nonsteady state or transient laser pulse propagation. The analysis also considers the generation of EMP on the surface of a dielectric on which an ultrashort laser pulse is incident. For typical laser parameters, the power and energy conversion efficiency from laser radiation to EMP radiation in both air and from dielectric surfaces is found to be extremely small, < 10(-8). Results of full-scale, self-consistent, numerical simulations of atmospheric and dielectric surface EMP generation are presented. A recent experiment on atmospheric EMP generation is also simulated.

  6. 2.36 J, 50 Hz nanosecond pulses from a diode side-pumped Nd:YAG MOPA system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Chaoyang; Lu, Chengqiang; Li, Chuan; Yang, Ning; Li, Ye; Yang, Zhen; Han, Song; Shi, Junfeng; Zhou, Zewu

    2017-07-01

    We report on a high-energy high-repetition-rate nanosecond Nd:YAG main oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system. Maximum output pulse energy of 2.36 J with duration of 9.4 ns at 50 Hz has been achieved. The master oscillator was a LD side-pumped electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG rod laser adopting unstable cavity with variable reflectivity mirror (VRM). It delivered a pulse train with energy up to 180 mJ and pulse duration of 10.7 ns. The near-field pattern demonstrated a nearly super Gaussian flat top profile. In the amplification stage, the pulse was boosted via double-pass two Nd:YAG rod amplifiers. Maximum pulse energy was obtained at the peak pump power of 37.5 kW, corresponding to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 25.2%. The correlative peak power was deduced to be 251 MW. We also presented the result of 100 Hz nanosecond laser with average output power of >100 W.

  7. The second phase of bipolar, nanosecond-range electric pulses determines the electroporation efficiency.

    PubMed

    Pakhomov, Andrei G; Grigoryev, Sergey; Semenov, Iurii; Casciola, Maura; Jiang, Chunqi; Xiao, Shu

    2018-03-29

    Bipolar cancellation refers to a phenomenon when applying a second electric pulse reduces ("cancels") cell membrane damage by a preceding electric pulse of the opposite polarity. Bipolar cancellation is a reason why bipolar nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP) cause weaker electroporation than just a single unipolar phase of the same pulse. This study was undertaken to explore the dependence of bipolar cancellation on nsEP parameters, with emphasis on the amplitude ratio of two opposite polarity phases of a bipolar pulse. Individual cells (CHO, U937, or adult mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes (VCM)) were exposed to either uni- or bipolar trapezoidal nsEP, or to nanosecond electric field oscillations (NEFO). The membrane injury was evaluated by time-lapse confocal imaging of the uptake of propidium (Pr) or YO-PRO-1 (YP) dyes and by phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization. Within studied limits, bipolar cancellation showed little or no dependence on the electric field intensity, pulse repetition rate, chosen endpoint, or cell type. However, cancellation could increase for larger pulse numbers and/or for longer pulses. The sole most critical parameter which determines bipolar cancellation was the phase ratio: maximum cancellation was observed with the 2nd phase of about 50% of the first one, whereas a larger 2nd phase could add a damaging effect of its own. "Swapping" the two phases, i.e., delivering the smaller phase before the larger one, reduced or eliminated cancellation. These findings are discussed in the context of hypothetical mechanisms of bipolar cancellation and electroporation by nsEP. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Two-stage optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier using sub-nanosecond pump pulse generated by stimulated Brillouin scattering compression

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ogino, Jumpei; Miyamoto, Sho; Matsuyama, Takahiro; Sueda, Keiichi; Yoshida, Hidetsugu; Tsubakimoto, Koji; Miyanaga, Noriaki

    2014-12-01

    We demonstrate optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) based on two-beam pumping, using sub-nanosecond pulses generated by stimulated Brillouin scattering compression. Seed pulse energy, duration, and center wavelength were 5 nJ, 220 ps, and ˜1065 nm, respectively. The 532 nm pulse from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was compressed to ˜400 ps in heavy fluorocarbon FC-40 liquid. Stacking of two time-delayed pump pulses reduced the amplifier gain fluctuation. Using a walk-off-compensated two-stage OPCPA at a pump energy of 34 mJ, a total gain of 1.6 × 105 was obtained, yielding an output energy of 0.8 mJ. The amplified chirped pulse was compressed to 97 fs.

  9. Temporal and spatial evolution of nanosecond microwave-driven plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, C.; Chen, X. Q.; Zhu, M.; Pu, Y. K.

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, a method for simultaneously acquiring the temporal and spatial evolution of characteristic plasma spectra in a single microwave pulse is proposed and studied. By using multi-sub-beam fiber bundles coupled with a spectrometer and EMICCD (Electron-multiplying intensified charge-coupled device), the spatial distribution and time evolution of characteristic spectra of desorbed gases at the dielectric/vacuum interface during nanosecond microwave-driven plasma discharge are observed. Arrays of small align tubes punctured with metal walls of feed horn are filled with separate fibers of matched sizes and equal lengths. The output ends of fibers arranged in a single longitudinal column are connected to the entrance slit of a spectrometer, where the optical spectrum inputs to a high-speed EMICCD, to detect the rapid-varying time and space spectra of nanosecond giga-watt microwave discharges. The evolution of spectral clusters of N2 (C-B), N2+ (B-X), and the hydrogen atoms is discovered and monitored. The whole duration of light emission is much longer than the microwave pulse, and the intensities of ion N2+ (B-X) spectra increase after microwave pulses with rise times of 25-50 ns. The brightness distribution of plasma spectra in different space is observed and approximately consistent with the simulated E-field distribution.

  10. Infrared nanosecond laser-metal ablation in atmosphere: Initial plasma during laser pulse and further expansion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wu, Jian; Wei, Wenfu; Li, Xingwen

    2013-04-22

    We have investigated the dynamics of the nanosecond laser ablated plasma within and after the laser pulse irradiation using fast photography. A 1064 nm, 15 ns laser beam was focused onto a target made from various materials with an energy density in the order of J/mm{sup 2} in atmosphere. The plasma dynamics during the nanosecond laser pulse were observed, which could be divided into three stages: fast expansion, division into the primary plasma and the front plasma, and stagnation. After the laser terminated, a critical moment when the primary plasma expansion transited from the shock model to the drag modelmore » was resolved, and this phenomenon could be understood in terms of interactions between the primary and the front plasmas.« less

  11. Schlieren Imaging and Pulsed Detonation Engine Testing of Ignition by a Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharge

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-16

    in ethylene–air and aviation gasoline (avgas)–air mixtures. Testing of NRP discharges in the glow and corona regimes in PDE engines has been...in further detail in Refs. [17,21–23]. NRP discharges in the pin-to-pin configuration have been shown to operate in three regimes: corona , glow, and...assisted combustion Plasma assisted ignition Aircraft propulsionA nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharge in the spark regime has been investigated

  12. Optical and application study of gas-liquid discharge excited by bipolar nanosecond pulse in atmospheric air.

    PubMed

    Wang, Sen; Wang, Wen-chun; Yang, De-zheng; Liu, Zhi-jie; Zhang, Shuai

    2014-10-15

    In this study, a bipolar nanosecond pulse with 20ns rising time is employed to generate air gas-liquid diffuse discharge plasma with room gas temperature in quartz tube at atmospheric pressure. The image of the discharge and optical emission spectra of active species in the plasma are recorded. The plasma gas temperature is determined to be approximately 390K by compared the experimental spectra with the simulated spectra, which is slightly higher than the room temperature. The result indicated that the gas temperature rises gradually with pulse peak voltage increasing, while decreases slightly with the electrode gap distance increasing. As an important application, bipolar nanosecond pulse discharge is used to sterilize the common microorganisms (Actinomycetes, Candida albicans and Escherichia coli) existing in drinking water, which performs high sterilization efficiency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Pure rotational CARS thermometry studies of low-temperature oxidation kinetics in air and ethene-air nanosecond pulse discharge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuzeek, Yvette; Choi, Inchul; Uddi, Mruthunjaya; Adamovich, Igor V.; Lempert, Walter R.

    2010-03-01

    Pure rotational CARS thermometry is used to study low-temperature plasma assisted fuel oxidation kinetics in a repetitive nanosecond pulse discharge in ethene-air at stoichiometric and fuel lean conditions at 40 Torr pressure. Air and fuel-air mixtures are excited by a burst of high-voltage nanosecond pulses (peak voltage, 20 kV; pulse duration, ~ 25 ns) at a 40 kHz pulse repetition rate and a burst repetition rate of 10 Hz. The number of pulses in the burst is varied from a few pulses to a few hundred pulses. The results are compared with the previously developed hydrocarbon-air plasma chemistry model, modified to incorporate non-empirical scaling of the nanosecond discharge pulse energy coupled to the plasma with number density, as well as one-dimensional conduction heat transfer. Experimental time-resolved temperature, determined as a function of the number of pulses in the burst, is found to agree well with the model predictions. The results demonstrate that the heating rate in fuel-air plasmas is much faster compared with air plasmas, primarily due to energy release in exothermic reactions of fuel with O atoms generated by the plasma. It is found that the initial heating rate in fuel-air plasmas is controlled by the rate of radical (primarily O atoms) generation and is nearly independent of the equivalence ratio. At long burst durations, the heating rate in lean fuel air-mixtures is significantly reduced when all fuel is oxidized.

  14. Variation in dielectric properties due to pathological changes in human liver.

    PubMed

    Peyman, Azadeh; Kos, Bor; Djokić, Mihajlo; Trotovšek, Blaž; Limbaeck-Stokin, Clara; Serša, Gregor; Miklavčič, Damijan

    2015-12-01

    Dielectric properties of freshly excised human liver tissues (in vitro) with several pathological conditions including cancer were obtained in frequency range 100 MHz-5 GHz. Differences in dielectric behavior of normal and pathological tissues at microwave frequencies are discussed based on histological information for each tissue. Data presented are useful for many medical applications, in particular nanosecond pulsed electroporation techniques. Knowledge of dielectric properties is vital for mathematical calculations of local electric field distribution inside electroporated tissues and can be used to optimize the process of electroporation for treatment planning procedures. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Surface damage of thin AlN films with increased oxygen content by nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gruzdev, Vitaly; Salakhutdinov, Ildar; Chen, J. K.; Danylyuk, Yuriy; McCullen, Erik; Auner, Gregory

    2009-10-01

    AlN films deposited on sapphire substrates were damaged by single UV nanosecond (at 248 nm) and IR femtosecond (at 775 nm) laser pulses in air at normal pressure. The films had high (27-35 atomic %) concentration of oxygen introduced into thin surface layer (5-10 nm thickness). We measured damage threshold and studied morphology of the damage sites with atomic force and Nomarski optical microscopes with the objective to determine a correlation between damage processes and oxygen content. The damage produced by nanosecond pulses was accompanied by significant thermal effects with evident signatures of melting, chemical modification of the film surface, and specific redistribution of micro-defect rings around the damage spots. The nanosecond-damage threshold exhibited pronounced increase with increase of the oxygen content. In contrast to that, the femtosecond pulses produced damage without any signs of thermal, thermo-mechanical or chemical effects. No correlation between femtosecond-damage threshold and oxygen content as well as presence of defects within the laser-damage spot was found. We discuss the influence of the oxygen contamination on film properties and related mechanisms responsible for the specific damage effects and morphology of the damage sites observed in the experiments.

  16. Dielectric properties of isolated adrenal chromaffin cells determined by microfluidic impedance spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Sabuncu, A C; Stacey, M; Craviso, G L; Semenova, N; Vernier, P T; Leblanc, N; Chatterjee, I; Zaklit, J

    2018-02-01

    Knowledge of the dielectric properties of biological cells plays an important role in numerical models aimed at understanding how high intensity ultrashort nanosecond electric pulses affect the plasma membrane and the membranes of intracellular organelles. To this end, using electrical impedance spectroscopy, the dielectric properties of isolated, neuroendocrine adrenal chromaffin cells were obtained. Measured impedance data of the cell suspension, acquired between 1kHz and 20MHz, were fit into a combination of constant phase element and Cole-Cole models from which the effect of electrode polarization was extracted. The dielectric spectrum of each cell suspension was fit into a Maxwell-Wagner mixture model and the Clausius-Mossotti factor was obtained. Lastly, to extract the cellular dielectric parameters, the cell dielectric data were fit into a granular cell model representative of a chromaffin cell, which was based on the inclusion of secretory granules in the cytoplasm. Chromaffin cell parameters determined from this study were the cell and secretory granule membrane specific capacitance (1.22 and 7.10μF/cm 2 , respectively), the cytoplasmic conductivity, which excludes and includes the effect of intracellular membranous structures (1.14 and 0.49S/m, respectively), and the secretory granule milieu conductivity (0.35S/m). These measurements will be crucial for incorporating into numerical models aimed at understanding the differential poration effect of nanosecond electric pulses on chromaffin cell membranes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Development of an electron momentum spectrometer for time-resolved experiments employing nanosecond pulsed electron beam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Yaguo; Shan, Xu; Liu, Zhaohui; Niu, Shanshan; Wang, Enliang; Chen, Xiangjun

    2018-03-01

    The low count rate of (e, 2e) electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) has long been a major limitation of its application to the investigation of molecular dynamics. Here we report a new EMS apparatus developed for time-resolved experiments in the nanosecond time scale, in which a double toroidal energy analyzer is utilized to improve the sensitivity of the spectrometer and a nanosecond pulsed electron gun with a repetition rate of 10 kHz is used to obtain an average beam current up to nA. Meanwhile, a picosecond ultraviolet laser with a repetition rate of 5 kHz is introduced to pump the sample target. The time zero is determined by photoionizing the target using a pump laser and monitoring the change of the electron beam current with time delay between the laser pulse and electron pulse, which is influenced by the plasma induced by the photoionization. The performance of the spectrometer is demonstrated by the EMS measurement on argon using a pulsed electron beam, illustrating the potential abilities of the apparatus for investigating the molecular dynamics in excited states when employing the pump-probe scheme.

  18. Commissioning of a kW-class nanosecond pulsed DPSSL operating at 105 J, 10 Hz

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mason, Paul; Divoký, Martin; Butcher, Thomas; Pilař, Jan; Ertel, Klaus; Hanuš, Martin; De Vido, Mariastefania; Banerjee, Saumyabrata; Phillips, Jonathan; Smith, Jodie; Hollingham, Ian; Muresan, Mihai-George; Landowski, Brian; Suarez-Merchan, Jorge; Thomas, Adrian; Dominey, Mark; Benson, Luke; Lintern, Andrew; Costello, Billy; Tomlinson, Stephanie; Blake, Steve; Tyldesley, Mike; Lucianetti, Antonio; Hernandez-Gomez, Cristina; Edwards, Chris; Mocek, Tomas; Collier, John

    2017-05-01

    In this paper we present details of the commissioning of DiPOLE100, a kW-class nanosecond pulsed diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL), at the HiLASE Centre at Dolní Břežany in the Czech Republic. The laser system, built at the Central Laser Facility (CLF), was dismantled, packaged, shipped and reassembled at HiLASE over a 12 month period by a collaborative team from the CLF and HiLASE. First operation of the laser at the end of 2016 demonstrated amplification of 10 ns pulses at 10 Hz pulse repetition rate to an energy of 105 J at 1029.5 nm, representing the world's first kW average power, high-energy, nanosecond pulsed DPSSL. To date DiPOLE100 has been operated for over 2.5 hours at energies in excess of 100 J at 10 Hz, corresponding to nearly 105 shots, and has demonstrated long term energy stability of less than 1% RMS for continuous operation over 1 hour. This confirms the power scalability of multislab cryogenic gas-cooled amplifier technology and demonstrates its potential as a laser driver for next generation scientific, industrial, and medical applications.

  19. Microdosimetric study for nanosecond pulsed electric fields on a cell circuit model with nucleus.

    PubMed

    Denzi, Agnese; Merla, Caterina; Camilleri, Paola; Paffi, Alessandra; d'Inzeo, Guglielmo; Apollonio, Francesca; Liberti, Micaela

    2013-10-01

    Recently, scientific interest in electric pulses, always more intense and shorter and able to induce biological effects on both plasma and nuclear membranes, has greatly increased. Hence, microdosimetric models that include internal organelles like the nucleus have assumed increasing importance. In this work, a circuit model of the cell including the nucleus is proposed, which accounts for the dielectric dispersion of all cell compartments. The setup of the dielectric model of the nucleus is of fundamental importance in determining the transmembrane potential (TMP) induced on the nuclear membrane; here, this is demonstrated by comparing results for three different sets of nuclear dielectric properties present in the literature. The results have been compared, even including or disregarding the dielectric dispersion of the nucleus. The main differences have been found when using pulses shorter than 10 ns. This is due to the fact that the high spectral components of the shortest pulses are differently taken into account by the nuclear membrane transfer functions computed with and without nuclear dielectric dispersion. The shortest pulses are also the most effective in porating the intracellular structures, as confirmed by the time courses of the TMP calculated across the plasma and nuclear membranes. We show how dispersive nucleus models are unavoidable when dealing with pulses shorter than 10 ns because of the large spectral contents arriving above 100 MHz, i.e., over the typical relaxation frequencies of the dipolar mechanism of the molecules constituting the nuclear membrane and the subcellular cell compartments.

  20. Low-density plasma formation in aqueous biological media using sub-nanosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Genc, Suzanne L.; Ma, Huan; Venugopalan, Vasan

    2014-08-01

    We demonstrate the formation of low- and high-density plasmas in aqueous media using sub-nanosecond laser pulses delivered at low numerical aperture (NA = 0.25). We observe two distinct regimes of plasma formation in deionized water, phosphate buffered saline, Minimum Essential Medium (MEM), and MEM supplemented with phenol red. Optical breakdown is first initiated in a low-energy regime and characterized by bubble formation without plasma luminescence with threshold pulse energies in the range of Ep ≈ 4-5 μJ, depending on media formulation. The onset of this regime occurs over a very narrow interval of pulse energies and produces small bubbles (Rmax = 2-20 μm) due to a tiny conversion (η < 0.01%) of laser energy to bubble energy EB. The lack of visible plasma luminescence, sharp energy onset, and low bubble energy conversion are all hallmarks of low-density plasma (LDP) formation. At higher pulse energies (Ep = 11-20 μJ), the process transitions to a second regime characterized by plasma luminescence and large bubble formation. Bubbles formed in this regime are 1-2 orders of magnitude larger in size ( R max ≳ 100 μ m ) due to a roughly two-order-of-magnitude increase in bubble energy conversion (η ≳ 3%). These characteristics are consistent with high-density plasma formation produced by avalanche ionization and thermal runaway. Additionally, we show that supplementation of MEM with fetal bovine serum (FBS) limits optical breakdown to this high-energy regime. The ability to produce LDPs using sub-nanosecond pulses focused at low NA in a variety of cell culture media formulations without FBS can provide for cellular manipulation at high throughput with precision approaching that of femtosecond pulses delivered at high NA.

  1. Studies on laser material processing with nanosecond and sub-nanosecond and picosecond and sub-picosecond pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Jie; Tao, Sha; Wang, Brian; Zhao, Jay

    2016-03-01

    In this paper, laser ablation of widely used metal (Al, Cu. stainless-steel), semiconductor (Si), transparent material (glass, sapphire), ceramic (Al2O3, AlN) and polymer (PI, PMMA) in industry were systematically studied with pulse width from nanosecond (5-100ns), picosecond (6-10ps) to sub-picosecond (0.8-0.95ps). A critical damage zone (CDZ) of up to 100um with ns laser, <=50um with ps laser, and <=20um with sub-ps laser, respectively was observed as a criteria of selecting the laser pulse width. The effects of laser processing parameters on speed and efficiency were also investigated. This is to explore how to provide industry users the best laser solution for device micro-fabrication with best price. Our studies of cutting and drilling with ns, ps, and sub-ps lasers indicate that it is feasible to achieve user accepted quality and speed with cost-effective and reliable laser by optimizing processing conditions.

  2. Surface charge accumulation of solid insulator under nanosecond pulse in vacuum: 3D distribution features and mechanism

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Bo; Gao, Chunjia; Sun, Zelai; Li, Chengrong

    2017-11-01

    Surface charge accumulation can incur changes in electric field distribution, involved in the electron propagation process, and result in a significant decrease in the surface flashover voltage. The existing 2D surface charge measurement fails to meet the actual needs in real engineering applications that usually adopt the 45° conical frustum insulators. The present research developed a novel 3D measurement platform to capture surface charge distribution on solid insulation under nanosecond pulse in a vacuum. The results indicate that all surface charges are positive under a positive pulse and negative under a negative pulse. Surface charges tend to accumulate more near the upper electrode. Surface charge density increases significantly with the increase in pulse counts and amplitudes. Accumulation of surface charge results in a certain decrease of flashover voltage. Taking consideration of the secondary electron emission for the surface charge accumulation, four materials were obtained to demonstrate the effects on surface charge. Combining the effect incurred by secondary electron emission and the weighty action taken by surface charge accumulation on the flashover phenomena, the discharge mechanism along the insulator surface under nanosecond pulse voltage was proposed.

  3. Nanosecond electric modification of order parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borshch, Volodymyr

    In this Dissertation, we study a nanosecond electro-optic response of a nematic liquid crystal in a geometry where an applied electric field E modifies the tensor order parameter but does not change the orientation of the optic axis (director N̂). We use nematics with negative dielectric anisotropy with the electric field applied perpendicularly to N̂. The field changes the dielectric tensor at optical frequencies (optic tensor), due to the following mechanisms: (a) nanosecond creation of biaxial orientational order; (b) uniaxial modification of the orientational order that occurs over the timescales of tens of nanoseconds, and (c) quenching of director fluctuations with a wide range of characteristic times up to milliseconds. We develop a model to describe the dynamics of all three mechanisms. We design the experimental conditions to selectively suppress the contributions from the quenching of director fluctuations (c) and from the biaxial order effect (a) and thus, separate the contributions of the three mechanisms in the electro-optic response. As a result, the experimental data can be well fitted with the model parameters. The analysis provides a rather detailed physical picture of how the liquid crystal responds to a strong electric field, E ˜ 108 V/m, on a timescale of nanoseconds. This work provides a useful guide in the current search of the biaxial nematic phase. Namely, the temperature dependence of the biaxial susceptibility allows one to estimate the temperature of the potential uniaxial-to-biaxial phase transition. An analysis of the quenching of director fluctuations indicates that on a timescale of nanoseconds, the classic model with constant viscoelastic material parameters might reach its limit of validity. The effect of nanosecond electric modification of the order parameter (NEMOP) can be used in applications in which one needs to achieve ultrafast (nanosecond) changes of optical characteristics, such as birefringence.

  4. Theranostic system for drug delivery and pharmacokinetic imaging based on nanosecond pulsed light-induced photomechanical and photoacoustic effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsunoi, Yasuyuki; Sato, Shunichi; Kawauchi, Satoko; Akutsu, Yusuke; Miyagawa, Yoshihiro; Araki, Koji; Shiotani, Akihiro; Terakawa, Mitsuhiro

    2015-11-01

    For efficient and side effects-free pharmacological treatment, we here propose a theranostic system that enables transvascular drug delivery by photomechanical waves (PMWs) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging of the drug distribution; both functions are based on nanosecond laser pulses and can therefore be integrated in one system. Through optical fibers arranged around an ultrasound sensor, low-energy and high-energy nanosecond light pulses were transmitted respectively for PA imaging and PMW-based drug delivery by temporal switching. With the system, we delivered a test drug (Evans blue) to tumors in mice and visualized distributions of both the blood vessels and drug in the tissue in vivo, showing the validity of the system.

  5. Interaction Of CO2 Laser Nanosecond Pulse Train With The Metallic Targets In Optical Breakdown Regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Apollonov, V. V.; Firsov, K. N.; Konov, V. I.; Nikitin, P. I.; Prokhorov, A. M.; Silenok, A. S.; Sorochenko, V. R.

    1986-11-01

    In the present paper the electric field and currents in the air-breakdown plasma, produced by the train of nanosecond pulses of TEA-002 - regenerative amplifier near the un-charged targets are studied. The breakdown thresholds and the efficiency of plasma-target heat transmission are also measured. The results of numerical calculations made for increasing of the pulse train contrast with respect to the background in a regenerative amplifier are advanced.

  6. Morphology of ejected particles and impact sites on intercepting substrates following exit-surface laser damage with nanosecond pulses in silica

    DOE PAGES

    Demos, Stavros G.; Negres, Raluca A.

    2016-09-08

    A volume of superheated material reaching localized temperatures of the order of 1 eV and pressures of the order of 10 GPa is generated following laser-induced damage (breakdown) on the surface of transparent dielectric materials using nanosecond pulses. This leads to material ejection and the formation of a crater. To elucidate the material behaviors involved, we examined the morphologies of the ejected particles and found distinctive features that support their classification into different types. The different morphologies arise from the difference in the structure and physical properties (such as the dynamic viscosity and presence of instabilities) of the superheated andmore » surrounding affected material at the time of ejection of each individual particle. In addition, the temperature and kinetic energy of a subset of the ejected particles were found to be sufficient to initiate irreversible modification on the intercepting silica substrates. Finally, the modifications observed are associated with mechanical damage and fusion of melted particles on the collector substrate.« less

  7. Sub-5-ps optical pulse generation from a 1.55-µm distributed-feedback laser diode with nanosecond electric pulse excitation and spectral filtering.

    PubMed

    Chen, Shaoqiang; Sato, Aya; Ito, Takashi; Yoshita, Masahiro; Akiyama, Hidefumi; Yokoyama, Hiroyuki

    2012-10-22

    This paper reports generation of sub-5-ps Fourier-transform limited optical pulses from a 1.55-µm gain-switched single-mode distributed-feedback laser diode via nanosecond electric excitation and a simple spectral-filtering technique. Typical damped oscillations of the whole lasing spectrum were observed in the time-resolved waveform. Through a spectral-filtering technique, the initial relaxation oscillation pulse and the following components in the output pulse can be well separated, and the initial short pulse can be selectively extracted by filtering out the short-wavelength components in the spectrum. Short pulses generated by this simple method are expected to have wide potential applications comparable to mode-locking lasers.

  8. Spectroscopic characteristics of H α /OI atomic lines generated by nanosecond pulsed corona-like discharge in deionized water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pongrác, Branislav; Šimek, Milan; Člupek, Martin; Babický, Václav; Lukeš, Petr

    2018-03-01

    Basic emission fingerprints of nanosecond discharges produced in deionized water by fast rise-time positive high-voltage pulses (duration of 6 ns and amplitude of  +100 kV) in a point-to-plane electrode geometry were investigated by means of time-resolved intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) spectroscopy. Time-resolved emission spectra were measured via ICCD kinetic series during the discharge ignition and later phases over the 350-850 nm spectral range with fixed, either 3 ns or 30 ns, acquisition time and with 3 ns or 30 ns time resolution, respectively. The luminous phase of the initial discharge expansion and its subsequent collapse was characterized by a broadband vis-NIR continuum emission evolving during the first few nanoseconds which shifted more toward the UV with further increase of time. After ~30 ns from the discharge onset, the continuum gradually disappeared followed by the emission of H α and OI atomic lines. The electron densities calculated from the H α profile fit were estimated to be of the order of 1018-1019 cm-3. It is unknown if the H α and OI atomic lines are generated even in earlier times (before ~30 ns) because such signals were not detectable due to the superposition with the strong continuum. However, subsequent events caused by the reflected HV pulses were observed to have significant effects on the emission spectra profiles of the nanosecond discharge. By varying the time delay of the reflected pulse from 45 to 90 ns after the primary pulse, the intensities of the H α /OI atomic lines in the emission spectra of the secondary discharges were clearly visible and their intensities were greater with shorter time delay between primary and reflected pulses. These results indicate that the discharges generated due to the reflected pulses were very likely generated in the non-relaxed environment.

  9. A 100J-level nanosecond pulsed DPSSL for pumping high-efficiency, high-repetition rate PW-class lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Vido, M.; Ertel, K.; Mason, P. D.; Banerjee, S.; Phillips, P. J.; Smith, J. M.; Butcher, T. J.; Chekhlov, O.; Divoky, M.; Pilar, J.; Hooker, C.; Shaikh, W.; Lucianetti, A.; Hernandez-Gomez, C.; Mocek, T.; Edwards, C.; Collier, J. L.

    2017-02-01

    In this paper, we review the development, at the STFC's Central Laser Facility (CLF), of high energy, high repetition rate diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) systems based on cryogenically-cooled multi-slab ceramic Yb:YAG. Up to date, two systems have been completed, namely the DiPOLE prototype and the DiPOLE100 system. The DiPOLE prototype has demonstrated amplification of nanosecond pulses in excess of 10 J at 10 Hz repetition rate with an opticalto- optical efficiency of 22%. The larger scale DiPOLE100 system, designed to deliver 100J temporally-shaped nanosecond pulses at 10 Hz repetition rate, has been developed at the CLF for the HiLASE project in the Czech Republic. Recent experiments conducted on the DiPOLE100 system demonstrated the energy scalability of the DiPOLE concept to the 100 J pulse energy level. Furthermore, second harmonic generation experiments carried out on the DiPOLE prototype confirmed the suitability of DiPOLE-based systems for pumping high repetition rate PW-class laser systems based on Ti:sapphire or optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) technology.

  10. Fluorescence of silicon nanoparticles prepared by nanosecond pulsed laser

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Chunyang, E-mail: chunyangliu@126.com; Sui, Xin; Yang, Fang

    2014-03-15

    A pulsed laser fabrication method is used to prepare fluorescent microstructures on silicon substrates in this paper. A 355 nm nanosecond pulsed laser micromachining system was designed, and the performance was verified and optimized. Fluorescence microscopy was used to analyze the photoluminescence of the microstructures which were formed using the pulsed laser processing technique. Photoluminescence spectra of the microstructure reveal a peak emission around 500 nm, from 370 nm laser irradiation. The light intensity also shows an exponential decay with irradiation time, which is similar to attenuation processes seen in porous silicon. The surface morphology and chemical composition of themore » microstructure in the fabricated region was also analyzed with multifunction scanning electron microscopy. Spherical particles are produced with diameters around 100 nm. The structure is compared with porous silicon. It is likely that these nanoparticles act as luminescence recombination centers on the silicon surface. The small diameter of the particles modifies the band gap of silicon by quantum confinement effects. Electron-hole pairs recombine and the fluorescence emission shifts into the visible range. The chemical elements of the processed region are also changed during the interaction between laser and silicon. Oxidation and carbonization play an important role in the enhancement of fluorescence emission.« less

  11. Role of suprathermal electrons during nanosecond laser energy deposit in fused silica

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Grua, P.; Hébert, D.; Lamaignère, L.

    2014-08-25

    An accurate description of interaction between a nanosecond laser pulse and a wide band gap dielectric, such as fused silica, requires the understanding of energy deposit induced by temperature changes occurring in the material. In order to identify the fundamental processes involved in laser-matter interaction, we have used a 1D computational model that allows us to describe a wide set of physical mechanisms and intended for comparison with specially designed “1D experiments.” We have pointed out that suprathermal electrons are very likely implicated in heat conduction, and this assumption has allowed the model to reproduce the experiments.

  12. Nanosecond electrical and optical pulses and self phase conjugation from photorefractive lithium niobate fibers and crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kukhtarev, N.; Kukhtareva, T.; Curley, M.; Jaenisch, H. M.; Edwards, M. E.; Gu, M.; Zhou, Z.; Guo, R.

    2007-09-01

    We have observed nanosecond electrical and optical pulsations from photorefractive lithium-niobate optical fibers using CW green and blue low-power lasers. Fourier spectra of the pulsations have a maximum at ~900 MHz with peaks separated by ~30MHz. We consider free-space and fiber supported illumination of the fiber crystal. Strong nonlinear enhanced backscattering with phase conjugation was observed from bulk crystals and crystal fibers along the C-axis. Model of transformation of CW laser irradiation of ferroelectric crystals into periodic nanosecond electrical and optical pulsations is suggested. This model includes combinations of photorefractive, pyroelectric, piezoelectric, and photogalvanic mechanisms of the holographic grating formation and crystal electrical charging. Possible applications of these short photo-induced electrical pulses for modulation of holographic beam coupling, pulsed electrolysis, electrophoresis, focused electron beams, X-ray and neutron generation, and hand-held micro X-ray devices for localized oncology imaging and treatment based on our advanced sensor work are discussed.

  13. Measurements and kinetic modeling of atomic species in fuel-oxidizer mixtures excited by a repetitive nanosecond pulse discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winters, C.; Eckert, Z.; Yin, Z.; Frederickson, K.; Adamovich, I. V.

    2018-01-01

    This work presents the results of number density measurements of metastable Ar atoms and ground state H atoms in diluted mixtures of H2 and O2 with Ar, as well as ground state O atoms in diluted H2-O2-Ar, CH4-O2-Ar, C3H8-O2-Ar, and C2H4-O2-Ar mixtures excited by a repetitive nanosecond pulse discharge. The measurements have been made in a nanosecond pulse, double dielectric barrier discharge plasma sustained in a flow reactor between two plane electrodes encapsulated within dielectric material, at an initial temperature of 500 K and pressures ranging from 300 Torr to 700 Torr. Metastable Ar atom number density distribution in the afterglow is measured by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, and used to characterize plasma uniformity. Temperature rise in the reacting flow is measured by Rayleigh scattering. H atom and O atom number densities are measured by two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence. The results are compared with kinetic model predictions, showing good agreement, with the exception of extremely lean mixtures. O atoms and H atoms in the plasma are produced mainly during quenching of electronically excited Ar atoms generated by electron impact. In H2-Ar and O2-Ar mixtures, the atoms decay by three-body recombination. In H2-O2-Ar, CH4-O2-Ar, and C3H8-O2-Ar mixtures, O atoms decay in a reaction with OH, generated during H atom reaction with HO2, with the latter produced by three-body H atom recombination with O2. The net process of O atom decay is O  +  H  →  OH, such that the decay rate is controlled by the amount of H atoms produced in the discharge. In extra lean mixtures of propane and ethylene with O2-Ar the model underpredicts the O atom decay rate. At these conditions, when fuel is completely oxidized by the end of the discharge burst, the net process of O atom decay, O  +  O  →  O2, becomes nearly independent of H atom number density. Lack of agreement with the data at these conditions is

  14. Realtime processing of LOFAR data for the detection of nano-second pulses from the Moon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winchen, T.; Bonardi, A.; Buitink, S.; Corstanje, A.; Enriquez, J. E.; Falcke, H.; Hörandel, J. R.; Mitra, P.; Mulrey, K.; Nelles, A.; Rachen, J. P.; Rossetto, L.; Schellart, P.; Scholten, O.; Thoudam, S.; Trinh, T. N. G.; ter Veen, S.; KSP, The LOFAR Cosmic Ray

    2017-10-01

    The low flux of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) at the highest energies provides a challenge to answer the long standing question about their origin and nature. Even lower fluxes of neutrinos with energies above 1022 eV are predicted in certain Grand-Unifying-Theories (GUTs) and e.g. models for super-heavy dark matter (SHDM). The significant increase in detector volume required to detect these particles can be achieved by searching for the nanosecond radio pulses that are emitted when a particle interacts in Earth’s moon with current and future radio telescopes. In this contribution we present the design of an online analysis and trigger pipeline for the detection of nano-second pulses with the LOFAR radio telescope. The most important steps of the processing pipeline are digital focusing of the antennas towards the Moon, correction of the signal for ionospheric dispersion, and synthesis of the time-domain signal from the polyphased-filtered signal in frequency domain. The implementation of the pipeline on a GPU/CPU cluster will be discussed together with the computing performance of the prototype.

  15. Note: All solid-state high repetitive sub-nanosecond risetime pulse generator based on bulk gallium arsenide avalanche semiconductor switches.

    PubMed

    Hu, Long; Su, Jiancang; Ding, Zhenjie; Hao, Qingsong; Fan, Yajun; Liu, Chunliang

    2016-08-01

    An all solid-state high repetitive sub-nanosecond risetime pulse generator featuring low-energy-triggered bulk gallium arsenide (GaAs) avalanche semiconductor switches and a step-type transmission line is presented. The step-type transmission line with two stages is charged to a potential of 5.0 kV also biasing at the switches. The bulk GaAs avalanche semiconductor switch closes within sub-nanosecond range when illuminated with approximately 87 nJ of laser energy at 905 nm in a single pulse. An asymmetric dipolar pulse with peak-to-peak amplitude of 9.6 kV and risetime of 0.65 ns is produced on a resistive load of 50 Ω. A technique that allows for repetition-rate multiplication of pulse trains experimentally demonstrated that the parallel-connected bulk GaAs avalanche semiconductor switches are triggered in sequence. The highest repetition rate is decided by recovery time of the bulk GaAs avalanche semiconductor switch, and the operating result of 100 kHz of the generator is discussed.

  16. Biophysical Studies of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Induced Cell Membrane Permeabilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Yu-Hsuan

    Nanosecond megavolts-per-meter pulsed electric field (nsPEF) offers a non-invasive manipulation of intracellular organelles and functions of biological cells. Accordingly, nsPEF is a potential technique for biophysical research and cancer therapy, and is of growing interest. Although, the application of nsPEF has shown electroperturbation on cell plasma membranes and intracellular membranes as well, the mechanisms underlying the electropermeabilization are still not clear. In this thesis, we systematically study nsPEFs (5 and 30 ns) induced membrane permeability change in biological cell in-vitro with different pulse parameters. In Chapter 3, we investigate the nsPEF-induced intracellular membrane permeabilization of mitochondria which play key roles in activating apoptosis in mammalian cells. The results show the evidences of nsPEF-induced membrane permeability increase in mitochondria, and suggest that nsPEF is a potential technology for cancer cell ablation without delivery of drug or gene into cells. In Chapter 2, 4 and 6, we study the properties of nsPEF-induced plasma membrane permeabilization. In the beginning, the change of plasma membrane permeability is studied by uptake of YO-PRO-1 and propidium iodide, fluorescent dyes specifically used as indicators of plasma membrane permeabilization. However, the detection is limited by the fluorescent emission efficiency and detector capability. To increase the detection sensitivity, we later develop a method based on cell volume change due to regulation of osmotic balance that causes water and small ions transport through plasma membrane. We find that even a single 10 MV/m pulse of 5 ns duration produces measureable cell swelling. The results demonstrate that cell swelling is susceptible to nsPEF and can detect membrane permeabilization more easily and precisely than fluorescent dyes. We compare the effects of different pulse parameters (pulse duration, pulse number, electric field amplitude and pulse repetition

  17. Controlled oxide films formation by nanosecond laser pulses for color marking.

    PubMed

    Veiko, Vadim; Odintsova, Galina; Ageev, Eduard; Karlagina, Yulia; Loginov, Anatoliy; Skuratova, Alexandra; Gorbunova, Elena

    2014-10-06

    A technology of laser-induced coloration of metals by surface oxidation is demonstrated. Each color of the oxide film corresponds to a technologic chromacity coefficient, which takes into account the temperature of the sample after exposure by sequence of laser pulses with nanosecond duration and effective time of action. The coefficient can be used for the calculation of laser exposure regimes for the development of a specific color on the metal. A correlation between the composition of the films obtained on the surface of stainless steel AISI 304 and commercial titanium Grade 2 and its color and chromacity coordinates is shown.

  18. Nanosecond electric pulses modulate skeletal muscle calcium dynamics and contraction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valdez, Chris; Jirjis, Michael B.; Roth, Caleb C.; Barnes, Ronald A.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2017-02-01

    Irreversible electroporation therapy is utilized to remove cancerous tissues thru the delivery of rapid (250Hz) and high voltage (V) (1,500V/cm) electric pulses across microsecond durations. Clinical research demonstrated that bipolar (BP) high voltage microsecond pulses opposed to monophasic waveforms relieve muscle contraction during electroporation treatment. Our group along with others discovered that nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP) can activate second messenger cascades, induce cytoskeletal rearrangement, and depending on the nsEP duration and frequency, initiate apoptotic pathways. Of high interest across in vivo and in vitro applications, is how nsEP affects muscle physiology, and if nuances exist in comparison to longer duration electroporation applications. To this end, we exposed mature skeletal muscle cells to monopolar (MP) and BP nsEP stimulation across a wide range of electric field amplitudes (1-20 kV/cm). From live confocal microscopy, we simultaneously monitored intracellular calcium dynamics along with nsEP-induced muscle movement on a single cell level. In addition, we also evaluated membrane permeability with Yo-PRO-1 and Propidium Iodide (PI) across various nsEP parameters. The results from our findings suggest that skeletal muscle calcium dynamics, and nsEP-induced contraction exhibit exclusive responses to both MP and BP nsEP exposure. Overall the results suggest in vivo nsEP application may elicit unique physiology and field applications compared to longer pulse duration electroporation.

  19. Compact sub-nanosecond pulse seed source with diode laser driven by a high-speed circuit

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xiaoqian; Wang, Bo; Wang, Junhua; Cheng, Wenyong

    2018-06-01

    A compact sub-nanosecond pulse seed source with 1550 nm diode laser (DL) was obtained by employing a high-speed circuit. The circuit mainly consisted of a short pulse generator and a short pulse driver. The short pulse generator, making up of a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a level translator, two programmable delay chips and an AND gate chip, output a triggering signal to control metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) switch of the short pulse driver. The MOSFET switch with fast rising time and falling time both shorter than 1 ns drove the DL to emit short optical pulses. Performances of the pulse seed source were tested. The results showed that continuously adjustable repetition frequency ranging from 500 kHz to 100 MHz and pulse duration in the range of 538 ps to 10 ns were obtained, respectively. 537 μW output was obtained at the highest repetition frequency of 100 MHz with the shortest pulse duration of 538 ps. These seed pulses were injected into an fiber amplifier, and no optical pulse distortions were found.

  20. Effects of ion and nanosecond-pulsed laser co-irradiation on the surface nanostructure of Au thin films on SiO{sub 2} glass substrates

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yu, Ruixuan; Meng, Xuan; Takayanagi, Shinya

    2014-04-14

    Ion irradiation and short-pulsed laser irradiation can be used to form nanostructures on the surfaces of substrates. This work investigates the synergistic effects of ion and nanosecond-pulsed laser co-irradiation on surface nanostructuring of Au thin films deposited under vacuum on SiO{sub 2} glass substrates. Gold nanoparticles are randomly formed on the surface of the substrate after nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation under vacuum at a wavelength of 532 nm with a repetition rate of 10 Hz and laser energy density of 0.124 kJ/m{sup 2}. Gold nanoparticles are also randomly formed on the substrate after 100-keV Ar{sup +} ion irradiation at doses of upmore » to 3.8 × 10{sup 15} ions/cm{sup 2}, and nearly all of these nanoparticles are fully embedded in the substrate. With increasing ion irradiation dose (number of incident laser pulses), the mean diameter of the Au nanoparticles decreases (increases). However, Au nanoparticles are only formed in a periodic surface arrangement after co-irradiation with 6000 laser pulses and 3.8 × 10{sup 15} ions/cm{sup 2}. The periodic distance is ∼540 nm, which is close to the wavelength of the nanosecond-pulsed laser, and the mean diameter of the Au nanoparticles remains at ∼20 nm with a relatively narrow distribution. The photoabsorption peaks of the ion- or nanosecond-pulsed laser-irradiated samples clearly correspond to the mean diameter of Au nanoparticles. Conversely, the photoabsorption peaks for the co-irradiated samples do not depend on the mean nanoparticle diameter. This lack of dependence is likely caused by the periodic nanostructure formed on the surface by the synergistic effects of co-irradiation.« less

  1. Widely-duration-tunable nanosecond pulse Nd:YVO4 laser based on double Pockels cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Li-Jiao; Liu, Ke; Bo, Yong; Wang, Xiao-Jun; Yang, Jing; Liu, Zhao; Zong, Qing-Shuang; Peng, Qin-Jun; Cui, Da-Fu; Xu, Zu-Yan

    2018-05-01

    The development of duration-tunable pulse lasers with constant output power is important for scientific research and materials processing. We present a widely-duration-tunable nanosecond (ns) pulse Nd:YVO4 laser based on double Pockels cells (PCs), i.e. inserting an extra PC into a conventional electro-optic Q-switched cavity dumped laser resonator. Under the absorbed pump power of 24.9 W, the pulse duration is adjustable from 31.9 ns to 5.9 ns by changing the amplitude of the high voltage on the inserted PC from 1100 V to 4400 V at the pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz. The corresponding average output power is almost entirely maintained in the range of 3.5–4.1 W. This represents more than three times increase in pulse duration tunable regime and average power compared to previously reported results for duration-tunable ns lasers. The laser beam quality factor was measured to be M 2  <  1.18.

  2. Accessing defect dynamics using intense, nanosecond pulsed ion beams

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Persaud, A.; Barnard, J. J.; Guo, H.

    2015-06-18

    Gaining in-situ access to relaxation dynamics of radiation induced defects will lead to a better understanding of materials and is important for the verification of theoretical models and simulations. We show preliminary results from experiments at the new Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX-II) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that will enable in-situ access to defect dynamics through pump-probe experiments. Here, the unique capabilities of the NDCX-II accelerator to generate intense, nanosecond pulsed ion beams are utilized. Preliminary data of channeling experiments using lithium and potassium ions and silicon membranes are shown. We compare these data to simulation results using Crystalmore » Trim. Furthermore, we discuss the improvements to the accelerator to higher performance levels and the new diagnostics tools that are being incorporated.« less

  3. Negative response of HgCdTe photodiode induced by nanosecond laser pulse

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Zuodong; Zhang, Jianmin; Lin, Xinwei; Shao, Bibo; Yang, Pengling

    2017-05-01

    Photodetectors' behavior and mechanism of transient response are still not understood very well, especially under high photon injection. Most of the researches on this topic were carried out with ultra-short laser pulse, whose pulse width ranged from femtosecond scale to picosecond scale. However, in many applications the durations of incident light are in nanosecond order and the light intensities are strong. To investigate the transient response characteristics and mechanisms of narrow-bandgap photovoltaic detectors under short laser irradiation, we performed an experiment on HgCdTe photodiodes. The n+-on-p type HgCdTe photodiodes in the experiment were designed to work in spectrum from 1.0μm to 3.0μm, with conditions of zero bias and room temperature. They were exposed to in-band short laser pulses with dwell time of 20 nanosecond. When the intensity of incident laser beam rose to 0.1J/cm2 order, the photodiodes' response characteristics turned to be bipolar from unipolar. A much longer negative response with duration of about 10μs to 100μs followed the positive light response. The amplitude of the negative response increased with the laser intensity, while the dwell time of positive response decreased with the laser intensity. Considering the response characteristics and the device structure, it is proposed that the negative response was caused by space charge effect at the electrodes. Under intense laser irradiation, a temperature gradient formed in the HgCdTe material. Due to the temperature gradient, the majority carriers diffused away from upper surface and left space charge at the electrodes. Then negative response voltage could be measured in the external circuit. With higher incident laser intensity, the degree of the space charge effect would become higher, and then the negative response would come earlier and show larger amplitude.

  4. Third harmonic from air breakdown plasma induced by nanosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stafe, M.; Negutu, C.; Puscas, N. N.

    2018-06-01

    Harmonic generation is a nonlinear optical effect consisting in frequency up-conversion of intense laser radiation when phase-matching conditions are fulfilled. Here, we study the mechanisms involved in the third harmonic (TH) generation process, the conversion efficiency, and the properties of TH radiation generated in air by focusing infrared linearly polarized nanosecond laser pulses at intensities of the order of TW/cm2. By analyzing the emission from the air breakdown plasma, we demonstrate that filamentary breakdown plasma containing molecular nitrogen ions acts as an optical nonlinear medium enabling generation of TH radiation in the axial direction. The data reveal important properties of the TH radiation: maximum conversion efficiency of 0.04%, sinc2 dependence of the TH intensity on the square root of the pump intensity, and three times smaller divergence and pulse duration of TH as compared to the pump radiation.

  5. Transient features in nanosecond pulsed electric fields differentially modulate mitochondria and viability.

    PubMed

    Beebe, Stephen J; Chen, Yeong-Jer; Sain, Nova M; Schoenbach, Karl H; Xiao, Shu

    2012-01-01

    It is hypothesized that high frequency components of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs), determined by transient pulse features, are important for maximizing electric field interactions with intracellular structures. For monopolar square wave pulses, these transient features are determined by the rapid rise and fall of the pulsed electric fields. To determine effects on mitochondria membranes and plasma membranes, N1-S1 hepatocellular carcinoma cells were exposed to single 600 ns pulses with varying electric fields (0-80 kV/cm) and short (15 ns) or long (150 ns) rise and fall times. Plasma membrane effects were evaluated using Fluo-4 to determine calcium influx, the only measurable source of increases in intracellular calcium. Mitochondria membrane effects were evaluated using tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE) to determine mitochondria membrane potentials (ΔΨm). Single pulses with short rise and fall times caused electric field-dependent increases in calcium influx, dissipation of ΔΨm and cell death. Pulses with long rise and fall times exhibited electric field-dependent increases in calcium influx, but diminished effects on dissipation of ΔΨm and viability. Results indicate that high frequency components have significant differential impact on mitochondria membranes, which determines cell death, but lesser variances on plasma membranes, which allows calcium influxes, a primary determinant for dissipation of ΔΨm and cell death.

  6. Selective removal of carious human dentin using a nanosecond pulsed laser operating at a wavelength of 5.85 μ m

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishii, Katsunori; Kita, Tetsuya; Yoshikawa, Kazushi; Yasuo, Kenzo; Yamamoto, Kazuyo; Awazu, Kunio

    2015-05-01

    Less invasive methods for treating dental caries are strongly desired. However, conventional dental lasers do not always selectively remove caries or ensure good bonding to the composite resin. According to our previous study, demineralized dentin might be removed by a nanosecond pulsed laser operating at wavelengths of around 5.8 μm. The present study investigated the irradiation effect of the light on carious human dentin classified into "remove," "not remove," and "unclear" categories. Under 5.85-μm laser pulses, at average power densities of 30 W/cm2 and irradiation time of 2 s, the ablation depth of "remove" and "not remove," and also the ablation depth of "unclear" and "not remove," were significantly different (p<0.01). The ablation depth was correlated with both Vickers hardness and Ca content. Thus, a nanosecond pulsed laser operating at 5.85 μm proved an effective less-invasive caries treatment.

  7. Compact nanosecond laser system for the ignition of aeronautic combustion engines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amiard-Hudebine, G.; Tison, G.; Freysz, E.

    2016-12-01

    We have studied and developed a compact nanosecond laser system dedicated to the ignition of aeronautic combustion engines. This system is based on a nanosecond microchip laser delivering 6 μJ nanosecond pulses, which are amplified in two successive stages. The first stage is based on an Ytterbium doped fiber amplifier (YDFA) working in a quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) regime. Pumped at 1 kHz repetition rate, it delivers TEM00 and linearly polarized nanosecond pulses centered at 1064 nm with energies up to 350 μJ. These results are in very good agreement with the model we specially designed for a pulsed QCW pump regime. The second amplification stage is based on a compact Nd:YAG double-pass amplifier pumped by a 400 W peak power QCW diode centered at λ = 808 nm and coupled to a 800 μm core multimode fiber. At 10 Hz repetition rate, this system amplifies the pulse delivered by the YDFA up to 11 mJ while preserving its beam profile, polarization ratio, and pulse duration. Finally, we demonstrate that this compact nanosecond system can ignite an experimental combustion chamber.

  8. Nanosecond pulsed electric field induced changes in cell surface charge density.

    PubMed

    Dutta, Diganta; Palmer, Xavier-Lewis; Asmar, Anthony; Stacey, Michael; Qian, Shizhi

    2017-09-01

    This study reports that the surface charge density changes in Jurkat cells with the application of single 60 nanosecond pulse electric fields, using atomic force microscopy. Using an atomic force microscope tip and Jurkat cells on silica in a 0.01M KCl ionic concentration, we were able to measure the interfacial forces, while also predicting surface charge densities of both Jurkat cell and silica surfaces. The most important finding is that the pulsing conditions varyingly reduced the cells' surface charge density. This offers a novel way in which to examine cellular effects of pulsed electric fields that may lead to the identification of unique mechanical responses. Compared to a single low field strength NsPEF (15kV/cm) application, exposure of Jurkat cells to a single high field strength NsPEF (60kV/cm) resulted in a further reduction in charge density and major morphological changes. The structural, physical, and chemical properties of biological cells immensely influence their electrostatic force; we were able to investigate this through the use of atomic force microscopy by measuring the surface forces between the AFM's tip and the Jurkat cells under different pulsing conditions as well as the interfacial forces in ionic concentrations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Development of selective laser treatment techniques using mid-infrared tunable nanosecond pulsed laser.

    PubMed

    Ishii, Katsunori; Saiki, Masayuki; Hazama, Hisanao; Awazu, Kunio

    2010-01-01

    Mid-infrared (MIR) laser with a specific wavelength can excite the corresponding biomolecular site to regulate chemical, thermal and mechanical interactions to biological molecules and tissues. In laser surgery and medicine, tunable MIR laser irradiation can realize the selective and less-invasive treatments and the special diagnosis by vibrational spectroscopic information. This paper showed a novel selective therapeutic technique for a laser angioplasty of atherosclerotic plaques and a laser dental surgery of a carious dentin using a MIR tunable nanosecond pulsed laser.

  10. Diamondoid synthesis by nanosecond pulsed microplasmas generated in He at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stauss, Sven; Shizuno, Tomoki; Oshima, Fumito; Pai, David Z.; Terashima, Kazuo

    2012-10-01

    Diamondoids are sp^3 hybridized carbon nanomaterials that possess interesting properties making them attractive for biotechnology, medicine, and opto- and nanoelectronics. So far, larger diamondoids have been synthesized using the smallest diamondoid (adamantane) as a precursor. For this electric discharges and pulsed laser plasmas generated in supercritical fluids, and hot filament chemical vapor deposition have been used, but these methods are difficult to realize or very time-consuming. We have developed a more convenient approach where diamondoids are synthesized by high-voltage nanosecond pulsed microplasmas (voltage 15 kVp-p, frequency 1 Hz, pulse width 10 ns) generated in He at atmospheric pressure using point-to-plane tungsten electrodes. Adamantane was used as a precursor, and synthesis was conducted for 10^5 pulses at gas temperatures of 297, 373 and 473 K. Energy dispersive X-ray and micro-Raman spectroscopy were conducted to determine the composition of the products, and gas chromatography - mass spectra indicated the formation of diamantane. It was found that synthesis is more efficient at room temperature than at higher temperatures, and time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy suggest that the chemical reactions take place in the afterglow.

  11. Simulation of transformations of thin metal films heated by nanosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balandin, V. Yu.; Niedrig, R.; Bostanjoglo, O.

    1995-01-01

    The ablation of free-standing thin aluminum films by a nanosecond laser pulse was investigated by time-resolved transmission electron microscopy and numerical simulation. It was established that thin film geometry is particularly suited to furnish information on the mechanism of evaporation and the surface tension of the melt. In the case of aluminum the surface tension sigma as function of temperature can be approximated by two linear sections with a coefficient -0.3 x 10(exp -3) N/K m from the melting point 933 K up to 3000 K and -0.02 x 10(exp -3) N/K m above 3000 K, respectively, with sigma(993 K) = 0.9 N/m and sigma(8500 K) = 0. At lower pulse energies the films disintegrated predominantly by thermocapillary flow. Higher pulse energies produced volume evaporation, and a nonmonotonous flow, explained by recoil from evaporating atoms and thermocapillarity. The familiar equations of energy and motion, which presuppose separate and coherent vapor and liquid phases, were not adequate to describe the ablation of the hottest zone. Surface evaporation seemed to be marginal at all laser pulse energies used.

  12. Spectroscopic study of bipolar nanosecond pulse gas-liquid discharge in atmospheric argon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sen, WANG; Dezheng, YANG; Feng, LIU; Wenchun, WANG; Zhi, FANG

    2018-07-01

    Atmospheric gas-liquid discharge with argon as a working gas is presented by employed nanosecond pulse power. The discharge is presented in a glow-like mode. The discharge powers are determined to be less than 1 W, and remains almost constant when the discharge duration time increases. Bountiful active species are determined by capturing optical emission spectra, and their main generation processes are also discussed. The plasma gas temperature is calculated as 350 K by comparing the experimental spectra and the simulated ones of {{{N}}}2({{C}}{}3{{\\Pi }}{{g}}\\to {{B}}{}3{{\\Pi }}{{g}},{{Δ }}{{ν }}=-2). The time resolved vibrational and rotational temperature is researched to present the stability of discharge when pulse voltage and discharge duration vary. The electron density is determined to be 1016 cm‑3 according to the Stark broadening effect of the H α line.

  13. Permeabilization of the nuclear envelope following nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Gary L; Roth, Caleb C; Kuipers, Marjorie A; Tolstykh, Gleb P; Beier, Hope T; Ibey, Bennett L

    2016-01-29

    Permeabilization of cell membranes occurs upon exposure to a threshold absorbed dose (AD) of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF). The ultimate, physiological bioeffect of this exposure depends on the type of cultured cell and environment, indicating that cell-specific pathways and structures are stimulated. Here we investigate 10 and 600 ns duration PEF effects on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell nuclei, where our hypothesis is that pulse disruption of the nuclear envelope membrane leads to observed cell death and decreased viability 24 h post-exposure. To observe short-term responses to nsPEF exposure, CHO cells have been stably transfected with two fluorescently-labeled proteins known to be sequestered for cellular chromosomal function within the nucleus - histone-2b (H2B) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). H2B remains associated with chromatin after nsPEF exposure, whereas PCNA leaks out of nuclei permeabilized by a threshold AD of 10 and 600 ns PEF. A downturn in 24 h viability, measured by MTT assay, is observed at the number of pulses required to induce permeabilization of the nucleus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Fluid modeling of a high-voltage nanosecond pulsed xenon microdischarge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Levko, Dmitry; Raja, Laxminarayan L.

    2016-07-15

    A computational modeling study of high-voltage nanosecond pulsed microdischarge in xenon gas at 10 atm is presented. The discharge is observed to develop as two streamers originating from the cathode and the anode, and propagating toward each other until they merge to form a single continuous discharge channel. The peak plasma density obtained in the simulations is ∼10{sup 24 }m{sup −3}, i.e., the ionization degree of plasma does not exceed 1%. The influence of the initial gas pre-ionization is established. It is seen that an increase in the seeded plasma density results in an increase in the streamer propagation velocity andmore » an increase in the plasma density obtained after the merging of two streamers.« less

  15. A compact, low jitter, nanosecond rise time, high voltage pulse generator with variable amplitude.

    PubMed

    Mao, Jiubing; Wang, Xin; Tang, Dan; Lv, Huayi; Li, Chengxin; Shao, Yanhua; Qin, Lan

    2012-07-01

    In this paper, a compact, low jitter, nanosecond rise time, command triggered, high peak power, gas-switch pulse generator system is developed for high energy physics experiment. The main components of the system are a high voltage capacitor, the spark gap switch and R = 50 Ω load resistance built into a structure to obtain a fast high power pulse. The pulse drive unit, comprised of a vacuum planar triode and a stack of avalanche transistors, is command triggered by a single or multiple TTL (transistor-transistor logic) level pulses generated by a trigger pulse control unit implemented using the 555 timer circuit. The control unit also accepts user input TTL trigger signal. The vacuum planar triode in the pulse driving unit that close the first stage switches is applied to drive the spark gap reducing jitter. By adjusting the charge voltage of a high voltage capacitor charging power supply, the pulse amplitude varies from 5 kV to 10 kV, with a rise time of <3 ns and the maximum peak current up to 200 A (into 50 Ω). The jitter of the pulse generator system is less than 1 ns. The maximum pulse repetition rate is set at 10 Hz that limited only by the gas-switch and available capacitor recovery time.

  16. Nanosecond pulsed electric field thresholds for nanopore formation in neural cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Caleb C.; Tolstykh, Gleb P.; Payne, Jason A.; Kuipers, Marjorie A.; Thompson, Gary L.; DeSilva, Mauris N.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2013-03-01

    The persistent influx of ions through nanopores created upon cellular exposure to nanosecond pulse electric fields (nsPEF) could be used to modulate neuronal function. One ion, calcium (Ca), is important to action potential firing and regulates many ion channels. However, uncontrolled hyper-excitability of neurons leads to Ca overload and neurodegeneration. Thus, to prevent unintended consequences of nsPEF-induced neural stimulation, knowledge of optimum exposure parameters is required. We determined the relationship between nsPEF exposure parameters (pulse width and amplitude) and nanopore formation in two cell types: rodent neuroblastoma (NG108) and mouse primary hippocampal neurons (PHN). We identified thresholds for nanoporation using Annexin V and FM1-43, to detect changes in membrane asymmetry, and through Ca influx using Calcium Green. The ED50 for a single 600 ns pulse, necessary to cause uptake of extracellular Ca, was 1.76 kV/cm for NG108 and 0.84 kV/cm for PHN. At 16.2 kV/cm, the ED50 for pulse width was 95 ns for both cell lines. Cadmium, a nonspecific Ca channel blocker, failed to prevent Ca uptake suggesting that observed influx is likely due to nanoporation. These data demonstrate that moderate amplitude single nsPEF exposures result in rapid Ca influx that may be capable of controllably modulating neurological function.

  17. Two discharge modes of a repetitive nanosecond pulsed helium glow discharge under sub-atmospheric pressure in the repetition frequency range of 20 to 600 kHz

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kikuchi, Yusuke; Maegawa, Takuya; Otsubo, Akira; Nishimura, Yoshimi; Nagata, Masayoshi; Yatsuzuka, Mitsuyasu

    2018-05-01

    Two discharge modes, α and γ, of a repetitive nanosecond pulsed helium glow discharge at a gas pressure of 10 kPa in the repetition frequency range from 20 to 600 kHz are reported for the first time. The pulsed glow discharge is produced in a pair of parallel plate metal electrodes without insertion of dielectrics. The α mode discharge is volumetrically produced in the electrode gap at a low-repetition frequency, whereas the γ mode discharge is localized at the cathode surface at a high-repetition frequency. At high-repetition frequency, the time interval between voltage pulses is shorter than the lifetime of the afterglow produced by the preceding discharge. Then, the γ mode discharge is maintained by a large number of secondary electrons emitted from the cathode exposed to high-density ions and metastable helium atoms in the afterglow. In the α mode discharge with a low-repetition frequency operation, primary electrons due to gas ionization dominate the ionization process. Thus, a large discharge voltage is needed for the excitation of the α mode discharge. It is established that the bifurcation of α-γ discharge mode, accompanied by a decrease in the discharge voltage, occurs at the high-repetition frequency of ∼120 kHz.

  18. Cascaded Raman shifting of high-peak-power nanosecond pulses in As₂S₃ and As₂Se₃ optical fibers.

    PubMed

    White, Richard T; Monro, Tanya M

    2011-06-15

    We report efficient cascaded Raman scattering of near-IR nanosecond pulses in large-core (65 μm diameter) As₂S₃ and As₂Se₃ optical fibers. Raman scattering dominates other spectral broadening mechanisms, such as four-wave mixing, modulation instability, and soliton dynamics, because the fibers have large normal group-velocity dispersion in the spectral range of interest. With ~2 ns pump pulses at a wavelength of 1.9 μm, four Stokes peaks, all with peak powers greater than 1 kW, have been measured.

  19. Control of Reactive Species Generated by Low-frequency Biased Nanosecond Pulse Discharge in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Effluent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takashima, Keisuke; Kaneko, Toshiro

    2016-09-01

    The control of hydroxyl radical and the other gas phase species generation in the ejected gas through air plasma (air plasma effluent) has been experimentally studied, which is a key to extend the range of plasma treatment. Nanosecond pulse discharge is known to produce high reduced electric field (E/N) discharge that leads to efficient generation of the reactive species than conventional low frequency discharge, while the charge-voltage cycle in the low frequency discharge is known to be well-controlled. In this study, the nanosecond pulse discharge biased with AC low frequency high voltage is used to take advantages of these discharges, which allows us to modulate the reactive species composition in the air plasma effluent. The utilization of the gas-liquid interface and the liquid phase chemical reactions between the modulated long-lived reactive species delivered from the air plasma effluent could realize efficient liquid phase chemical reactions leading to short-lived reactive species production far from the air plasma, which is crucial for some plasma agricultural applications.

  20. Porcine skin damage thresholds for pulsed nanosecond-scale laser exposure at 1064-nm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeLisi, Michael P.; Peterson, Amanda M.; Noojin, Gary D.; Shingledecker, Aurora D.; Tijerina, Amanda J.; Boretsky, Adam R.; Schmidt, Morgan S.; Kumru, Semih S.; Thomas, Robert J.

    2018-02-01

    Pulsed high-energy lasers operating in the near-infrared (NIR) band are increasingly being used in medical, industrial, and military applications, but there are little available experimental data to characterize their hazardous effects on skin tissue. The current American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers (ANSI Z136.1-2014) defines the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) on the skin as either a single-pulse or total exposure time limit. This study determined the minimum visible lesion (MVL) damage thresholds in Yucatan miniature pig skin for the single-pulse case and several multiple-pulse cases over a wide range of pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) (10, 125, 2,000, and 10,000 Hz) utilizing nanosecond-scale pulses (10 or 60 ns). The thresholds are expressed in terms of the median effective dose (ED50) based on varying individual pulse energy with other laser parameters held constant. The results confirm a decrease in MVL threshold as PRF increases for exposures with a constant number of pulses, while also noting a PRF-dependent change in the threshold as a function of the number of pulses. Furthermore, this study highlights a change in damage mechanism to the skin from melanin-mediated photomechanical events at high irradiance levels and few numbers of pulses to bulk tissue photothermal additivity at lower irradiance levels and greater numbers of pulses. The observed trends exceeded the existing exposure limits by an average factor of 9.1 in the photothermally-damaged cases and 3.6 in the photomechanicallydamaged cases.

  1. Nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges in air at atmospheric pressure—the spark regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pai, David Z.; Lacoste, Deanna A.; Laux, Christophe O.

    2010-12-01

    Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) spark discharges have been studied in atmospheric pressure air preheated to 1000 K. Measurements of spark initiation and stability, plasma dynamics, gas temperature and current-voltage characteristics of the spark regime are presented. Using 10 ns pulses applied repetitively at 30 kHz, we find that 2-400 pulses are required to initiate the spark, depending on the applied voltage. Furthermore, about 30-50 pulses are required for the spark discharge to reach steady state, following initiation. Based on space- and time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy, the spark discharge in steady state is found to ignite homogeneously in the discharge gap, without evidence of an initial streamer. Using measured emission from the N2 (C-B) 0-0 band, it is found that the gas temperature rises by several thousand Kelvin in the span of about 30 ns following the application of the high-voltage pulse. Current-voltage measurements show that up to 20-40 A of conduction current is generated, which corresponds to an electron number density of up to 1015 cm-3 towards the end of the high-voltage pulse. The discharge dynamics, gas temperature and electron number density are consistent with a streamer-less spark that develops homogeneously through avalanche ionization in volume. This occurs because the pre-ionization electron number density of about 1011 cm-3 produced by the high frequency train of pulses is above the critical density for streamer-less discharge development, which is shown to be about 108 cm-3.

  2. Machining of glass and quartz using nanosecond and picosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ashkenasi, David; Kaszemeikat, Tristan; Mueller, Norbert; Lemke, Andreas; Eichler, Hans Joachim

    2012-03-01

    New laser processing strategies in micro processing of glass, quartz and other optically transparent materials are being developed with increasing effort. Utilizing diode-pumped solid-state laser generating nanosecond pulsed green (532 nm) laser light in conjunction with either scanners or special trepanning systems can provide for reliable glass machining at excellent efficiency. Micro ablation can be induced either from the front or rear side of the glass sample. Ablation rates of over 100 μm per pulse can be achieved in rear side processing. In comparison, picosecond laser processing of glass and quartz (at a wavelength of 1064 or 532 nm) yield smaller feed rates at however much better surface and bore wall quality. This is of great importance for small sized features, e.g. through-hole diameters smaller 50 μm in thin glass. Critical for applications with minimum micro cracks and maximum performance is an appropriate distribution of laser pulses over the work piece along with optimum laser parameters. Laser machining tasks are long aspect micro drilling, slanted through holes, internal contour cuts, micro pockets and more complex geometries in e.g. soda-lime glass, B33, B270, D236T, AF45 and BK7 glass, quartz, and Zerodur.

  3. Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator for Flow Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Opaits, Dmitry, F.

    2012-01-01

    This report is Part II of the final report of NASA Cooperative Agreement contract no. NNX07AC02A. It includes a Ph.D. dissertation. The period of performance was January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2010. Part I of the final report is the overview published as NASA/CR-2012- 217654. Asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators driven by nanosecond pulses superimposed on dc bias voltage are studied experimentally. This produces non-self-sustained discharge: the plasma is generated by repetitive short pulses, and the pushing of the gas occurs primarily due to the bias voltage. The parameters of ionizing pulses and the driving bias voltage can be varied independently, which adds flexibility to control and optimization of the actuators performance. The approach consisted of three elements coupled together: the Schlieren technique, burst mode of plasma actuator operation, and 2-D numerical fluid modeling. During the experiments, it was found that DBD performance is severely limited by surface charge accumulation on the dielectric. Several ways to mitigate the surface charge were found: using a reversing DC bias potential, three-electrode configuration, slightly conductive dielectrics, and semi conductive coatings. Force balance measurements proved the effectiveness of the suggested configurations and advantages of the new voltage profile (pulses+bias) over the traditional sinusoidal one at relatively low voltages. In view of practical applications certain questions have been also addressed, such as electrodynamic effects which accompany scaling of the actuators to real size models, and environmental effects of ozone production by the plasma actuators.

  4. Two-photon microscopy using fiber-based nanosecond excitation.

    PubMed

    Karpf, Sebastian; Eibl, Matthias; Sauer, Benjamin; Reinholz, Fred; Hüttmann, Gereon; Huber, Robert

    2016-07-01

    Two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy is a powerful technique for sensitive tissue imaging at depths of up to 1000 micrometers. However, due to the shallow penetration, for in vivo imaging of internal organs in patients beam delivery by an endoscope is crucial. Until today, this is hindered by linear and non-linear pulse broadening of the femtosecond pulses in the optical fibers of the endoscopes. Here we present an endoscope-ready, fiber-based TPEF microscope, using nanosecond pulses at low repetition rates instead of femtosecond pulses. These nanosecond pulses lack most of the problems connected with femtosecond pulses but are equally suited for TPEF imaging. We derive and demonstrate that at given cw-power the TPEF signal only depends on the duty cycle of the laser source. Due to the higher pulse energy at the same peak power we can also demonstrate single shot two-photon fluorescence lifetime measurements.

  5. Evolution of metastable state molecules N2(A3 Σu+) in a nanosecond pulsed discharge: A particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collisions simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Liang; Sun, Jizhong; Feng, Chunlei; Bai, Jing; Ding, Hongbin

    2012-01-01

    A particle-in-cell plus Monte Carlo collisions method has been employed to investigate the nitrogen discharge driven by a nanosecond pulse power source. To assess whether the production of the metastable state N2(A3 Σu+) can be efficiently enhanced in a nanosecond pulsed discharge, the evolutions of metastable state N2(A3 Σu+) density and electron energy distribution function have been examined in detail. The simulation results indicate that the ultra short pulse can modulate the electron energy effectively: during the early pulse-on time, high energy electrons give rise to quick electron avalanche and rapid growth of the metastable state N2(A3 Σu+) density. It is estimated that for a single pulse with amplitude of -9 kV and pulse width 30 ns, the metastable state N2(A3 Σu+) density can achieve a value in the order of 109 cm-3. The N2(A3 Σu+) density at such a value could be easily detected by laser-based experimental methods.

  6. Demonstration of acceleration of relativistic electrons at a dielectric microstructure using femtosecond laser pulses

    DOE PAGES

    Wootton, Kent P.; Wu, Ziran; Cowan, Benjamin M.; ...

    2016-06-02

    Acceleration of electrons using laser-driven dielectric microstructures is a promising technology for the miniaturization of particle accelerators. Achieving the desired GV m –1 accelerating gradients is possible only with laser pulse durations shorter than ~1 ps. In this Letter, we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of acceleration of relativistic electrons at a dielectric microstructure driven by femtosecond duration laser pulses. Furthermore, using this technique, an electron accelerating gradient of 690±100 MV m –1 was measured—a record for dielectric laser accelerators.

  7. Influence of Temperature on Nanosecond Pulse Amplification in Thulium Doped Fiber Lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdulfattah, Ali; Gausmann, Stefan; Sincore, Alex; Bradford, Joshua; Bodnar, Nathan; Cook, Justin; Shah, Lawrence; Richardson, Martin

    2018-05-01

    Thulium silica doped fiber (TDF) lasers are becoming important laser sources in both research and applications in industry. A key element of all high-power lasers is thermal management and its impact on laser performance. This is particularly important in TDF lasers, which utilize an unusual cross-relation pumping scheme, and are optically less efficient than other types of fiber lasers. The present work describes an experimental investigation of thermal management in a high power, high repetition-rate, pulsed Thulium (Tm) fiber laser. A tunable nanosecond TDF laser system across the 1838 nm – 1948 nm wavelength range, has been built to propagate 2μm signal seed pulses into a TDF amplifier, comprising a polarized large mode area (PLMA) thulium fiber (TDF) with a 793nm laser diode pump source. The PLMA TDF amplifier is thermally managed by a separately controlled cooling system with a temperature varied from 12°C to 36°C. The maximum output energy (∼400 μJ), of the system is achieved at 12°C at 1947 nm wavelength with ∼32 W of absorbed pump power at 20 kHz with a pulse duration of ∼ 74 ns.

  8. Efficient Intracellular Delivery of Molecules with High Cell Viability Using Nanosecond-Pulsed Laser-Activated Carbon Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Conventional physical and chemical methods that efficiently deliver molecules into cells are often associated with low cell viability. In this study, we evaluated the cellular effects of carbon nanoparticles believed to emit photoacoustic waves due to nanosecond-pulse laser activation to test the hypothesis that this method could achieve efficient intracellular delivery while maintaining high cell viability. Suspensions of DU145 human prostate carcinoma cells, carbon black (CB) nanoparticles, and calcein were exposed to 5–9 ns long laser pulses of near-infrared (1064 nm wavelength) light and then analyzed by flow cytometry for intracellular uptake of calcein and cell viability by propidium iodide staining. We found that intracellular uptake increased and in some cases saturated at high levels with only small losses in cell viability as a result of increasing laser fluence, laser exposure time, and as a unifying parameter, the total laser energy. Changing interpulse spacing between 0.1 and 10 s intervals showed no significant change in bioeffects, suggesting that the effects of each pulse were independent when spaced by at least 0.1 s intervals. Pretreatment of CB nanoparticles to intense laser exposure followed by mixing with cells also had no significant effect on uptake or viability. Similar uptake and viability were seen when CB nanoparticles were substituted with India ink, when DU145 cells were substituted with H9c2 rat cardiomyoblast cells, and when calcein was substituted with FITC-dextran. The best laser exposure conditions tested led to 88% of cells with intracellular uptake and close to 100% viability, indicating that nanosecond-pulse laser-activated carbon nanoparticles can achieve efficient intracellular delivery while maintaining high cell viability. PMID:24547946

  9. Investigation of the fundamentals of low-energy nanosecond pulse ignition: Final CRADA Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wallner, Thomas; Scarcelli, Riccardo; Zhang, Anqi

    A detailed investigation of the fundamentals of low-energy nanosecond pulse ignition was performed with the objective to overcome the barrier presented by limited knowledge and characterization of nonequilibrium plasma ignition for realistic internal combustion engine applications (be it in the automotive or power generation field) and shed light on the mechanisms which improve the performance of the advanced TPS ignition system compared to conventional state-of-the-art hardware. Three main tasks of the research included experimental evaluation on a single-cylinder automotive gasoline engine, experimental evaluation on a single-cylinder stationary natural gas engine and energy quantification using x-ray diagnostics.

  10. Absolute atomic oxygen density measurements for nanosecond-pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma jets using two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, C.; Carter, C.

    2014-12-01

    Nanosecond-pulsed plasma jets that are generated under ambient air conditions and free from confinement of electrodes have become of great interest in recent years due to their promising applications in medicine and dentistry. Reactive oxygen species that are generated by nanosecond-pulsed, room-temperature non-equilibrium He-O2 plasma jets among others are believed to play an important role during the bactericidal or sterilization processes. We report here absolute measurements of atomic oxygen density in a 1 mm-diameter He/(1%)O2 plasma jet at atmospheric pressure using two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. Oxygen number density on the order of 1013 cm-3 was obtained in a 150 ns, 6 kV single-pulsed plasma jet for an axial distance up to 5 mm above the device nozzle. Temporally resolved O density measurements showed that there are two maxima, separated in time by 60-70 µs, and a total pulse duration of 260-300 µs. Electrostatic modeling indicated that there are high-electric-field regions near the nozzle exit that may be responsible for the observed temporal behavior of the O production. Both the field-distribution-based estimation of the time interval for the O number density profile and a pulse-energy-dependence study confirmed that electric-field-dependent, direct and indirect electron-induced processes play important roles for O production.

  11. Fabrication of mitigation pits for improving laser damage resistance in dielectric mirrors by femtosecond laser machining

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wolfe, Justin E.; Qiu, S. Roger; Stolz, Christopher J.

    2011-03-20

    Femtosecond laser machining is used to create mitigation pits to stabilize nanosecond laser-induced damage in multilayer dielectric mirror coatings on BK7 substrates. In this paper, we characterize features and the artifacts associated with mitigation pits and further investigate the impact of pulse energy and pulse duration on pit quality and damage resistance. Our results show that these mitigation features can double the fluence-handling capability of large-aperture optical multilayer mirror coatings and further demonstrate that femtosecond laser macromachining is a promising means for fabricating mitigation geometry in multilayer coatings to increase mirror performance under high-power laser irradiation.

  12. Anti-tumor immune response induced by nanosecond pulsed streamer discharge in mice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mizuno, Kazue; Yonetamari, Kenta; Shirakawa, Yuki; Akiyama, Taketoshi; Ono, Ryo

    2017-03-01

    Plasma is known to activate immune cells in vitro; however, its effect on cancer immunotherapy is not well understood in vivo. In this study, we report B16-F10 tumor growth suppression at a non-irradiated site on a mouse leg after a nanosecond pulsed streamer discharge was applied to the tumor on the other leg. The tumor growth suppression at non-irradiated remote sites was observed from the day next to that of plasma irradiation: the rapid abscopal effect suggests innate immune response activation. Additionally, the production of inflammatory cytokines from splenocytes was enhanced after plasma irradiation. This suggests the activation of adaptive immune response specific to B16-F10 melanoma by plasma irradiation.

  13. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) low cost generator design using power MOSFET and Cockcroft-Walton multiplier circuit as high voltage DC source

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sulaeman, M. Y.; Widita, R.

    2014-09-30

    Purpose: Non-ionizing radiation therapy for cancer using pulsed electric field with high intensity field has become an interesting field new research topic. A new method using nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) offers a novel means to treat cancer. Not like the conventional electroporation, nsPEFs able to create nanopores in all membranes of the cell, including membrane in cell organelles, like mitochondria and nucleus. NsPEFs will promote cell death in several cell types, including cancer cell by apoptosis mechanism. NsPEFs will use pulse with intensity of electric field higher than conventional electroporation, between 20–100 kV/cm and with shorter duration of pulsemore » than conventional electroporation. NsPEFs requires a generator to produce high voltage pulse and to achieve high intensity electric field with proper pulse width. However, manufacturing cost for creating generator that generates a high voltage with short duration for nsPEFs purposes is highly expensive. Hence, the aim of this research is to obtain the low cost generator design that is able to produce a high voltage pulse with nanosecond width and will be used for nsPEFs purposes. Method: Cockcroft-Walton multiplier circuit will boost the input of 220 volt AC into high voltage DC around 1500 volt and it will be combined by a series of power MOSFET as a fast switch to obtain a high voltage with nanosecond pulse width. The motivation using Cockcroft-Walton multiplier is to acquire a low-cost high voltage DC generator; it will use capacitors and diodes arranged like a step. Power MOSFET connected in series is used as voltage divider to share the high voltage in order not to damage them. Results: This design is expected to acquire a low-cost generator that can achieve the high voltage pulse in amount of −1.5 kV with falltime 3 ns and risetime 15 ns into a 50Ω load that will be used for nsPEFs purposes. Further detailed on the circuit design will be explained at presentation.« less

  14. Selective removal of cholesterol ester in atherosclerotic plaque using nanosecond pulsed laser at 5.75 μm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishii, K.; Tsukimoto, H.; Hazama, H.; Awazu, K.

    2008-02-01

    Laser angioplasty, for example XeCl excimer laser angioplasty, has gained more attention in addition to conventional methods of surgical and interventional treatment of atherosclerotic diseases such as bypass operation and balloon dilatation. Low degrees of thermal damage after ablation of atherosclerotic lesions have been achieved by XeCl excimer laser at 308 nm. However, in most cases, laser ablation is not selective and normal arterial wall is also damaged. To avoid complications such as severe dissections or perforation of the arterial wall in an angioplasty, a laser light source with high ablation efficiency but low arterial wall injury is desirable. At atherosclerotic lesions, cholesterol accumulates on the tunica intima by establishing an ester bond with fatty acids such as oleic acid, and thus cholesterol ester is the main component of atherosclerotic plaques. Mid-infrared pulsed laser at 5.75 μm is selectively well absorbed in C=O stretching vibration mode of ester bonds. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of nanosecond pulsed laser at 5.75 μm irradiation of cholesterol ester in atherosclerotic plaques. In this study, we used a mid-infrared tunable solid-state laser which is operated by difference frequency generation method, with a wavelength of 5.75 μm, a pulse width of 5 nsec and a pulse duration of 10 Hz. It was confirmed that non-invasive interaction to normal thoracic aortas could be induce by the parameters, the wavelength of 5.75 μm, the average power densities of 35 W/cm2 and the irradiation time under 10 sec. This study shows that nanosecond pulsed laser irradiations at 5.75 μm provide an alternative laser light source as an effectively cutting, less traumatic tool for removal of atherosclerotic plaque.

  15. Magneto-absorption effects in magnetic-field assisted laser ablation of silicon by UV nanosecond pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farrokhi, H.; Gruzdev, V.; Zheng, H. Y.; Rawat, R. S.; Zhou, W.

    2016-06-01

    A constant magnetic field can significantly improve the quality and speed of ablation by nanosecond laser pulses. These improvements are usually attributed to the confinement of laser-produced plasma by the magnetic field and specific propagation effects in the magnetized plasma. Here we report a strong influence of constant axial magnetic field on the ablation of silicon by 20-ns laser pulses at wavelength 355 nm, which results in an increase of ablation depth by a factor of 1.3 to 69 depending on laser parameters and magnitude of the magnetic field. The traditional plasma effects do not explain this result, and magneto-absorption of silicon is proposed as one of the major mechanisms of the significant enhancement of ablation.

  16. Characterization of pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma streams (PAPS) generated by a plasma gun

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robert, E.; Sarron, V.; Riès, D.; Dozias, S.; Vandamme, M.; Pouvesle, J.-M.

    2012-06-01

    An experimental study of atmospheric-pressure rare gas plasma propagation in a high-aspect-ratio capillary is reported. The plasma is generated with a plasma gun device based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor powered by either nanosecond or microsecond rise-time high-voltage pulses at single-shot to multi-kHz frequencies. The influence of the voltage waveform, pulse polarity, pulse repetition rate and capillary material have been studied using nanosecond intensified charge-coupled device imaging and plasma-front velocity measurements. The evolution of the plasma appearance during its propagation and the study of the role of the different experimental parameters lead us to suggest a new denomination of pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma streams to describe all the plasma features, including the previously so-called plasma bullet. The unique properties of such non-thermal plasma launching in capillaries, far from the primary DBD plasma, are associated with a fast ionization wave travelling with velocity in the 107-108 cm s-1 range. Voltage pulse tailoring is shown to allow for a significant improvement of such plasma delivery. Thus, the plasma gun device affords unique opportunities in biomedical endoscopic applications.

  17. A Dielectric Rod Antenna for Picosecond Pulse Stimulation of Neurological Tissue

    PubMed Central

    Petrella, Ross A.; Schoenbach, Karl H.; Xiao, Shu

    2016-01-01

    A dielectrically loaded wideband rod antenna has been studied as a pulse delivery system to subcutaneous tissues. Simulation results applying 100 ps electrical pulse show that it allows us to generate critical electric field for biological effects, such as brain stimulation, in the range of several centimeters. In order to reach the critical electric field for biological effects, which is approximately 20 kV/cm, at a depth of 2 cm, the input voltage needs to be 175 kV. The electric field spot size in the brain at this position is approximately 1 cm2. Experimental studies in free space with a conical antenna (part of the antenna system) with aluminum nitride as the dielectric have confirmed the accuracy of the simulation. These results set the foundation for high voltage in situ experiments on the complete antenna system and the delivery of pulses to biological tissue. PMID:27563160

  18. Investigation of a direct effect of nanosecond pulse electric fields on mitochondria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Estlack, Larry E.; Roth, Caleb C.; Cerna, Cesario Z.; Wilmink, Gerald J.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2014-03-01

    The unique cellular response to nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) exposure, as compared to longer pulse exposure, has been theorized to be due to permeabilization of intracellular organelles including the mitochondria. In this investigation, we utilized a high-throughput oxygen and pH sensing system (Seahorse® XF24 extracellular flux analyzer) to assess the mitochondrial activity of Jurkat and U937 cells after nsPEF. The XF Analyzer uses a transient micro-chamber of only a few μL in specialized cell culture micro-plates to enable oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) to be monitored in real-time. We found that for nsPEF exposures of 10 pulses at 10-ns pulse width and at 50 kV/cm e-field, we were able to cause an increase in OCR in both U937 and Jurkat cells. We also found that high pulse numbers (>100) caused a significant decrease in OCR. Higher amplitude 150 kV/cm exposures had no effect on U937 cells and yet they had a deleterious effect on Jurkat cells, matching previously published 24 hour survival data. These results suggest that the exposures were modulating metabolic activity in cells possibly due to direct effects on the mitochondria themselves. To validate this hypothesis, we isolated mitochondria from U937 cells and exposed them similarly and found no significant change in metabolic activity for any pulse number. In a final experiment, we removed calcium from the buffer solution that the cells were exposed in and found that no significant enhancement in metabolic activity was observed. These results suggest that direct permeabilization of the mitochondria is unlikely a primary effect of nsPEF exposure and calcium-mediated intracellular pathway activation is likely responsible for observed pulse-induced mitochondrial effects.

  19. Nanosecond laser pulses for mimicking thermal effects on nanostructured tungsten-based materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Besozzi, E.; Maffini, A.; Dellasega, D.; Russo, V.; Facibeni, A.; Pazzaglia, A.; Beghi, M. G.; Passoni, M.

    2018-03-01

    In this work, we exploit nanosecond laser irradiation as a compact solution for investigating the thermomechanical behavior of tungsten materials under extreme thermal loads at the laboratory scale. Heat flux factor thresholds for various thermal effects, such as melting, cracking and recrystallization, are determined under both single and multishot experiments. The use of nanosecond lasers for mimicking thermal effects induced on W by fusion-relevant thermal loads is thus validated by direct comparison of the thresholds obtained in this work and the ones reported in the literature for electron beams and millisecond laser irradiation. Numerical simulations of temperature and thermal stress performed on a 2D thermomechanical code are used to predict the heat flux factor thresholds of the different thermal effects. We also investigate the thermal effect thresholds of various nanostructured W coatings. These coatings are produced by pulsed laser deposition, mimicking W coatings in tokamaks and W redeposited layers. All the coatings show lower damage thresholds with respect to bulk W. In general, thresholds decrease as the porosity degree of the materials increases. We thus propose a model to predict these thresholds for coatings with various morphologies, simply based on their porosity degree, which can be directly estimated by measuring the variation of the coating mass density with respect to that of the bulk.

  20. Shield gas induced cracks during nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation of Zr-based metallic glass

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Hu; Noguchi, Jun; Yan, Jiwang

    2016-10-01

    Laser processing techniques have been given increasing attentions in the field of metallic glasses (MGs). In this work, effects of two kinds of shield gases, nitrogen and argon, on nanosecond-pulsed laser irradiation of Zr-based MG were comparatively investigated. Results showed that compared to argon gas, nitrogen gas remarkably promoted the formation of cracks during laser irradiation. Furthermore, crack formation in nitrogen gas was enhanced by increasing the peak laser power intensity or decreasing the laser scanning speed. X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy indicated that the reason for enhanced cracks in nitrogen gas was the formation of ZrN.

  1. Superfast assembly and synthesis of gold nanostructures using nanosecond low-temperature compression via magnetic pulsed power

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Binsong; Bian, Kaifu; Lane, J. Matthew D.

    Gold nanostructured materials exhibit important size- and shape-dependent properties that enable a wide variety of applications in photocatalysis, nanoelectronics and phototherapy. Here we show the use of superfast dynamic compression to synthesize extended gold nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires and nanosheets, with nanosecond coalescence times. Using a pulsed power generator, we ramp compress spherical gold nanoparticle arrays to pressures of tens of GPa, demonstrating pressure-driven assembly beyond the quasi-static regime of the diamond anvil cell. Our dynamic magnetic ramp compression approach produces smooth, shockless (that is, isentropic) one-dimensional loading with low-temperature states suitable for nanostructure synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy clearlymore » establishes that various gold architectures are formed through compressive mesoscale coalescences of spherical gold nanoparticles, which is further confirmed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray studies and large-scale simulation. As a result, this nanofabrication approach applies magnetically driven uniaxial ramp compression to mimic established embossing and imprinting processes, but at ultra-short (nanosecond) timescales.« less

  2. Superfast assembly and synthesis of gold nanostructures using nanosecond low-temperature compression via magnetic pulsed power

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Binsong; Bian, Kaifu; Lane, J. Matthew D.; ...

    2017-03-16

    Gold nanostructured materials exhibit important size- and shape-dependent properties that enable a wide variety of applications in photocatalysis, nanoelectronics and phototherapy. Here we show the use of superfast dynamic compression to synthesize extended gold nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires and nanosheets, with nanosecond coalescence times. Using a pulsed power generator, we ramp compress spherical gold nanoparticle arrays to pressures of tens of GPa, demonstrating pressure-driven assembly beyond the quasi-static regime of the diamond anvil cell. Our dynamic magnetic ramp compression approach produces smooth, shockless (that is, isentropic) one-dimensional loading with low-temperature states suitable for nanostructure synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy clearlymore » establishes that various gold architectures are formed through compressive mesoscale coalescences of spherical gold nanoparticles, which is further confirmed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray studies and large-scale simulation. As a result, this nanofabrication approach applies magnetically driven uniaxial ramp compression to mimic established embossing and imprinting processes, but at ultra-short (nanosecond) timescales.« less

  3. Superfast assembly and synthesis of gold nanostructures using nanosecond low-temperature compression via magnetic pulsed power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Binsong; Bian, Kaifu; Lane, J. Matthew D.; Salerno, K. Michael; Grest, Gary S.; Ao, Tommy; Hickman, Randy; Wise, Jack; Wang, Zhongwu; Fan, Hongyou

    2017-03-01

    Gold nanostructured materials exhibit important size- and shape-dependent properties that enable a wide variety of applications in photocatalysis, nanoelectronics and phototherapy. Here we show the use of superfast dynamic compression to synthesize extended gold nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires and nanosheets, with nanosecond coalescence times. Using a pulsed power generator, we ramp compress spherical gold nanoparticle arrays to pressures of tens of GPa, demonstrating pressure-driven assembly beyond the quasi-static regime of the diamond anvil cell. Our dynamic magnetic ramp compression approach produces smooth, shockless (that is, isentropic) one-dimensional loading with low-temperature states suitable for nanostructure synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy clearly establishes that various gold architectures are formed through compressive mesoscale coalescences of spherical gold nanoparticles, which is further confirmed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray studies and large-scale simulation. This nanofabrication approach applies magnetically driven uniaxial ramp compression to mimic established embossing and imprinting processes, but at ultra-short (nanosecond) timescales.

  4. Superfast assembly and synthesis of gold nanostructures using nanosecond low-temperature compression via magnetic pulsed power.

    PubMed

    Li, Binsong; Bian, Kaifu; Lane, J Matthew D; Salerno, K Michael; Grest, Gary S; Ao, Tommy; Hickman, Randy; Wise, Jack; Wang, Zhongwu; Fan, Hongyou

    2017-03-16

    Gold nanostructured materials exhibit important size- and shape-dependent properties that enable a wide variety of applications in photocatalysis, nanoelectronics and phototherapy. Here we show the use of superfast dynamic compression to synthesize extended gold nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires and nanosheets, with nanosecond coalescence times. Using a pulsed power generator, we ramp compress spherical gold nanoparticle arrays to pressures of tens of GPa, demonstrating pressure-driven assembly beyond the quasi-static regime of the diamond anvil cell. Our dynamic magnetic ramp compression approach produces smooth, shockless (that is, isentropic) one-dimensional loading with low-temperature states suitable for nanostructure synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy clearly establishes that various gold architectures are formed through compressive mesoscale coalescences of spherical gold nanoparticles, which is further confirmed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray studies and large-scale simulation. This nanofabrication approach applies magnetically driven uniaxial ramp compression to mimic established embossing and imprinting processes, but at ultra-short (nanosecond) timescales.

  5. Superfast assembly and synthesis of gold nanostructures using nanosecond low-temperature compression via magnetic pulsed power

    PubMed Central

    Li, Binsong; Bian, Kaifu; Lane, J. Matthew D.; Salerno, K. Michael; Grest, Gary S.; Ao, Tommy; Hickman, Randy; Wise, Jack; Wang, Zhongwu; Fan, Hongyou

    2017-01-01

    Gold nanostructured materials exhibit important size- and shape-dependent properties that enable a wide variety of applications in photocatalysis, nanoelectronics and phototherapy. Here we show the use of superfast dynamic compression to synthesize extended gold nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires and nanosheets, with nanosecond coalescence times. Using a pulsed power generator, we ramp compress spherical gold nanoparticle arrays to pressures of tens of GPa, demonstrating pressure-driven assembly beyond the quasi-static regime of the diamond anvil cell. Our dynamic magnetic ramp compression approach produces smooth, shockless (that is, isentropic) one-dimensional loading with low-temperature states suitable for nanostructure synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy clearly establishes that various gold architectures are formed through compressive mesoscale coalescences of spherical gold nanoparticles, which is further confirmed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray studies and large-scale simulation. This nanofabrication approach applies magnetically driven uniaxial ramp compression to mimic established embossing and imprinting processes, but at ultra-short (nanosecond) timescales. PMID:28300067

  6. Investigation of airfoil leading edge separation control with nanosecond plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, J. G.; Cui, Y. D.; Zhao, Z. J.; Li, J.; Khoo, B. C.

    2016-11-01

    A combined numerical and experimental investigation of airfoil leading edge flow separation control with a nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator is presented. Our study concentrates on describing dynamics of detailed flow actuation process and elucidating the nanosecond DBD actuation mechanism. A loose coupling methodology is employed to perform simulation, which consists of a self-similar plasma model for the description of pulsed discharge and two-dimensional Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations for the calculation of external airflow. A series of simulations of poststall flows around a NACA0015 airfoil is conducted with a Reynolds number range covering both low and high Re at Re=(0.05 ,0.15 ,1.2 ) ×106 . Meanwhile, wind-tunnel experiment is performed for two low Re flows to measure aerodynamic force on airfoil model and transient flow field with time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV). The PIV measurement provides possibly the clearest view of flow reattachment process under the actuation of a nanosecond plasma actuator ever observed in experiments, which is highly comparable to that predicted by simulation. It is found from the detailed simulation that the discharge-induced residual heat rather than shock wave plays a dominant role in flow control. For any leading edge separations, the preliminary flow reattachment is realized by residual heat-induced spanwise vortices. After that, the nanosecond actuator functions by continuing exciting flow instability at poststall attack angles or acting as an active trip near stall angle. As a result, the controlled flow is characterized by a train of repetitive, downstream moving vortices over suction surface or an attached turbulent boundary layer, which depends on both angle of attack and Reynolds number. The advection of residual temperature with external flow offers a nanosecond plasma actuator a lot of flexibility to extend its influence region. Animations are provided for

  7. 100J-level nanosecond pulsed Yb:YAG cryo-cooled DPSSL amplifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, J. M.; Butcher, T. J.; Mason, P. D.; Ertel, K.; Phillips, P. J.; Banerjee, S.; De Vido, M.; Chekhlov, O.; Divoky, M.; Pilar, J.; Shaikh, W.; Hooker, C.; Lucianetti, A.; Hernandez Gomez, C.; Mocek, T.; Edwards, C.; Collier, J. L.

    2018-02-01

    We report on the successful demonstration of the world's first kW average power, 100 Joule-class, high-energy, nanosecond pulsed diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL), DiPOLE100. Results from the first long-term test for amplification will be presented; the system was operated for 1 hour with 10 ns duration pulses at 10 Hz pulse repetition rate and an average output energy of 105 J and RMS energy stability of approximately 1%. The laser system is based on scalable cryogenic gas-cooled multi-slab ceramic Yb:YAG amplifier technology. The DiPOLE100 system comprises three major sub-systems, a spatially and temporally shaped front end, a 10 J cryo-amplifier and a 100 J cryo-amplifier. The 10 J cryo-amplifier contain four Yb:YAG ceramic gain media slabs, which are diode pumped from both sides, while a multi-pass architecture configured for seven passes enables 10 J of energy to be extracted at 10 Hz. This seeds the 100 J cryo-amplifier, which contains six Yb:YAG ceramic gain media slabs with the multi-pass configured for four passes. Our future development plans for this architecture will be introduced including closed-loop pulse shaping, increased energy, higher repetition rates and picosecond operation. This laser architecture unlocks the potential for practical applications including new sources for industrial materials processing and high intensity laser matter studies as envisioned for ELI [1], HiLASE [2], and the European XFEL [3]. Alternatively, it can be used as a pump source for higher repetition rate PW-class amplifiers, which can themselves generate high-brightness secondary radiation and ion sources leading to new remote imaging and medical applications.

  8. Comparative evaluation of transmembrane ion transport due to monopolar and bipolar nanosecond, high-intensity electroporation pulses based on full three-dimensional analyses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Q.; Joshi, R. P.

    2017-07-01

    Electric pulse driven membrane poration finds applications in the fields of biomedical engineering and drug/gene delivery. Here we focus on nanosecond, high-intensity electroporation and probe the role of pulse shape (e.g., monopolar-vs-bipolar), multiple electrode scenarios, and serial-versus-simultaneous pulsing, based on a three-dimensional time-dependent continuum model in a systematic fashion. Our results indicate that monopolar pulsing always leads to higher and stronger cellular uptake. This prediction is in agreement with experimental reports and observations. It is also demonstrated that multi-pronged electrode configurations influence and increase the degree of cellular uptake.

  9. Development of nanosecond time-resolved infrared detection at the LEAF pulse radiolysis facility

    DOE PAGES

    Grills, David C.; Farrington, Jaime A.; Layne, Bobby H.; ...

    2015-04-27

    When coupled with transient absorption spectroscopy, pulse radiolysis, which utilizes high-energy electron pulses from an accelerator, is a powerful tool for investigating the kinetics and thermodynamics of a wide range of radiation-induced redox and electron transfer processes. The majority of these investigations detect transient species in the UV, visible, or near-IR spectral regions. Unfortunately, the often-broad and featureless absorption bands in these regions can make the definitive identification of intermediates difficult. Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy would offer much improved structural characterization, but has received only limited application in pulse radiolysis. In this paper, we describe in detail the development of amore » unique nanosecond time-resolved infrared (TRIR) detection capability for condensed-phase pulse radiolysis on a new beam line at the LEAF facility of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The system makes use of a suite of high-power, continuous wave external-cavity quantum cascade lasers as the IR probe source, with coverage from 2330-1051 cm⁻¹. The response time of the TRIR detection setup is ~40 ns, with a typical sensitivity of ~100 µOD after 4-8 signal averages using a dual-beam probe/reference normalization detection scheme. As a result, this new detection method has enabled mechanistic investigations of a range of radiation-induced chemical processes, some of which are highlighted here.« less

  10. Toward investigating changes in cell mechanoelastic properties in response to nanosecond pulsed electric fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coker, Zachary; Troyanova-Wood, Maria; Traverso, Andrew; Meng, Zhaokai; Ballmann, Charles; Petrov, Georgi; Ibey, Bennett L.; Yakovlev, Vladislav

    2017-02-01

    Nanosecond electric pulses (nsEPs) are known to cause a variety of effects on mammalian cells, ranging from destabilization of cell membranes to changes in cytoskeleton and elastic moduli. Measurement of a cells mechanoelastic properties have previously been limited to only invasive and destructive techniques such as atomic force microscopy or application of optical tweezers. However, due to recent advances, Brillouin spectroscopy has now become viable as a non-contact, non-invasive method for measuring these properties in cells and other materials. Here, we present progress toward applying Brillouin spectroscopy using a unique microscopy system for measuring changes in CHO-K1 cells when exposed to nsEPs of 600ns pulse duration with intensity of 50kV/cm. Successful measurement of mechanoelastic changes in these cells will demonstrate Brillouin spectroscopy as a viable method for measuring changes in elastic properties of other cells and living organisms.

  11. Opportunities afforded by the intense nanosecond neutron pulses from a plasma focus source for neutron capture therapy and the preliminary simulation results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giannini, G.; Gribkov, V.; Longo, F.; Ramos Aruca, M.; Tuniz, C.

    2012-11-01

    The use of short and powerful neutron pulses for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) can potentially increase selectivity and reduce the total dose absorbed by the patient. The biological effects of radiation depend on the dose, the dose power and the spatial distribution of the microscopic energy deposition. A dense plasma focus (DPF) device emits very short (in the nanosecond range) and extremely intense pulses of fast neutrons (2.5 or 14 MeV neutrons—from D-D or D-T nuclear reactions) and x-rays. Optimal spectra of neutrons formed for use in BNCT must contain an epithermal part to ensure a reasonable penetration depth into tissues at high enough cross-section on boron. So the powerful nanosecond pulses of fast neutrons generated by DPF must be moderated. After this moderation, the pulse duration must be shorter compared with the duration of the reaction with free radicals, that is, ⩾1 μs. In this work we focus on the development of a detailed simulation of interaction of short-pulse radiation from a DPF with the device's materials and with different types of moderators to estimate the dose power at the cells for this dynamic case. The simulation was carried out by means of the Geant4 toolkit in two main steps: the modeling of the pulsed neutron source device itself; the study of the interaction of fast mono-energetic neutrons with a moderator specific for BNCT.

  12. PIC simulations of post-pulse field reversal and secondary ionization in nanosecond argon discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, H. Y.; Gołkowski, M.; Gołkowski, C.; Stoltz, P.; Cohen, M. B.; Walker, M.

    2018-05-01

    Post-pulse electric field reversal and secondary ionization are investigated with a full kinetic treatment in argon discharges between planar electrodes on nanosecond time scales. The secondary ionization, which occurs at the falling edge of the voltage pulse, is induced by charge separation in the bulk plasma region. This process is driven by a reverse in the electric field from the cathode sheath to the formerly driven anode. Under the influence of the reverse electric field, electrons in the bulk plasma and sheath regions are accelerated toward the cathode. The electron movement manifests itself as a strong electron current generating high electron energies with significant electron dissipated power. Accelerated electrons collide with Ar molecules and an increased ionization rate is achieved even though the driving voltage is no longer applied. With this secondary ionization, in a single pulse (SP), the maximum electron density achieved is 1.5 times higher and takes a shorter time to reach using 1 kV 2 ns pulse as compared to a 1 kV direct current voltage at 1 Torr. A bipolar dual pulse excitation can increase maximum density another 50%–70% above a SP excitation and in half the time of RF sinusoidal excitation of the same period. The first field reversal is most prominent but subsequent field reversals also occur and correspond to electron temperature increases. Targeted pulse designs can be used to condition plasma density as required for fast discharge applications.

  13. Guiding of Long-Distance Electric Discharges by Combined Femtosecond and Nanosecond Pulses Emitted by Hybrid KrF Laser System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-30

    AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2014-0040 Guiding of long-distance electric discharges by combined femtosecond and nanosecond pulses emitted by...To) 27 September 2010 – 31 December 2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Guiding of long-distance electric discharges by combined femtosecond and...plasma channels in the atmosphere and laser guiding of high-voltage electric discharges . 15. SUBJECT TERMS EOARD, triggering

  14. Cells exposed to nanosecond electrical pulses exhibit biomarkers of mechanical stress

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Caleb C.; Barnes, Ronald A.; Ibey, Bennett L.; Beier, Hope T.; Moen, Erick K.; Glickman, Randolph D.

    2015-03-01

    Exposure of cells to very short (<1 μs) electric pulses in the megavolt/meter range have been shown to cause disruption of the plasma membrane. This disruption is often characterized by the formation of numerous small pores (<2 nm in diameter) in the plasma membrane that last for several minutes, allowing the flow of ions into the cell. These small pores are called nanopores and the resulting damage to the plasma membrane is referred to as nanoporation. Nanosecond electrical pulse (nsEP) exposure can impart many different stressors on a cell, including electrical, electro-chemical, and mechanical stress. Thus, nsEP exposure is not a "clean" insult, making determination of the mechanism of nanoporation quite difficult. We hypothesize that nsEP exposure creates acoustic shock waves capable of causing nanoporation. Microarray analysis of primary adult human dermal fibroblasts (HDFa) exposed to nsEP, indicated several genes associated with mechanical stress were selectively upregulated 4 h post exposure. The idea that nanoporation is caused by external mechanical force from acoustic shock waves has, to our knowledge, not been investigated. This work will critically challenge the existing paradigm that nanoporation is caused solely by an electric-field driven event and could provide the basis for a plausible explanation for electroporation.

  15. Metal surface coloration by oxide periodic structures formed with nanosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Veiko, Vadim; Karlagina, Yulia; Moskvin, Mikhail; Mikhailovskii, Vladimir; Odintsova, Galina; Olshin, Pavel; Pankin, Dmitry; Romanov, Valery; Yatsuk, Roman

    2017-09-01

    In this work, we studied a method of laser-induced coloration of metals, where small-scale spatially periodic structures play a key role in the process of color formation. The formation of such structures on a surface of AISI 304 stainless steel was demonstrated for the 1.06 μm fiber laser with nanosecond duration of pulses and random (elliptical) polarization. The color of the surface depends on the period, height and orientation of periodic surface structures. Adjustment of the polarization of the laser radiation or change of laser incidence angle can be used to control the orientation of the structures. The formation of markings that change their color under the different viewing angles becomes possible. The potential application of the method is metal product protection against falsification.

  16. Species and temperature measurements of methane oxidation in a nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge

    PubMed Central

    Lefkowitz, Joseph K; Guo, Peng; Rousso, Aric; Ju, Yiguang

    2015-01-01

    Speciation and temperature measurements of methane oxidation during a nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge in a low-temperature flow reactor have been performed. Measurements of temperature and formaldehyde during a burst of pulses were made on a time-dependent basis using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, and measurements of all other major stable species were made downstream of a continuously pulsed discharge using gas chromatography. The major species for a stoichiometric methane/oxygen/helium mixture with 75% dilution are H2O, CO, CO2, H2, CH2O, CH3OH, C2H6, C2H4 and C2H2. A modelling tool to simulate homogeneous plasma combustion kinetics is assembled by combining the ZDPlasKin and CHEMKIN codes. In addition, a kinetic model for plasma-assisted combustion (HP-Mech/plasma) of methane, oxygen and helium mixtures has been assembled to simulate the measurements. Predictions can accurately capture reactant consumption as well as production of the major product species. However, significant disagreement is found for minor species, particularly CH2O and CH3OH. Further analysis revealed that the plasma-activated low-temperature oxidation pathways, particularly those involving CH3O2 radical reactions and methane reactions with O(1D), are responsible for this disagreement. PMID:26170433

  17. First-principles simulation for strong and ultra-short laser pulse propagation in dielectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yabana, K.

    2016-05-01

    We develop a computational approach for interaction between strong laser pulse and dielectrics based on time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). In this approach, a key ingredient is a solver to simulate electron dynamics in a unit cell of solids under a time-varying electric field that is a time-dependent extension of the static band calculation. This calculation can be regarded as a constitutive relation, providing macroscopic electric current for a given electric field applied to the medium. Combining the solver with Maxwell equations for electromagnetic fields of the laser pulse, we describe propagation of laser pulses in dielectrics without any empirical parameters. An important output from the coupled Maxwell+TDDFT simulation is the energy transfer from the laser pulse to electrons in the medium. We have found an abrupt increase of the energy transfer at certain laser intensity close to damage threshold. We also estimate damage threshold by comparing the transferred energy with melting and cohesive energies. It shows reasonable agreement with measurements.

  18. Modeling of ablation threshold dependence on pulse duration for dielectrics with ultrashort pulsed laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Mingying; Zhu, Jianqiang; Lin, Zunqi

    2017-01-01

    We present a numerical model of plasma formation in ultrafast laser ablation on the dielectrics surface. Ablation threshold dependence on pulse duration is predicted with the model and the numerical results for water agrees well with the experimental data for pulse duration from 140 fs to 10 ps. Influences of parameters and approximations of photo- and avalanche-ionization on the ablation threshold prediction are analyzed in detail for various pulse lengths. The calculated ablation threshold is strongly dependent on electron collision time for all the pulse durations. The complete photoionization model is preferred for pulses shorter than 1 ps rather than the multiphoton ionization approximations. The transition time of inverse bremsstrahlung absorption needs to be considered when pulses are shorter than 5 ps and it can also ensure the avalanche ionization (AI) coefficient consistent with that in multiple rate equations (MREs) for pulses shorter than 300 fs. The threshold electron density for AI is only crucial for longer pulses. It is reasonable to ignore the recombination loss for pulses shorter than 100 fs. In addition to thermal transport and hydrodynamics, neglecting the threshold density for AI and recombination could also contribute to the disagreements between the numerical and the experimental results for longer pulses.

  19. Influence of nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges on the stability of a swirled propane/air burner representative of an aeronautical combustor

    PubMed Central

    Barbosa, S.; Pilla, G.; Lacoste, D. A.; Scouflaire, P.; Ducruix, S.; Laux, C. O.; Veynante, D.

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports on an experimental study of the influence of a nanosecond repetitively pulsed spark discharge on the stability domain of a propane/air flame. This flame is produced in a lean premixed swirled combustor representative of an aeronautical combustion chamber. The lean extinction limits of the flame produced without and with plasma are determined and compared. It appears that only a low mean discharge power is necessary to increase the flame stability domain. Lastly, the effects of several parameters (pulse repetition frequency, global flowrate, electrode location) are studied. PMID:26170424

  20. Peculiarities of the Short-Pulse Dielectric Strength of Vacuum Insulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nefedtsev, E. V.; Onischenko, S. A.; Batrakov, A. V.

    2017-12-01

    Results of a study of the short-pulse dielectric strength of millimeter plane vacuum gaps with electrodes that have been treated with an electron beam are presented. It is shown that the electric field strength of the first breakdown of vacuum gaps with pure metal electrodes is determined to a significant extent by the crystal structure of the metal. The development of the first short-pulse breakdown is accompanied by a very abrupt growth of the electric current. The short duration of the test pulses rules out the influence of all well-known inertial mechanisms of breakdown with characteristic action times greater than 20 ns. Some general assumptions regarding the nature of the factors stimulating the short-pulse breakdown of vacuum gaps are considered.

  1. Permeabilization of the nuclear envelope following nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Thompson, Gary L., E-mail: gary.l.thompson.3@gmail.com; Roth, Caleb C.; Kuipers, Marjorie A.

    2016-01-29

    Permeabilization of cell membranes occurs upon exposure to a threshold absorbed dose (AD) of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF). The ultimate, physiological bioeffect of this exposure depends on the type of cultured cell and environment, indicating that cell-specific pathways and structures are stimulated. Here we investigate 10 and 600 ns duration PEF effects on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell nuclei, where our hypothesis is that pulse disruption of the nuclear envelope membrane leads to observed cell death and decreased viability 24 h post-exposure. To observe short-term responses to nsPEF exposure, CHO cells have been stably transfected with two fluorescently-labeled proteins known tomore » be sequestered for cellular chromosomal function within the nucleus – histone-2b (H2B) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). H2B remains associated with chromatin after nsPEF exposure, whereas PCNA leaks out of nuclei permeabilized by a threshold AD of 10 and 600 ns PEF. A downturn in 24 h viability, measured by MTT assay, is observed at the number of pulses required to induce permeabilization of the nucleus. - Highlights: • The ability of nsPEF to damage nuclear structures within cells is investigated. • Leakage of proliferating nuclear antigen from nuclei is induced by nsPEF. • High doses of nsPEF disrupt cortical lamin and cause chromatin decompaction. • Histone H2B remains attached to chromatin following nsPEF exposure. • DNA does not leak out of nsPEF-permeabilized nuclei.« less

  2. Morphological effects of nanosecond- and femtosecond-pulsed laser ablation on human middle ear ossicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ilgner, Justus F.; Wehner, Martin; Lorenzen, Johann; Bovi, Manfred; Westhofen, Martin

    2004-07-01

    Introduction: Since the early 1980's, a considerable number of different laser systems have been introduced into reconstructive middle ear surgery. Depending on the ablation mode, however, pressure transients or thermal load to inner ear structures continue to be subject to discussion. Material and methods: We examined single spot ablations by a nanosecond-pulsed, frequency-tripled Nd:YAG-Laser (355 nm, beam diameter 10 μm, pulse rate 2 kHz, power 250 mW) on isolated human mallei. In a second set-up, a similar system (355 nm, beam diameter 20 μm, pulse rate 10 kHz, power 160-1500 mW) was coupled to a scanner to examine the morphology of bone surface ablation over an area of 1mm2. A third set-up employed a femtosecond-pulsed CrLiSAF-Oscillator (850 nm, pulse duration 100 fs, pulse energy 40μJ, beam diameter 36 μm, pulse rate 1 kHz) to compare these results with the former and with those obtained from a commercially available Er:YAG laser for ear surgery (Zeiss ORL E, 2940 nm, single pulse, energy 10-25 mJ). Results: In set-up 1 and 2, thermal effects in terms of marginal carbonization were visible in all single spot ablations of 1 s and longer. With ablations of 0.5 seconds, precise cutting margins with preservation of surrounding tissue could be observed. Cooling with saline solution resulted in no carbonization at 1500 mW and a scan speed of 500 mm/s. Set-up 3 equally showed no carbonization, although scanning times were longer and ablation less pronounced. Conclusion: Ultrashort pulsed laser systems could potentially aid further refinement of reconstructive microsurgery of the middle ear.

  3. Electric field measurements in nanosecond pulse discharges in air over liquid water surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simeni Simeni, Marien; Baratte, Edmond; Zhang, Cheng; Frederickson, Kraig; Adamovich, Igor V.

    2018-01-01

    Electric field in nanosecond pulse discharges in ambient air is measured by picosecond four-wave mixing, with absolute calibration by a known electrostatic field. The measurements are done in two geometries, (a) the discharge between two parallel cylinder electrodes placed inside quartz tubes, and (b) the discharge between a razor edge electrode and distilled water surface. In the first case, breakdown field exceeds DC breakdown threshold by approximately a factor of four, 140 ± 10 kV cm-1. In the second case, electric field is measured for both positive and negative pulse polarities, with pulse durations of ˜10 ns and ˜100 ns, respectively. In the short duration, positive polarity pulse, breakdown occurs at 85 kV cm-1, after which the electric field decreases over several ns due to charge separation in the plasma, with no field reversal detected when the applied voltage is reduced. In a long duration, negative polarity pulse, breakdown occurs at a lower electric field, 30 kV cm-1, after which the field decays over several tens of ns and reverses direction when the applied voltage is reduced at the end of the pulse. For both pulse polarities, electric field after the pulse decays on a microsecond time scale, due to residual surface charge neutralization by transport of opposite polarity charges from the plasma. Measurements 1 mm away from the discharge center plane, ˜100 μm from the water surface, show that during the voltage rise, horizontal field component (Ex ) lags in time behind the vertical component (Ey ). After breakdown, Ey is reduced to near zero and reverses direction. Further away from the water surface (≈0.9 mm), Ex is much higher compared to Ey during the entire voltage pulse. The results provide insight into air plasma kinetics and charge transport processes near plasma-liquid interface, over a wide range of time scales.

  4. Nanosecond Pulse Technique

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-03-17

    along line. As is evident, input resistance of parabolic line differs from input resistance of usual uniform forming line only by presence of term - 1...i.e., the same problem, which stands also before pulse technique in usual understanding of this term , i.e., before microsecond pulse technique...frequencies occurs inequality i,<Lw. Therefore it is possible to record DOC - 88076701 PAGE 17 I L.-Vi=zsV(L,+L.)C z -/L-C (j+ 2Law or, using expression (1.4

  5. Wavelength Dependence of Nanosecond IR Laser-Induced Breakdown in Water: Evidence for Multiphoton Initiation via an Intermediate State

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-04-29

    bubble generation and shock wave emission in water for femtosecond to nanosecond laser pulses . ...breakdown threshold in water for nanosecond (ns) IR laser pulses . Avalanche ionization (AI) is the most powerful mechanism driving IR ns laser-induced...acknowledged that femtosecond (fs) and picosecond (ps) IR breakdown is initiated by photoionization because ultrashort pulses are sufficiently

  6. Low-threshold, nanosecond, high-repetition-rate vortex pulses with controllable helicity generated in Cr,Nd:YAG self-Q-switched microchip laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Hong-Sen; Chen, Zhen; Li, Hong-Bin; Dong, Jun

    2018-05-01

    A high repetition rate, nanosecond, pulsed optical vortex beam has been generated in a Cr,Nd:YAG self-Q-switched microchip laser pumped by the annular-beam formed with a hollow focus lens. The lasing threshold for vortex pulses is 0.9 W. A pulse width of 6.5 ns and a repetition rate of over 330 kHz have been achieved. The average output power of 1 W and the slope efficiency of 46.6% have been obtained. The helicity of the optical vortices has been controlled by adjusting the tilted angle between Cr,Nd:YAG crystal and output coupler. The work provides a new method for developing pulsed optical vortices for potential applications on quantum communication and optical trapping.

  7. Remote Imaging by Nanosecond Terahertz Spectrometer with Standoff Detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, J.-G.; Huang, Z.-M.; Andreev, Yu. M.; Kokh, K. A.; Lanskii, G. V.; Potekaev, A. I.; Svetlichnyi, V. A.

    2018-01-01

    Creation and application of the remote imaging spectrometer based on high power nanosecond terahertz source with standoff detector is reported. 2D transmission images of metal objects hided in nonconductive (dielectric) materials were recorded. Reflection images of metal objects mounted on silicon wafers are recorded with simultaneous determination of the wafer parameters (thickness/material).

  8. Topological structures of vortex flow on a flying wing aircraft, controlled by a nanosecond pulse discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Hai; Shi, Zhiwei; Cheng, Keming; Wei, Dechen; Li, Zheng; Zhou, Danjie; He, Haibo; Yao, Junkai; He, Chengjun

    2016-06-01

    Vortex control is a thriving research area, particularly in relation to flying wing or delta wing aircraft. This paper presents the topological structures of vortex flow on a flying wing aircraft controlled by a nanosecond plasma dielectric barrier discharge actuator. Experiments, including oil flow visualization and two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV), were conducted in a wind tunnel with a Reynolds number of 0.5 × 106. Both oil and PIV results show that the vortex can be controlled. Oil topological structures on the aircraft surface coincide with spatial PIV flow structures. Both indicate vortex convergence and enhancement when the plasma discharge is switched on, leading to a reduced region of separated flow.

  9. Propagation of THz pulses in rectangular subwavelength dielectric waveguides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Yao; Wu, Qiang; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Ride; Zhao, Wenjuan; Zhang, Deng; Pan, Chongpei; Qi, Jiwei; Xu, Jingjun

    2018-06-01

    Rectangular subwavelength waveguides are necessary for the development of micro/nanophotonic devices and on-chip platforms. Using a time-resolved imaging system, we studied the transient properties and the propagation modes of THz pulses in rectangular subwavelength dielectric waveguides. The dynamic process of THz pulses was systematically recorded to a movie. In addition, an anomalous group velocity dispersion was demonstrated in rectangular subwavelength waveguides. By using the effective index method, we theoretically calculated the modes in rectangular subwavelength waveguides, which agree well with the experiments and simulations. This work provides the opportunity to improve the analysis and design of the integrated platforms and photonic devices.

  10. Velocimetry of fast microscopic liquid jets by nanosecond dual-pulse laser illumination for megahertz X-ray free-electron lasers.

    PubMed

    Grünbein, Marie Luise; Shoeman, Robert L; Doak, R Bruce

    2018-03-19

    To conduct X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) measurements at megahertz (MHz) repetition rates, sample solution must be delivered in a micron-sized liquid free-jet moving at up to 100 m/s. This exceeds by over a factor of two the jet speeds measurable with current high-speed camera techniques. Accordingly we have developed and describe herein an alternative jet velocimetry based on dual-pulse nanosecond laser illumination. Three separate implementations are described, including a small laser-diode system that is inexpensive and highly portable. We have also developed and describe analysis techniques to automatically and rapidly extract jet speed from dual-pulse images.

  11. Nanoparticle formation after nanosecond-laser irradiation of thin gold films

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ratautas, Karolis; Gedvilas, Mindaugas; Raciukaitis, Gediminas

    2012-07-01

    Evolution in nanoparticle formation was observed after nanosecond-laser irradiation of thin gold films on a silicon substrate and physical phenomena leading to the formation of nanoparticles were studied. Gold films of different thickness (3, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 nm) were evaporated on the silicon (110) substrate and irradiated with the pulsed nanosecond laser using different pulse energies and the number of pulses in a burst. Experimentally morphological changes appeared in the films only when the pulse energy was high enough to initiate the phase transition. The threshold energy density for phase transitions in the films was estimated frommore » the thermal model of the laser beam and sample interaction. With the pulse energy just above the threshold, it was possible to observe evolution of nanoparticle formation from a plane metal film by changing the number of pulses applied, as duration of the pulse burst represented the time how long the liquid phase existed. The final size of nanoparticles was a function of the film thickness and was found to be independent of the pulse energy and the number of pulses.« less

  12. Spatial and temporal evolutions of ozone in a nanosecond pulse corona discharge at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duten, X.; Redolfi, M.; Aggadi, N.; Vega, A.; Hassouni, K.

    2011-10-01

    This paper deals with the experimental determination of the spatial and temporal evolutions of the ozone concentration in an atmospheric pressure pulsed plasma, working in the nanosecond regime. We observed that ozone was produced in the localized region of the streamer. The ozone transport requires a characteristic time well above the millisecond. The numerical modelling of the streamer expansion confirms that the hydrodynamic expansion of the filamentary discharge region during the streamer propagation does not lead to a significant transport of atomic oxygen and ozone. It appears therefore that only diffusional transport can take place, which requires a characteristic time of the order of 50 ms.

  13. Cutting and drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) by 70W short pulse nanosecond laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jaeschke, Peter; Stolberg, Klaus; Bastick, Stefan; Ziolkowski, Ewa; Roehner, Markus; Suttmann, Oliver; Overmeyer, Ludger

    2014-02-01

    Continuous carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are recognized as having a significant lightweight construction potential for a wide variety of industrial applications. However, a today`s barrier for a comprehensive dissemination of CFRP structures is the lack of economic, quick and reliable manufacture processes, e.g. the cutting and drilling steps. In this paper, the capability of using pulsed disk lasers in CFRP machining is discussed. In CFRP processing with NIR lasers, carbon fibers show excellent optical absorption and heat dissipation, contrary to the plastics matrix. Therefore heat dissipation away from the laser focus into the material is driven by heat conduction of the fibres. The matrix is heated indirectly by heat transfer from the fibres. To cut CFRP, it is required to reach the melting temperature for thermoplastic matrix materials or the disintegration temperature for thermoset systems as well as the sublimation temperature of the reinforcing fibers simultaneously. One solution for this problem is to use short pulse nanosecond lasers. We have investigated CFRP cutting and drilling with such a laser (max. 7 mJ @ 10 kHz, 30 ns). This laser offers the opportunity of wide range parameter tuning for systematic process optimization. By applying drilling and cutting operations based on galvanometer scanning techniques in multi-cycle mode, excellent surface and edge characteristics in terms of delamination-free and intact fiber-matrix interface were achieved. The results indicate that nanosecond disk laser machining could consequently be a suitable tool for the automotive and aircraft industry for cutting and drilling steps.

  14. Role of cytoskeleton and elastic moduli in cellular response to nanosecond pulsed electric fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thompson, Gary L.; Roth, Caleb; Tolstykh, Gleb; Kuipers, Marjorie; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2013-02-01

    Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are known to increase cell membrane permeability to small molecules in accordance with dosages. As previous work has focused on nsPEF exposures in whole cells, electrodeformation may contribute to this induced-permeabilization in addition to other biological mechanisms. Here, we hypothesize that cellular elasticity, based upon the cytoskeleton, affects nsPEF-induced decrease in cellular viability. Young's moduli of various types of cells have been calculated from atomic force microscopy (AFM) force curve data, showing that CHO cells are stiffer than non-adherent U937 and Jurkat cells, which are more susceptible to nsPEF exposure. To distinguish any cytoskeletal foundation for these observations, various cytoskeletal reagents were applied. Inhibiting actin polymerization significantly decreased membrane integrity, as determined by relative propidium uptake and phosphatidylserine externalization, upon exposure at 150 kV/cm with 100 pulses of 10 ns pulse width. Exposure in the presence of other drugs resulted in insignificant changes in membrane integrity and 24-hour viability. However, Jurkat cells showed greater lethality than latrunculin-treated CHO cells of comparable elasticity. From these results, it is postulated that cellular elasticity rooted in actin-membrane interaction is only a minor contributor to the differing responses of adherent and non-adherent cells to nsPEF insults.

  15. Measurement of OH Radicals in Pulsed Corona and Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ono, Ryo; Oda, Tetsuji

    OH radicals are measured in a pulsed corona or a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) using laserinduced fluorescence (LIF) method. The pulsed discharges occur in nitrogen-oxygen mixture with 2.4% water vapor at atmospheric pressure. The pulse width is 100ns and the peak voltage is 35kV. The electrode configuration is a needle to plate electrode with 16-mm gap for corona discharge, and with 5-mm gap for DBD where the barrier is 2mm thick glass plate. It is shown that OH density is approximately proportional to the energy consumed by the discharge. The OH density per the discharge energy is about 2-4×1014cm-3/mJ for both discharges in H2O(2.4%)/N2 mixture. It is shown that OH density increases with oxygen content in DBD, whereas OH density reaches a maximum at 3% oxygen content in corona discharge. The existence of oxygen accelerates OH decay rate in both discharges. A trace amount of trichloroethylene (TCE) is added to the ambient gas. It is shown that the addition of 100ppm TCE to corona discharge reduces discharge current by about 50%. That leads to decrease of OH production.

  16. 100μJ-level single frequency linearly-polarized nanosecond pulsed laser at 775 nm (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Wei; Fang, Qiang; Fan, Jingli; Cui, Xuelong; Zhang, Zhuo; Li, Jinhui; Zhou, Guoqing

    2017-02-01

    We report a single frequency, linearly polarized, near diffraction-limited, pulsed laser source at 775 nm by frequency doubling a single frequency nanosecond pulsed all fiber based master oscillator-power amplifier, seeded by a fiber coupled semiconductor DFB laser diode at 1550 nm. The laser diode was driven by a pulsed laser driver to generate 5 ns laser pulses at 260 Hz repetition rate with 50 pJ pulse energy. The pulse energy was boosted to 200 μJ using two stages of core-pumped fiber amplifiers and two stages of cladding-pumped fiber amplifiers. The multi-stage synchronous pulse pumping technique was adopted in the four stages of fiber amplifiers to mitigate the ASE. The frequency doubling is implemented in a single pass configuration using a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal. The crystal is 3 mm long, 1.4 mm wide, 1 mm thick, with a 19.36 μm domain period chosen for quasi-phase matching at 33°C. It was AR coated at both 1550 nm and 775 nm. The maximum pulse energy of 97 μJ was achieved when 189 μJ fundamental laser was launched. The corresponding conversion efficiency is about 51.3%. The pulse duration was measured to be 4.8 ns. So the peak power of the generated 775 nm laser pulses reached 20 kW. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a 100 μJ-level, tens of kilowatts-peak-power-level single frequency linearly polarized 775 nm laser based on the frequency doubling of the fiber lasers.

  17. Relaxation dynamics of nanosecond laser superheated material in dielectrics

    DOE PAGES

    Demos, Stavros G.; Negres, Raluca A.; Raman, Rajesh N.; ...

    2015-08-20

    Intense laser pulses can cause superheating of the near-surface volume of materials. This mechanism is widely used in applications such as laser micromachining, laser ablation, or laser assisted thin film deposition. The relaxation of the near solid density superheated material is not well understood, however. In this work, we investigate the relaxation dynamics of the superheated material formed in several dielectrics with widely differing physical properties. The results suggest that the relaxation process involves a number of distinct phases, which include the delayed explosive ejection of microscale particles starting after the pressure of the superheated material is reduced to aboutmore » 4 GPa and for a time duration on the order of 1 μs. The appearance of a subset of collected ejected particles in fused silica is similar to that of micro-tektites and provides information about the state of the superheated material at the time of ejection. Lastly, these results advance our understanding of a key aspect of the laser–material interaction pathway and can lead to optimization of associated applications ranging from material processing to laser surgery.« less

  18. Remote imaging laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy using nanosecond pulses from a mobile lidar system.

    PubMed

    Grönlund, Rasmus; Lundqvist, Mats; Svanberg, Sune

    2006-08-01

    A mobile lidar system was used in remote imaging laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) experiments. Also, computer-controlled remote ablation of a chosen area was demonstrated, relevant to cleaning of cultural heritage items. Nanosecond frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser pulses at 355 nm were employed in experiments with a stand-off distance of 60 meters using pulse energies of up to 170 mJ. By coaxial transmission and common folding of the transmission and reception optical paths using a large computer-controlled mirror, full elemental imaging capability was achieved on composite targets. Different spectral identification algorithms were compared in producing thematic data based on plasma or fluorescence light.

  19. Characteristics of a novel nanosecond DBD microplasma reactor for flow applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elkholy, A.; Nijdam, S.; van Veldhuizen, E.; Dam, N.; van Oijen, J.; Ebert, U.; de Goey, L. Philip H.

    2018-05-01

    We present a novel microplasma flow reactor using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) driven by repetitive nanosecond high-voltage pulses. Our DBD-based geometry can generate a non-thermal plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure and below in a regular pattern of micro-channels. This reactor can work continuously up to about 100 min in air, depending on the pulse repetition rate and operating pressure. We here present the geometry and main characteristics of the reactor. Pulse energies of 1.46 and 1.3 μJ per channel at atmospheric pressure and 50 mbar, respectively, have been determined by time-resolved measurements of current and voltage. Time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy measurements have been performed to calculate the relative species concentrations and temperatures (vibrational and rotational) of the discharge. The effects of the operating pressure and flow velocity on the discharge intensity have been investigated. In addition, the effective reduced electric field strength {(E/N)}eff} has been obtained from the intensity ratio of vibronic emission bands of molecular nitrogen at different operating pressures and different locations. The derived {(E/N)}eff} increases gradually from about 550 to 4600 Td when decreasing the pressure from 1 bar to 100 mbar. Below 100 mbar, further pressure reduction results in a significant increase in {(E/N)}eff} up to about 10000 Td at 50 mbar.

  20. Raising the avermectins production in Streptomyces avermitilis by utilizing nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Jinsong; Ma, Ruonan; Su, Bo; Li, Yinglong; Zhang, Jue; Fang, Jing

    2016-05-01

    Avermectins, a group of anthelmintic and insecticidal agents produced from Streptomyces avermitilis, are widely used in agricultural, veterinary, and medical fields. This study presents the first report on the potential of using nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) to improve avermectin production in S. avermitilis. The results of colony forming units showed that 20 pulses of nsPEFs at 10 kV/cm and 20 kV/cm had a significant effect on proliferation, while 100 pulses of nsPEFs at 30 kV/cm exhibited an obvious effect on inhibition of agents. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry assay revealed that 20 pulses of nsPEFs at 15 kV/cm increased avermectin production by 42% and reduced the time for reaching a plateau in fermentation process from 7 days to 5 days. In addition, the decreased oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and increased temperature of nsPEFs-treated liquid were evidenced to be closely associated with the improved cell growth and fermentation efficiency of avermectins in S. avermitilis. More importantly, the real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that nsPEFs could remarkably enhance the expression of aveR and malE in S. avermitilis during fermentation, which are positive regulator for avermectin biosynthesis. Therefore, the nsPEFs technology presents an alternative strategy to be developed to increase avermectin output in fermentation industry.

  1. Kinetic Studies of Plasma Chemical Fuel Oxidation in Nanosecond Pulsed Discharges by Single and Two Photon Laser Induced Fluorescence

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-07-01

    31st ICPIG, July 14-19, 2013, Granada , Spain Kinetic Studies of Plasma Chemical Fuel Oxidation in Nanosecond Pulsed Discharges by Single and...31st) (ICPIG) Held in Granada , Spain on 14-19 July 2013 14. ABSTRACT Single and two photon Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy is used for...Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 31st ICPIG, July 14-19, 2013, Granada , Spain preheat the fuel-air mixture to the furnace

  2. Energy efficiency in nanoscale synthesis using nanosecond plasmas.

    PubMed

    Pai, David Z; Ken Ostrikov, Kostya; Kumar, Shailesh; Lacoste, Deanna A; Levchenko, Igor; Laux, Christophe O

    2013-01-01

    We report a nanoscale synthesis technique using nanosecond-duration plasma discharges. Voltage pulses 12.5 kV in amplitude and 40 ns in duration were applied repetitively at 30 kHz across molybdenum electrodes in open ambient air, generating a nanosecond spark discharge that synthesized well-defined MoO₃ nanoscale architectures (i.e. flakes, dots, walls, porous networks) upon polyamide and copper substrates. No nitrides were formed. The energy cost was as low as 75 eV per atom incorporated into a nanostructure, suggesting a dramatic reduction compared to other techniques using atmospheric pressure plasmas. These findings show that highly efficient synthesis at atmospheric pressure without catalysts or external substrate heating can be achieved in a simple fashion using nanosecond discharges.

  3. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator for flow control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Opaits, Dmitry Florievich

    Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) and magnetohydrodynamic phenomena are being widely studied for aerodynamic applications. The major effects of these phenomena are heating of the gas, body force generation, and enthalpy addition or extraction, [1, 2, 3]. In particular, asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are known to be effective EHD device in aerodynamic control, [4, 5]. Experiments have demonstrated their effectiveness in separation control, acoustic noise reduction, and other aeronautic applications. In contrast to conventional DBD actuators driven by sinusoidal voltages, we proposed and used a voltage profile consisting of nanosecond pulses superimposed on dc bias voltage. This produces what is essentially a non-self-sustained discharge: the plasma is generated by repetitive short pulses, and the pushing of the gas occurs primarily due to the bias voltage. The advantage of this non-self-sustained discharge is that the parameters of ionizing pulses and the driving bias voltage can be varied independently, which adds flexibility to control and optimization of the actuators performance. Experimental studies were conducted of a flow induced in a quiescent room air by a single DBD actuator. A new approach for non-intrusive diagnostics of plasma actuator induced flows in quiescent gas was proposed, consisting of three elements coupled together: the Schlieren technique, burst mode of plasma actuator operation, and 2-D numerical fluid modeling. During the experiments, it was found that DBD performance is severely limited by surface charge accumulation on the dielectric. Several ways to mitigate the surface charge were found: using a reversing DC bias potential, three-electrode configuration, slightly conductive dielectrics, and semi conductive coatings. Force balance measurements proved the effectiveness of the suggested configurations and advantages of the new voltage profile (pulses+bias) over the traditional sinusoidal one at relatively low

  4. Optical properties of polyimides films treated by nanosecond pulsed electrical discharges in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sava, Ion; Kruth, Angela; Kolb, Juergen F.; Miron, Camelia

    2018-01-01

    Fluorinated polyimide films containing cobalt chloride based on hexafluoroisopropylidenediphthalic dianhydride and 4,4‧-diamino-3,3‧-dimethyl diphenylmethane were treated by nanosecond pulsed electrical discharges generated in distilled water. The polyimide films have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and contact angle measurements, optical transmission spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Significant changes in some intrinsic fluorescence features, such as the intensity and position of the emission peak, have been observed during exposure to water plasma. These effects have been considered to correlate with the development of specific chemical interactions between the liquid and the macromolecules, including the formation of hydrogen bridges. A slight increase in surface hydrophobicity was observed after plasma treatment. FTIR spectra showed a decrease in the intensity of the absorption band and an opening of the imide ring, depending on the treatment time.

  5. Nanoparticle mediated ablation of breast cancer cells using a nanosecond pulsed electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burford, Christopher

    In the past, both nanomaterials and various heating modalities have been researched as means for treating cancers. However, many of the current methodologies have the flaws of inconsistent tumor ablation and significant destruction of healthy cells. Based on research performed using constant radiofrequency electric fields and metallic nanoparticles (where cell necrosis is induced by the heating of these nanoparticles) we have developed a modality that simlarly uses functionalized metallic nanoparticles, specific for the T47D breast cancer cell line, and nanosecond pulsed electric fields as the hyperthermic inducer. Using both iron oxide and gold nanoparticles the results of our pilot studies indicated that up to 90% of the cancer cells were ablated given the optimal treatment parameters. These quantities of ablated cells were achieved using a cumulative exposure time 6 orders of magnitude less than most in vitro radiofrequency electric field studies.

  6. Theoretical analysis of ozone generation by pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in oxygen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, L. S.; Zhou, J. H.; Wang, Z. H.; Cen, K. F.

    2007-08-01

    The use of very short high-voltage pulses combined with a dielectric layer results in high-energy electrons that dissociate oxygen molecules into atoms, which are a prerequisite for the subsequent production of ozone by collisions with oxygen molecules and third particles. The production of ozone depends on both the electrical and the physical parameters. For ozone generation by pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in oxygen, a mathematical model, which describes the relation between ozone concentration and these parameters that are of importance in its design, is developed according to dimensional analysis theory. A formula considering the ozone destruction factor is derived for predicting the characteristics of the ozone generation, within the range of the corona inception voltage to the gap breakdown voltage. The trend showing the dependence of the concentration of ozone in oxygen on these parameters generally agrees with the experimental results, thus confirming the validity of the mathematical model.

  7. Current-Voltage Characteristic of Nanosecond - Duration Relativistic Electron Beam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andreev, Andrey

    2005-10-01

    The pulsed electron-beam accelerator SINUS-6 was used to measure current-voltage characteristic of nanosecond-duration thin annular relativistic electron beam accelerated in vacuum along axis of a smooth uniform metal tube immersed into strong axial magnetic field. Results of these measurements as well as results of computer simulations performed using 3D MAGIC code show that the electron-beam current dependence on the accelerating voltage at the front of the nanosecond-duration pulse is different from the analogical dependence at the flat part of the pulse. In the steady-state (flat) part of the pulse), the measured electron-beam current is close to Fedosov current [1], which is governed by the conservation law of an electron moment flow for any constant voltage. In the non steady-state part (front) of the pulse, the electron-beam current is higher that the appropriate, for a giving voltage, steady-state (Fedosov) current. [1] A. I. Fedosov, E. A. Litvinov, S. Ya. Belomytsev, and S. P. Bugaev, ``Characteristics of electron beam formed in diodes with magnetic insulation,'' Soviet Physics Journal (A translation of Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika), vol. 20, no. 10, October 1977 (April 20, 1978), pp.1367-1368.

  8. Calcium influx affects intracellular transport and membrane repair following nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thompson, Gary Lee; Roth, Caleb C.; Dalzell, Danielle R.; Kuipers, Marjorie; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2014-05-01

    The cellular response to subtle membrane damage following exposure to nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) is not well understood. Recent work has shown that when cells are exposed to nsPEF, ion permeable nanopores (<2 nm) are created in the plasma membrane in contrast to larger diameter pores (>2 nm) created by longer micro- and millisecond duration pulses. Nanoporation of the plasma membrane by nsPEF has been shown to cause a transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration within milliseconds after exposure. Our research objective is to determine the impact of nsPEF on calcium-dependent structural and repair systems in mammalian cells. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells were exposed in the presence and absence of calcium ions in the outside buffer to either 1 or 20, 600-ns duration electrical pulses at 16.2 kV/cm, and pore size was determined using propidium iodide and calcium green. Membrane organization was observed with morphological changes and increases in FM1-43 fluorescence. Migration of lysosomes, implicated in membrane repair, was followed using confocal microscopy of red fluorescent protein-tagged LAMP1. Microtubule structure was imaged using mEmerald-tubulin. We found that at high 600-ns PEF dosage, calcium-induced membrane restructuring and microtubule depolymerization coincide with interruption of membrane repair via lysosomal exocytosis.

  9. Calcium influx affects intracellular transport and membrane repair following nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Gary Lee; Roth, Caleb C; Dalzell, Danielle R; Kuipers, Marjorie; Ibey, Bennett L

    2014-05-01

    The cellular response to subtle membrane damage following exposure to nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) is not well understood. Recent work has shown that when cells are exposed to nsPEF, ion permeable nanopores (<2  nm) are created in the plasma membrane in contrast to larger diameter pores (>2  nm) created by longer micro- and millisecond duration pulses. Nanoporation of the plasma membrane by nsPEF has been shown to cause a transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration within milliseconds after exposure. Our research objective is to determine the impact of nsPEF on calcium-dependent structural and repair systems in mammalian cells. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells were exposed in the presence and absence of calcium ions in the outside buffer to either 1 or 20, 600-ns duration electrical pulses at 16.2  kV/cm, and pore size was determined using propidium iodide and calcium green. Membrane organization was observed with morphological changes and increases in FM1-43 fluorescence. Migration of lysosomes, implicated in membrane repair, was followed using confocal microscopy of red fluorescent protein-tagged LAMP1. Microtubule structure was imaged using mEmerald-tubulin. We found that at high 600-ns PEF dosage, calcium-induced membrane restructuring and microtubule depolymerization coincide with interruption of membrane repair via lysosomal exocytosis.

  10. Optimization of Industrial Ozone Generation with Pulsed Power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lopez, Jose; Guerrero, Daniel; Freilich, Alfred; Ramoino, Luca; Seton Hall University Team; Degremont Technologies-Ozonia Team

    2013-09-01

    Ozone (O3) is widely used for applications ranging from various industrial chemical synthesis processes to large-scale water treatment. The consequent surge in world-wide demand has brought about the requirement for ozone generation at the rate of several hundreds grams per kilowatt hour (g/kWh). For many years, ozone has been generated by means of dielectric barrier discharges (DBD), where a high-energy electric field between two electrodes separated by a dielectric and gap containing pure oxygen or air produce various microplasmas. The resultant microplasmas provide sufficient energy to dissociate the oxygen molecules while allowing the proper energetics channels for the formation of ozone. This presentation will review the current power schemes used for large-scale ozone generation and explore the use of high-voltage nanosecond pulses with reduced electric fields. The created microplasmas in a high reduced electric field are expected to be more efficient for ozone generation. This is confirmed with the current results of this work which observed that the efficiency of ozone generation increases by over eight time when the rise time and pulse duration are shortened. Department of Physics, South Orange, NJ, USA.

  11. Design and testing of 45 kV, 50 kHz pulse power supply for dielectric barrier discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, Surender Kumar; Shyam, Anurag

    2016-10-01

    The design, construction, and testing of high frequency, high voltage pulse power supply are reported. The purpose of the power supply is to generate dielectric barrier discharges for industrial applications. The power supply is compact and has the advantage of low cost, over current protection, and convenient control for voltage and frequency selection. The power supply can generate high voltage pulses of up to 45 kV at the repetitive frequency range of 1 kHz-50 kHz with 1.2 kW input power. The output current of the power supply is limited to 500 mA. The pulse rise time and fall time are less than 2 μs and the pulse width is 2 μs. The power supply is short circuit proof and can withstand variable plasma load conditions. The power supply mainly consists of a half bridge series resonant converter to charge an intermediate capacitor, which discharges through a step-up transformer at high frequency to generate high voltage pulses. Semiconductor switches and amorphous cores are used for power modulation at higher frequencies. The power supply is tested with quartz tube dielectric barrier discharge load and worked stably. The design details and the performance of the power supply on no load and dielectric barrier discharge load are presented.

  12. Design and testing of 45 kV, 50 kHz pulse power supply for dielectric barrier discharges.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Surender Kumar; Shyam, Anurag

    2016-10-01

    The design, construction, and testing of high frequency, high voltage pulse power supply are reported. The purpose of the power supply is to generate dielectric barrier discharges for industrial applications. The power supply is compact and has the advantage of low cost, over current protection, and convenient control for voltage and frequency selection. The power supply can generate high voltage pulses of up to 45 kV at the repetitive frequency range of 1 kHz-50 kHz with 1.2 kW input power. The output current of the power supply is limited to 500 mA. The pulse rise time and fall time are less than 2 μs and the pulse width is 2 μs. The power supply is short circuit proof and can withstand variable plasma load conditions. The power supply mainly consists of a half bridge series resonant converter to charge an intermediate capacitor, which discharges through a step-up transformer at high frequency to generate high voltage pulses. Semiconductor switches and amorphous cores are used for power modulation at higher frequencies. The power supply is tested with quartz tube dielectric barrier discharge load and worked stably. The design details and the performance of the power supply on no load and dielectric barrier discharge load are presented.

  13. Recent studies on nanosecond-timescale pressurized gas discharges

    DOE PAGES

    Yatom, S.; Shlapakovski, A.; Beilin, L.; ...

    2016-10-05

    The results of recent experimental and numerical studies of nanosecond high-voltage discharges in pressurized gases are reviewed. The discharges were ignited in a diode filled by different gases within a wide range of pressures by an applied pulsed voltage or by a laser pulse in the gas-filled charged resonant microwave cavity. Fast-framing imaging of light emission, optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray foil spectrometry and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering were used to study temporal and spatial evolution of the discharge plasma density and temperature, energy distribution function of runaway electrons and dynamics of the electric field in the plasma channel. The resultsmore » obtained allow a deeper understanding of discharge dynamical properties in the nanosecond timescale, which is important for various applications of these types of discharges in pressurized gases.« less

  14. Optimization design and laser damage threshold analysis of pulse compression multilayer dielectric gratings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Shuwei; Bai, Liang; Chen, Nana

    2016-08-01

    As one of the key elements of high-power laser systems, the pulse compression multilayer dielectric grating is required for broader band, higher diffraction efficiency and higher damage threshold. In this paper, the multilayer dielectric film and the multilayer dielectric gratings(MDG) were designed by eigen matrix and optimized with the help of generic algorithm and rigorous coupled wave method. The reflectivity was close to 100% and the bandwith were over 250nm, twice compared to the unoptimized film structure. The simulation software of standing wave field distribution within MDG was developed and the electric field of the MDG was calculated. And the key parameters which affected the electric field distribution were also studied.

  15. Nonlinear pulse propagation in one-dimensional metal-dielectric multilayer stacks: ultrawide bandwidth optical limiting.

    PubMed

    Scalora, Michael; Mattiucci, Nadia; D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Larciprete, MariaCristina; Bloemer, Mark J

    2006-01-01

    We numerically study the nonlinear optical properties of metal-dielectric photonic band gap structures in the pulsed regime. We exploit the high chi3 of copper metal to induce nonlinear effects such as broadband optical limiting, self-phase modulation, and unusual spectral narrowing of high intensity pulses. We show that in a single pass through a typical, chirped multilayer stack nonlinear transmittance and peak powers can be reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude compared to low light intensity levels across the entire visible range. Chirping dielectric layer thickness dramatically improves the linear transmittance through the stack and achieves large fields inside the copper to access the large nonlinearity. At the same time, the linear properties of the stack block most of the remaining electromagnetic spectrum.

  16. Energy efficiency in nanoscale synthesis using nanosecond plasmas

    PubMed Central

    Pai, David Z.; (Ken) Ostrikov, Kostya; Kumar, Shailesh; Lacoste, Deanna A.; Levchenko, Igor; Laux, Christophe O.

    2013-01-01

    We report a nanoscale synthesis technique using nanosecond-duration plasma discharges. Voltage pulses 12.5 kV in amplitude and 40 ns in duration were applied repetitively at 30 kHz across molybdenum electrodes in open ambient air, generating a nanosecond spark discharge that synthesized well-defined MoO3 nanoscale architectures (i.e. flakes, dots, walls, porous networks) upon polyamide and copper substrates. No nitrides were formed. The energy cost was as low as 75 eV per atom incorporated into a nanostructure, suggesting a dramatic reduction compared to other techniques using atmospheric pressure plasmas. These findings show that highly efficient synthesis at atmospheric pressure without catalysts or external substrate heating can be achieved in a simple fashion using nanosecond discharges. PMID:23386976

  17. Nanosecond Pulsed Discharge in Water without Bubbles: A Fundamental Study of Initiation, Propagation and Plasma Characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seepersad, Yohan

    The state of plasma is widely known as a gas-phase phenomenon, but plasma in liquids have also received significant attention over the last century. Generating plasma in liquids however is theoretically challenging, and this problem is often overcome via liquid-gas phase transition preceding the actual plasma formation. In this sense, plasma forms in gas bubbles in the liquid. Recent work at the Drexel Plasma Institute has shown that nanosecond pulsed electric fields can initiate plasma in liquids without any initial cavitation phase, at voltages below theoretical direct-ionization thresholds. This unique regime is poorly understood and does not fit into any current descriptive mechanisms. As with all new phenomena, a complete fundamental description is paramount to understanding its usefulness to practical applications. The primary goals of this research were to qualitatively and quantitatively understand the phenomenon of nanosecond pulsed discharge in liquids as a means to characterizing properties that may open up niche application possibilities. Analysis of the plasma was based on experimental results from non-invasive, sub-nanosecond time-resolved optical diagnostics, including direct imaging, transmission imaging (Schlieren and shadow), and optical emission spectroscopy. The physical characteristics of the plasma were studied as a function of variations in the electric field amplitude and polarity, liquid permittivity, and pulse duration. It was found that the plasma size and emission intensity was dependent on the permittivity of the liquid, as well as the voltage polarity, and the structure and dynamics were explained by a 'cold-lightning' mechanism. The under-breakdown dynamics at the liquid-electrode interface were investigated by transmission imaging to provide evidence for a novel mechanism for initiation based on the electrostriction. This mechanism was proposed by collaborators on the project and developed alongside the experimental work in this

  18. Enhanced Monitoring of Nanosecond Electric Pulse-Evoked Membrane Conductance Changes in Whole-Cell Patch Clamp Experiments.

    PubMed

    Yoon, Jihwan; Leblanc, Normand; Zaklit, Josette; Vernier, P Thomas; Chatterjee, Indira; Craviso, Gale L

    2016-10-01

    Patch clamp electrophysiology serves as a powerful method for studying changes in plasma membrane ion conductance induced by externally applied high-intensity nanosecond electric pulses (NEPs). This paper describes an enhanced monitoring technique that minimizes the length of time between pulse exposure and data recording in a patch-clamped excitable cell. Whole-cell membrane currents were continuously recorded up to 11 ms before and resumed 8 ms after delivery of a 5-ns, 6 MV/m pulse by a pair of tungsten rod electrodes to a patched adrenal chromaffin cell maintained at a holding potential of -70 mV. This timing was achieved by two sets of relay switches. One set was used to disconnect the patch pipette electrode from the pre-amplifier and connect it to a battery to maintain membrane potential at -70 mV, and also to disconnect the reference electrode from the amplifier. The other set was used to disconnect the electrodes from the pulse generator until the time of NEP/sham exposure. The sequence and timing of both sets of relays were computer-controlled. Using this procedure, we observed that a 5-ns pulse induced an instantaneous inward current that decayed exponentially over the course of several minutes, that a second pulse induced a similar response, and that the current was carried, at least in part, by Na + . This approach for characterizing ion conductance changes in an excitable cell in response to NEPs will yield information essential for assessing the potential use of NEP stimulation for therapeutic applications.

  19. The crystallization behavior of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films induced by a multi-pulsed nanosecond laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, T.; Liu, F. R.; Li, W. Q.; Guo, J. C.; Wang, Y. H.; Sun, N. X.; Liu, F.

    2017-09-01

    In this paper, accumulated crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 (a-GST) films induced by a multi-pulsed nanosecond (ns) excimer laser was investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and a spectrophotometer. XRD analyses revealed that detectable crystallization was firstly observed in the preferred orientation (200), followed by the orientations (220) and (111) after two pulses. Optical contrast, determined by crystallinity as well as surface roughness, was found to retain a linear relation within the first three pulses. A layered growth mechanism from the top surface to the interior of a-GST films was used to explain the crystallization behavior induced by the multi-pulse ns laser. XPS analyses for bond rearrangement and electronic structure further suggested that the crystallization process was performed by generating new bonds of Ge-Te and Sb-Te after laser irradiations. This paper presents the potential of multi-level devices and tunable thermal emitters based on controllable crystallization of phase-change materials.

  20. Identification of the formation phases of filamentary damage induced by nanosecond laser pulses in bulk fused silica

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shen, Chao; Xu, Zhongjie; Chambonneau, Maxime, E-mail: chambonneau@lp3.univ-mrs.fr, E-mail: jiangtian198611@163.com

    2015-09-14

    Employing a pump-probe polarization-based two-frame shadowgraphy setup, the formation of filamentary damage induced in bulk fused silica by a nanosecond pulse at 1064 nm is investigated with a picosecond probe. Three different phases are exhibited in the damage experiments. The first phase is the formation of a micrometric plasma channel along the laser direction during the beginning of the pulse likely caused by multi-photon ionization. This channel exhibits growth during ∼400 ps, and the newly grown plasma is discrete. Then, during the end of the pulse, this channel evolves into a tadpole-like morphology showing an elliptical head upstream the laser fluxmore » followed by a thin tail. This observed asymmetry is attributed to shielding effects caused by both the plasma and hot modified silica. Once the damage shows its almost final morphology, a last phase consists in the launch of a pressure wave enlarging it after the laser pulse. The physical mechanisms that might be involved in the formation of plasma channels are discussed. The experimental data are first confronted to the moving breakdown model which overestimates the filamentary damage length. Finally, taking into account the temporal shape of the laser pulses, the coupling between Kerr-induced self-focusing and stimulated Brillouin scattering is discussed to interpret the observations.« less

  1. Asymmetrical Transmembrane Potential in Intracellular Organelles of Adrenal Chromatin Cells Exposed to Nanosecond Electric Pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aramendia Zabaleta, Guillermo Jose

    In our research on exploring the effects of 5 ns, high intensity electric pulses on neurosecretory adrenal chromaffin cells, cell modeling has played an important role in understanding and explaining the experimental results. Externally applied nanosecond-duration electric pulses (NEPs) can affect cells by creating nanopores in the cell and intracellular organelle membranes, making these membranes permeable to certain ions. A chromaffin cell contains, at a minimum, 7000 secretory granules plus other organelles such as mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. In all the biological cell models constructed in the literature, there is no evidence of asymmetrical Transmembrane Potential (TMP) distribution in the intracellular membranes. However, these models do not include a realistic number of intracellular organelles. The goal of this research was to construct a more realistic cell model that incorporates a large number of secretory granules in the cytosol. To this end, a beta-version of the real-valued unstructured mesh Finite Element Method (FEM) electro-quasi-static module in Sim4life (SPEAG, Switzerland) has been used to model a chromaffin cell in which 1000 secretory granules are included in the cytosol. The model is, we believe, the most detailed geometrical cell model developed. It includes a spherical chromaffin cell (radius 8 mum), nucleus (radius 2.5 mum) located off-center, 500 granules (radius 200 nm) randomly located within a distance of 2 mum from the surface of the nucleus, and additional 500 granules randomly located in the remaining region of the cytosol. Cell and granule membrane thickness was set to 5 nm and nuclear membrane thickness to 10 nm. Dielectric properties of all constituents of the model were obtained from the literature or measured. Because the FEM Low Frequency solver is a quasi-static solver and not capable of accepting a time-varying pulse as input, all computations have been performed at single frequencies in the range DC to 60

  2. High frequency application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields alters cellular membrane disruption and fluorescent dye uptake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steelman, Zachary A.; Tolstykh, Gleb P.; Beier, Hope T.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2016-03-01

    Cells exposed to nanosecond-pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) exhibit a wide variety of nonspecific effects, including blebbing, swelling, intracellular calcium bursts, apoptotic and necrotic cell death, formation of nanopores, and depletion of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate (PIP2) to induce activation of the inositol trisphosphate/diacylglycerol pathway. While several studies have taken place in which multiple pulses were delivered to cells, the effect of pulse repetition rate (PRR) is not well understood. To better understand the effects of PRR, a laser scanning confocal microscope was used to observe CHO-K1 cells exposed to ten 600ns, 200V pulses at varying repetition rates (5Hz up to 500KHz) in the presence of either FM 1-43, YO-PRO-1, or Propidium Iodide (PI) fluorescent dyes, probes frequently used to indicate nanoporation or permeabilization of the plasma membrane. Dye uptake was monitored for 30 seconds after pulse application at a rate of 1 image/second. In addition, a single long pulse of equivalent energy (200V, 6 μs duration) was applied to test the hypothesis that very fast PRR will approximate the biological effects of a single long pulse of equal energy. Upon examination of the data, we found strong variation in the relationship between PRR and uptake in each of the three dyes. In particular, PI uptake showed little frequency dependence, FM 1-43 showed a strong inverse relationship between frequency and internal cell fluorescence, and YO-PRO-1 exhibited a "threshold" point of around 50 KHz, after which the inverse trend observed in FM 1-43 was seen to reverse itself. Further, a very high PRR of 500 KHz only approximated the biological effects of a single 6 μs pulse in cells stained with YO-PRO-1, suggesting that uptake of different dyes may proceed by different physical mechanisms.

  3. Sub-nanosecond lasers for cosmetics and dermatology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tarasov, Aleksandr A.; Chu, Hong

    2018-02-01

    We report about the development of two new subnanosecond solid-state laser models for application in dermatology and cosmetics. One model uses subnanosecond Nd: YAG microchip laser as a master oscillator and includes Nd: YAG double- and single-pass amplifiers. At 10 Hz this laser produces more than 600 mJ pulse energy with duration 500 +/- 5 ps. Another model (under development) is gain-switched Ti: Sapphire laser with short cavity. This laser produces 200 mJ, 560 ps pulses at 790 nm and uses standard Q-Switched Nd: YAG laser with nanosecond pulse duration as a pumping sourse.

  4. Pulsed dielectric barrier discharge for Bacillus subtilis inactivation in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernández-Arias, A. N.; Rodríguez-Méndez, B. G.; López-Callejas, R.; Valencia-Alvarado, R.; Mercado-Cabrera, A.; Peña-Eguiluz, R.; Barocio, S. R.; Muñoz-Castro, A. E.; de la Piedad Beneitez, A.

    2012-06-01

    The inactivation of Bacillus subtilis bacteria in water has been experimentally studied by means of a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (PDBD) in a coaxial reactor endowed with an alumina dielectric. The plasma source is capable of operating at atmospheric pressure with gas, water or hybrid gas-liquid media at adjustable 25 kV pulses, 30 μs long and at a 500 Hz frequency. In order to evaluate the inactivation efficiency of the system, a set of experiments were designed on the basis of oxygen flow control. The initial data have showed a significant bacterial rate reduction of 103-107 CFU/mL. Additional results proved that applying an oxygen flow for a few seconds during the PDBD treatment inactivates the Bacillus subtilis population with 99.99% effectiveness. As a reference, without gas flow but with the same exposure times, this percentage is reduced to ~90%. The analysis of the relationship between inactivation rate and chemical species in the discharge has been carried out using optical emission spectroscopy as to identifying the main reactive species. Reactive oxygen species such as atomic oxygen and ozone tuned out to be the dominant germicidal species. Some proposed inactivation mechanisms of this technique are discussed.

  5. Nanosecond pulsed power generator for a voltage amplitude up to 300 kV and a repetition rate up to 16 Hz for fine disintegration of quartz

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Krastelev, E. G., E-mail: ekrastelev@yandex.ru; Sedin, A. A.; Tugushev, V. I.

    2015-12-15

    A generator of high-power high-voltage nanosecond pulses is intended for electrical discharge disintegration of mineral quartz and other nonconducting minerals. It includes a 320 kV Marx pulsed voltage generator, a high-voltage glycerin-insulated coaxial peaking capacitor, and an output gas spark switch followed by a load, an electric discharge disintegration chamber. The main parameters of the generator are as follows: a voltage pulse amplitude of up to 300 kV, an output impedance of ≈10 Ω, a discharge current amplitude of up to 25 kA for a half-period of 80–90 ns, and a pulse repetition rate of up to 16 Hz.

  6. Raman linewidth measurements using time-resolved hybrid picosecond/nanosecond rotational CARS.

    PubMed

    Nordström, Emil; Hosseinnia, Ali; Brackmann, Christian; Bood, Joakim; Bengtsson, Per-Erik

    2015-12-15

    We report an innovative approach for time-domain measurements of S-branch Raman linewidths using hybrid picosecond/nanosecond pure-rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (RCARS). The Raman coherences are created by two picosecond excitation pulses and are probed using a narrow-band nanosecond pulse at 532 nm. The generated RCARS signal contains the entire coherence decay in a single pulse. By extracting the decay times of the individual transitions, the J-dependent Raman linewidths can be calculated. Self-broadened S-branch linewidths for nitrogen and oxygen at 293 K and ambient pressure are in good agreement with previous time-domain measurements. Experimental considerations of the approach are discussed along with its merits and limitations. The approach can be extended to a wide range of pressures and temperatures and has potential for simultaneous single-shot thermometry and linewidth determination.

  7. Nanosecond-pulsed Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm with a gold nanotriangle saturable absorber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Xiaohan; Li, Ping; Dun, Yangyang; Song, Teng; Ma, Baomin

    2018-06-01

    Gold nanotriangles (GNTs) were successfully employed as a saturable absorber (SA) to achieve passively Q-switched lasers for the first time. The performance of the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm has been systematically investigated. The corresponding shortest pulsewidth, the threshold pump power and the maximum Q-switched average output power were 275.5 ns, 1.37 W, and 171 mW, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the shortest pulsewidth and the lowest threshold in a passively Q-switched laser at approximately 1.1 µm based on a gold nanoparticle SA (GNPs-SA). Our experimental results proved that the GNTs-SA can be used as a promising saturable absorber for nanosecond-pulsed lasers.

  8. Dynamic features of bubble induced by a nanosecond pulse laser in still and flowing water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Charee, Wisan; Tangwarodomnukun, Viboon

    2018-03-01

    Underwater laser ablation techniques have been developed and employed to synthesis nanoparticles, to texture workpiece surface and to assist the material removal in laser machining process. However, the understanding of laser-material-water interactions, bubble formation and effects of water flow on ablation performance has still been very limited. This paper thus aims at exploring the formation and collapse of bubbles during the laser ablation of silicon in water. The effects of water flow rate on bubble formation and its consequences to the laser disturbance and cut features obtained in silicon were observed by using a high speed camera. A nanosecond pulse laser emitting the laser pulse energy of 0.2-0.5 mJ was employed in the experiment. The results showed that the bubble size was found to increase with the laser pulse energy. The use of high water flow rate can importantly facilitate the ejection of ablated particles from the workpiece surface, hence resulting in less deposition to the work surface and minimizing any disturbance to the laser beam during the ablation in water. Furthermore, a clean micro-groove in silicon wafer can successfully be produced when the process was performed in the high water flow rate condition. The findings of this study could provide an essential guideline for process selection, control and improvement in the laser micro-/submicro-fabrication using the underwater technique.

  9. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields and the cell cycle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahlke, Megan A.

    Exposure to nanosecond pulsed electrical fields (nsPEFs) can cause poration of external and internal cell membranes, DNA damage, and disassociation of cytoskeletal components, all of which are capable of disrupting a cell's ability to replicate. The phase of the cell cycle at the time of exposure is linked to differential sensitivities to nsPEFs across cell lines, as DNA structure, membrane elasticity, and cytoskeletal structure change dramatically during the cell cycle. Additionally, nsPEFs are capable of activating cell cycle checkpoints, which could lead to apoptosis or slow population growth. NsPEFs are emerging as a method for treating tumors via apoptotic induction; therefore, investigating the relevance of nsPEFs and the cell cycle could translate into improved efficacy in tumor treatment. Populations of Jurkat and Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were examined post-exposure (10 ns pulse trains at 150kV/cm) by analysis of DNA content via propidium iodide staining and flow cytometric analysis at various time points (1, 6, and 12h post-exposure) to determine population distribution in cell cycle phases. Additionally, CHO and Jurkat cells were synchronized in G1/S and G2/M phases, pulsed, and analyzed to evaluate the role of cell cycle phase in survival of nsPEFs. CHO populations appeared similar to sham populations post-nsPEFs but exhibited arrest in the G1 phase at 6h after exposure. Jurkat cells exhibited increased cell death after nsPEFs compared to CHO cells but did not exhibit checkpoint arrest at any observed time point. The G1/S phase checkpoint is partially controlled by the action of p53; the lack of an active p53 response in Jurkat cells could contribute to their ability to pass this checkpoint and resist cell cycle arrest. Both cell lines exhibited increased sensitivity to nsPEFs in G2/M phase. Live imaging of CHO cells after nsPEF exposure supports the theory of G1/S phase arrest, as a reduced number of cells undergo mitosis within 24 h when

  10. Investigation on discharge characteristics of a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor driven by AC and ns power sources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qian, WANG; Feng, LIU; Chuanrun, MIAO; Bing, YAN; Zhi, FANG

    2018-03-01

    A coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with double layer dielectric barriers has been developed for exhaust gas treatment and excited either by AC power or nanosecond (ns) pulse to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. The comparative study on the discharge characteristics of the discharge uniformity, power deposition, energy efficiency, and operation temperature between AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBD is carried out in terms of optical and electrical characteristics and operation temperature for optimizing the coaxial DBD reactor performance. The voltages across the air gap and dielectric layer and the conduction and displacement currents are extracted from the applied voltages and measured currents of AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBDs for the calculation of the power depositions and energy efficiencies through an equivalent electrical model. The discharge uniformity and operating temperature of the coaxial DBD reactor are monitored and analyzed by optical images and infrared camera. A heat conduction model is used to calculate the temperature of the internal quartz tube. It is found that the ns pulsed coaxial DBD has a much higher instantaneous power deposition in plasma, a lower total power consumption, and a higher energy efficiency compared with that excited by AC power and is more homogeneous and stable. The temperature of the outside wall of the AC and ns pulse excited coaxial DBD reaches 158 °C and 64.3 °C after 900 s operation, respectively. The experimental results on the comparison of the discharge characteristics of coaxial DBDs excited by different powers are significant for understanding of the mechanism of DBDs, reducing energy loss, and optimizing the performance of coaxial DBD in industrial applications.

  11. Ultra-wideband electronics, design methods, algorithms, and systems for dielectric spectroscopy of isolated B16 tumor cells in liquid medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maxwell, Erick N.

    Quantifying and characterizing isolated tumor cells (ITCs) is of interest in surgical pathology and cytology for its potential to provide data for cancer staging, classification, and treatment. Although the independent prognostic significance of circulating ITCs has not been proven, their presence is gaining clinical relevance as an indicator. However, researchers have not established an optimal method for detecting ITCs. Consequently, this Ph.D. dissertation is concerned with the development and evaluation of dielectric spectroscopy as a low-cost method for cell characterization and quantification. In support of this goal, ultra-wideband (UWB), microwave pulse generator circuits, coaxial transmission line fixtures, permittivity extraction algorithms, and dielectric spectroscopy measurement systems were developed for evaluating the capacity to quantify B16-F10 tumor cells in suspension. First, this research addressed challenges in developing tunable UWB circuits for pulse generation. In time-domain dielectric spectroscopy, a tunable UWB pulse generator facilitates exploration of microscopic dielectric mechanisms, which contribute to dispersion characteristics. Conventional approaches to tunable pulse generator design have resulted in complex circuit topologies and unsymmetrical waveform morphologies. In this research, a new design approach for low-complexity, tunable, sub-nanosecond and UWB pulse generator was developed. This approach was applied to the development of a novel generator that produces symmetrical waveforms (patent pending 60/597,746). Next, this research addressed problems with transmission-reflection (T/R) measurement of cell suspensions. In T/R measurement, coaxial transmission line fixtures have historically required an elaborate sample holder for containing liquids, resulting in high cost and complexity. Furthermore, the algorithms used to extract T/R dielectric properties have suffered from myriad problems including local minima and

  12. Paired Pulse Basis Functions for the Method of Moments EFIE Solution of Electromagnetic Problems Involving Arbitrarily-shaped, Three-dimensional Dielectric Scatterers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    MacKenzie, Anne I.; Rao, Sadasiva M.; Baginski, Michael E.

    2007-01-01

    A pair of basis functions is presented for the surface integral, method of moment solution of scattering by arbitrarily-shaped, three-dimensional dielectric bodies. Equivalent surface currents are represented by orthogonal unit pulse vectors in conjunction with triangular patch modeling. The electric field integral equation is employed with closed geometries for dielectric bodies; the method may also be applied to conductors. Radar cross section results are shown for dielectric bodies having canonical spherical, cylindrical, and cubic shapes. Pulse basis function results are compared to results by other methods.

  13. Application of MEMS-based x-ray optics as tuneable nanosecond choppers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Pice; Walko, Donald A.; Jung, Il Woong; Li, Zhilong; Gao, Ya; Shenoy, Gopal K.; Lopez, Daniel; Wang, Jin

    2017-08-01

    Time-resolved synchrotron x-ray measurements often rely on using a mechanical chopper to isolate a set of x-ray pulses. We have started the development of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based x-ray optics, as an alternate method to manipulate x-ray beams. In the application of x-ray pulse isolation, we recently achieved a pulse-picking time window of half a nanosecond, which is more than 100 times faster than mechanical choppers can achieve. The MEMS device consists of a comb-drive silicon micromirror, designed for efficiently diffracting an x-ray beam during oscillation. The MEMS devices were operated in Bragg geometry and their oscillation was synchronized to x-ray pulses, with a frequency matching subharmonics of the cycling frequency of x-ray pulses. The microscale structure of the silicon mirror in terms of the curvature and the quality of crystallinity ensures a narrow angular spread of the Bragg reflection. With the discussion of factors determining the diffractive time window, this report showed our approaches to narrow down the time window to half a nanosecond. The short diffractive time window will allow us to select single x-ray pulse out of a train of pulses from synchrotron radiation facilities.

  14. Environmental resistance of oxide tags fabricated on 304L stainless steel via nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation

    DOE PAGES

    Lawrence, Samantha Kay; Adams, David P.; Bahr, David F.; ...

    2015-11-14

    Nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation was used to fabricate colored, mechanically robust oxide “tags” on 304L stainless steel. Immersion in simulated seawater solution, salt fog exposure, and anodic polarization in a 3.5% NaCl solution were employed to evaluate the environmental resistance of these oxide tags. Single layer oxides outside a narrow thickness range (~ 100–150 nm) are susceptible to dissolution in chloride containing environments. The 304L substrates immediately beneath the oxides corrode severely—attributed to Cr-depletion in the melt zone during laser processing. For the first time, multilayered oxides were fabricated with pulsed laser irradiation in an effort to expand the protectivemore » thickness range while also increasing the variety of film colors attainable in this range. Layered films grown using a laser scan rate of 475 mm/s are more resistant to both localized and general corrosion than oxides fabricated at 550 mm/s. Furthermore, in the absence of pre-processing to mitigate Cr-depletion, layered films can enhance environmental stability of the system.« less

  15. Pulse Power Capability Of High Energy Density Capacitors Based on a New Dielectric Material

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Winsor, Paul; Scholz, Tim; Hudis, Martin; Slenes, Kirk M.

    1999-01-01

    A new dielectric composite consisting of a polymer coated onto a high-density metallized Kraft has been developed for application in high energy density pulse power capacitors. The polymer coating is custom formulated for high dielectric constant and strength with minimum dielectric losses. The composite can be wound and processed using conventional wound film capacitor manufacturing equipment. This new system has the potential to achieve 2 to 3 J/cu cm whole capacitor energy density at voltage levels above 3.0 kV, and can maintain its mechanical properties to temperatures above 150 C. The technical and manufacturing development of the composite material and fabrication into capacitors are summarized in this paper. Energy discharge testing, including capacitance and charge-discharge efficiency at normal and elevated temperatures, as well as DC life testing were performed on capacitors manufactured using this material. TPL (Albuquerque, NM) has developed the material and Aerovox (New Bedford, MA) has used the material to build and test actual capacitors. The results of the testing will focus on pulse power applications specifically those found in electro-magnetic armor and guns, high power microwave sources and defibrillators.

  16. Nanosecond laser coloration on stainless steel surface.

    PubMed

    Lu, Yan; Shi, Xinying; Huang, Zhongjia; Li, Taohai; Zhang, Meng; Czajkowski, Jakub; Fabritius, Tapio; Huttula, Marko; Cao, Wei

    2017-08-02

    In this work, we present laser coloration on 304 stainless steel using nanosecond laser. Surface modifications are tuned by adjusting laser parameters of scanning speed, repetition rate, and pulse width. A comprehensive study of the physical mechanism leading to the appearance is presented. Microscopic patterns are measured and employed as input to simulate light-matter interferences, while chemical states and crystal structures of composites to figure out intrinsic colors. Quantitative analysis clarifies the final colors and RGB values are the combinations of structural colors and intrinsic colors from the oxidized pigments, with the latter dominating. Therefore, the engineering and scientific insights of nanosecond laser coloration highlight large-scale utilization of the present route for colorful and resistant steels.

  17. Multiphoton imaging reveals that nanosecond pulsed electric fields collapse tumor and normal vascular perfusion in human glioblastoma xenografts.

    PubMed

    Bardet, Sylvia M; Carr, Lynn; Soueid, Malak; Arnaud-Cormos, Delia; Leveque, Philippe; O'Connor, Rodney P

    2016-10-04

    Despite the biomedical advances of the last century, many cancers including glioblastoma are still resistant to existing therapies leaving patients with poor prognoses. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) are a promising technology for the treatment of cancer that have thus far been evaluated in vitro and in superficial malignancies. In this paper, we develop a tumor organoid model of glioblastoma and apply intravital multiphoton microscopy to assess their response to nsPEFs. We demonstrate for the first time that a single 10 ns, high voltage electric pulse (35-45 kV/cm), collapses the perfusion of neovasculature, and also alters the diameter of capillaries and larger vessels in normal tissue. These results contribute to the fundamental understanding of nsPEF effects in complex tissue environments, and confirm the potential of nsPEFs to disrupt the microenvironment of solid tumors such as glioblastoma.

  18. Methods and Apparatus for Pulsed-DC Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator and Circuit

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corke, Thomas C. (Inventor); Gold, Calman (Inventor); Kaszeta, Richard (Inventor)

    2017-01-01

    A plasma generating device intended to induce a flow in a fluid via plasma generation includes a dielectric separating two electrodes and a power supply. The first electrode is exposed to a fluid flow while the second electrode is positioned under the dielectric. The power supply is electrically coupled to a switch and the first and second electrodes. When the power supply is energized by repeated action of the switch, it causes a pulsed DC current between the electrodes which causes the fluid to ionize generating a plasma. The generation of the plasma induces a force with a velocity component in the fluid.

  19. Histopathology of normal skin and melanomas after nanosecond pulsed electric field treatment.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xinhua; James Swanson, R; Kolb, Juergen F; Nuccitelli, Richard; Schoenbach, Karl H

    2009-12-01

    Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) can affect the intracellular structures of cells in vitro. This study shows the direct effects of nsPEFs on tumor growth, tumor volume, and histological characteristics of normal skin and B16-F10 melanoma in SKH-1 mice. A melanoma model was set up by injecting B16-F10 into female SKH-1 mice. After a 100-pulse treatment with an nsPEF (40-kV/cm field strength; 300-ns duration; 30-ns rise time; 2-Hz repetition rate), tumor growth and histology were studied using transillumination, light microscopy with hematoxylin and eosin stain and transmission electron microscopy. Melanin and iron within the melanoma tumor were also detected with specific stains. After nsPEF treatment, tumor development was inhibited with decreased volumes post-nsPEF treatment compared with control tumors (P<0.05). The nsPEF-treated tumor volume was reduced significantly compared with the control group (P<0.01). Hematoxylin and eosin stain and transmission electron microscopy showed morphological changes and nuclear shrinkage in the tumor. Fontana-Masson stain indicates that nsPEF can externalize the melanin. Iron stain suggested nsPEF caused slight hemorrhage in the treated tissue. Histology confirmed that repeated applications of nsPEF disrupted the vascular network. nsPEF treatment can significantly disrupt the vasculature, reduce subcutaneous murine melanoma development, and produce tumor cell contraction and nuclear shrinkage while concurrently, but not permanently, damaging peripheral healthy skin tissue in the treated area, which we attribute to the highly localized electric fields surrounding the needle electrodes.

  20. Two-dimensional nanosecond electric field mapping based on cell electropermeabilization.

    PubMed

    Chen, Meng-Tse; Jiang, Chunqi; Vernier, P Thomas; Wu, Yu-Hsuan; Gundersen, Martin A

    2009-11-11

    Nanosecond, megavolt-per-meter electric pulses cause permeabilization of cells to small molecules, programmed cell death (apoptosis) in tumor cells, and are under evaluation as a treatment for skin cancer. We use nanoelectroporation and fluorescence imaging to construct two-dimensional maps of the electric field associated with delivery of 15 ns, 10 kV pulses to monolayers of the human prostate cancer cell line PC3 from three different electrode configurations: single-needle, five-needle, and flat-cut coaxial cable. Influx of the normally impermeant fluorescent dye YO-PRO-1 serves as a sensitive indicator of membrane permeabilization. The level of fluorescence emission after pulse exposure is proportional to the applied electric field strength. Spatial electric field distributions were compared in a plane normal to the center axis and 15-20 mum from the tip of the center electrode. Measurement results agree well with models for the three electrode arrangements evaluated in this study. This live-cell method for measuring a nanosecond pulsed electric field distribution provides an operationally meaningful calibration of electrode designs for biological applications and permits visualization of the relative sensitivities of different cell types to nanoelectropulse stimulation. PACS Codes: 87.85.M-

  1. Condensation of ablation plumes in the irradiation of metals by high-intensity nanosecond laser pulses at atmospheric pressure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kozadaev, K V

    2016-01-31

    The Anisimov–Luk'yanchuk model is adapted for describing the condensation of vapour-plasma plumes produced in the irradiation of metal targets by high-intensity (10{sup 8} – 10{sup 10} W cm{sup -2}) nanosecond (10 – 100 ns) pulses at atmospheric pressure. The resultant data suggest that the initial stages of the development of metal ablation plumes correspond with a high degree of accuracy to the Zel'dovich–Raizer theory of dynamic condensation; however, at the stage of the ablation plume decay, the liquid-droplet phase is formed primarily by coalescence of 'nuclei'. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

  2. Nanosecond Plasma Enhanced H2/O2/N2 Premixed Flat Flames

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-01

    Simulations are conducted with a one-dimensional, multi-scale, pulsed -discharge model with detailed plasma-combustion kinetics to develop additional insight... model framework. The reduced electric field, E/N, during each pulse varies inversely with number density. A significant portion of the input energy is...dimensional numerical model [4, 12] capable of resolving electric field transients over nanosecond timescales (during each discharge pulse ) and radical

  3. Robust control of dielectric elastomer diaphragm actuator for human pulse signal tracking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, Zhihang; Chen, Zheng; Asmatulu, Ramazan; Chan, Hoyin

    2017-08-01

    Human pulse signal tracking is an emerging technology that is needed in traditional Chinese medicine. However, soft actuation with multi-frequency tracking capability is needed for tracking human pulse signal. Dielectric elastomer (DE) is one type of soft actuating that has great potential in human pulse signal tracking. In this paper, a DE diaphragm actuator was designed and fabricated to track human pulse pressure signal. A physics-based and control-oriented model has been developed to capture the dynamic behavior of DE diaphragm actuator. Using the physical model, an H-infinity robust control was designed for the actuator to reject high-frequency sensing noises and disturbances. The robust control was then implemented in real-time to track a multi-frequency signal, which verified the tracking capability and robustness of the control system. In the human pulse signal tracking test, a human pulse signal was measured at the City University of Hong Kong and then was tracked using DE actuator at Wichita State University in the US. Experimental results have verified that the DE actuator with its robust control is capable of tracking human pulse signal.

  4. Spectral and temporal characteristics of target current and electromagnetic pulse induced by nanosecond laser ablation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krása, J.; De Marco, M.; Cikhardt, J.; Pfeifer, M.; Velyhan, A.; Klír, D.; Řezáč, K.; Limpouch, J.; Krouský, E.; Dostál, J.; Ullschmied, J.; Dudžák, R.

    2017-06-01

    The current balancing the target charging and the emission of transient electromagnetic pulses (EMP) driven by the interaction of a focused 1.315 μm iodine 300 ps PALS laser with metallic and plastic targets were measured with the use of inductive probes. It is experimentally proven that the duration of return target currents and EMPs is much longer than the duration of laser-target interaction. The laser-produced plasma is active after the laser-target interaction. During this phase, the target acts as a virtual cathode and the plasma-target interface expands. A double exponential function is used in order to obtain the temporal characteristics of EMP. The rise time of EMPs fluctuates in the range up to a few tens of nanoseconds. Frequency spectra of EMP and target currents are modified by resonant frequencies of the interaction chamber.

  5. Characterization of Wet Air Plasma Jet Powered by Sinusoidal High Voltage and Nanosecond Pulses for Plasma Agricultural Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takashima, Keisuke; Shimada, Keisuke; Konishi, Hideaki; Kaneko, Toshiro

    2015-09-01

    Not only for the plasma sterilization but also for many of plasma life-science applications, atmospheric pressure plasma devices that allowed us to control its state and reactive species production are deserved to resolve the roles of the chemical species. Influence of the hydroxyl radical and ozone on germination of conidia of a strawberry pathogen is presented. Water addition to air plasma jet significantly improves germination suppression performance, while measured reactive oxygen species (ROS) are reduced. Although the results show a negative correlation between ROS and the germination suppression, this infers the importance of chemical composition generated by plasma. For further control of the plasma product, a plasma jet powered by sinusoidal high voltage and nanosecond pulses is developed and characterized with the voltage-charge Lissajous. Control of breakdown phase and discharge power by pulse-imposed phase is presented. This work is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) Grant Number 15K17480 and Exploratory Research Grant Number 23644199.

  6. Synthesis of Nanosecond Ultrawideband Radiation Pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koshelev, V. I.; Plisko, V. V.; Sevostyanov, E. A.

    2017-12-01

    The synthesis of electromagnetic pulses with an extended spectrum by summing pulses of different duration in free space has been studied. The radiation spectrum has been estimated analytically for a 4-element array of combined antennas excited by bipolar voltage pulses of duration 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 ns. It has been shown experimentally that radiation with a spectral width of more than three octaves can be produced using a 2×2 array of combined antennas excited by bipolar pulses of duration 2 and 3 ns.

  7. Investigation on the influence of electrode geometry on characteristics of coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor driven by an oscillating microsecond pulsed power supply

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miao, Chuanrun; Liu, Feng; Wang, Qian; Cai, Meiling; Fang, Zhi

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, an oscillating microsecond pulsed power supply with rise time of several tens of nanosecond (ns) is used to excite a coaxial DBD with double layer dielectric barriers. The effects of various electrode geometries by changing the size of inner quartz tube (different electrode gaps) on the discharge uniformity, power deposition, energy efficiency, and operation temperature are investigated by electrical, optical, and temperature diagnostics. The electrical parameters of the coaxial DBD are obtained from the measured applied voltage and current using an equivalent electrical model. The energy efficiency and the power deposition in air gap of coaxial DBD with various electrode geometries are also obtained with the obtained electrical parameters, and the heat loss and operation temperature are analyzed by a heat conduction model. It is found that at the same applied voltage, with the increasing of the air gap, the discharge uniformity becomes worse and the discharge power deposition and the energy efficiency decrease. At 2.5 mm air gap and 24 kV applied voltage, the energy efficiency of the coaxial DBD reaches the maximum value of 68.4%, and the power deposition in air gap is 23.6 W and the discharge uniformity is the best at this case. The corresponding operation temperature of the coaxial DBD reaches 64.3 °C after 900 s operation and the temperature of the inner dielectric barrier is 114.4 °C under thermal balance. The experimental results provide important experimental references and are important to optimize the design and the performance of coaxial DBD reactor.

  8. Induction of apoptosis of liver cancer cells by nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs).

    PubMed

    He, Ling; Xiao, Deyou; Feng, Jianguo; Yao, Chenguo; Tang, Liling

    2017-02-01

    The application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) is a novel method to induce the death of cancer cells. NsPEFs could directly function on the cell membrane and activate the apoptosis pathways, then induce apoptosis in various cell lines. However, the nsPEFs-inducing-apoptosis action sites and the exact pathways are not clear now. In this study, nsPEFs were applied to the human liver cancer cells HepG2 with different parameters. By apoptosis assay, morphological observation, detecting the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ m ), intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca 2+ ]i) and the expressions of key apoptosis factors, we demonstrated that nsPEFs could induce the morphology of cell apoptosis, the change in ΔΨ m , [Ca 2+ ]i and the upregulation of some key apoptosis factors, which revealed the responses of liver cancer cells and indicated that cells may undergo apoptosis through the mitochondria-dependent pathway after nsPEFs were applied.

  9. Pre-breakdown cavitation nanopores in the dielectric fluid in the inhomogeneous, pulsed electric fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pekker, Mikhail; Shneider, Mikhail N.

    2015-10-01

    This paper discusses the nanopores emerging and developing in a liquid dielectric under the action of the ponderomotive electrostrictive forces in a nonuniform electric field. It is shown that the gradient of the electric field in the vicinity of the rupture (cavitation nanopore) substantially increases and determines whether the rupture grows or collapses. The cavitation rupture in the liquid (nanopore) tends to stretch along the lines of the original field. The mechanism of the breakdown associated with the generation of secondary ruptures in the vicinity of the poles of the nanopore is proposed. The estimations of the extension time for nanopore in water and oil (polar and nonpolar liquids, respectively) are presented. A new mechanism of nano- and subnanosecond breakdown in the insulating (transformer) oil that can be realized in the vicinity of water microdroplets in nanosecond high-voltage devices is considered.

  10. Regimes of an atmospheric pressure nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge for methane partial oxidation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maqueo, P. D. G.; Maier, M.; Evans, M. D. G.; Coulombe, S.; Bergthorson, J. M.

    2018-04-01

    The operation of a nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge for partial oxidation of CH4 is characterized at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. Two regimes are observed: diffuse and filamentary. The first is a low power regime, characterized by low rotational temperatures around 400 K. The second is much more energetic with rotational temperatures close to 600 K. Both have vibrational temperatures of at least 10 times their rotational temperatures. The average electron number density was determined to be 8.9×1015 and 4.0×1017 cm-3, respectively, showing an increase in the ionization fraction in the more powerful filamentary regime. Results of CH4 conversion to H2, CO, CO2 and C2H6 are presented for the filamentary regime, while the diffuse regime shows no measurable conversion ability. As expected, oxidative mixtures show higher conversion ability than pure CH4. A maximum conversion efficiency of 26.3% and a maximum energy efficiency of 19.7% were reached for the oxidative mixtures.

  11. Influence of the shielding effect on the formation of a micro-texture on the cermet with nanosecond pulsed laser ablation.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Jiandong; Liang, Liang; Jiang, Lelun; Liu, Xin

    2018-04-01

    The degree of laser pulse overlapping in a laser scanning path has a significant impact on the ablation regime in the laser machining of a micro-texture. In this Letter, a nanosecond pulsed laser is used to prepare the micro-scaled groove on WC-8Co cermet under different scanning speeds. It is observed that as the scanning speed increases, the ablated trace morphology in the first scanning pass transits from a succession of intermittent deep dimples to the consecutive overlapped shallow pits. The test result also indicates that ablated trace morphology with respect to the low scanning speed stems from a plume shielding effect. Moreover, the ablation regime considering the shielding effect in micro-groove formation process is clarified. The critical scanning speed that can circumvent the shielding effect is also summarized with respect to different laser powers.

  12. Nanosecond step-scan FT-infrared absorption spectroscopy in photochemistry and catalysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frei, H.

    1998-06-01

    Time-resolved step-scan FT-IR absorption spectroscopy has been expanded to a resolution of 20 nanosecond. Following a description of the experimental set-up, applications in four research areas are presented. In the first project, we discuss a reversible isomerization, namely the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle. Main results are the discovery of 2 processes with distinct kinetics on the nanosecond time scale not detected by previous spectroscopic techniques, and observation of an instantaneous response of the protein environment to chromophore dynamics within the nanosecond laser pulse duration. In a second project, alkane C-H bond activation by a transition metal complex in room temperature solution is investigated and the first measurement of the formation of a C-H insertion product reported (alkyl hydride). Then, a nanosecond study of a pericyclic reaction, the ring-opening of cyclohexadiene, is discussed. The fourth example describes the first observation of a transient molecule in a zeolite matrix, a triplet excited quinone, by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy.

  13. Characterization of the LCLS “nanosecond two-bunch” mode for x-ray speckle visibility spectroscopy experiments

    DOE PAGES

    Sun, Yanwen; Zhu, Diling; Song, Sanghoon; ...

    2017-05-23

    The generation of two X-ray pulses with tunable nanosecond scale time separations has recently been demonstrated at the Linac Coherent Light Source using an accelerator based technique. This approach offers the opportunity to extend X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy techniques to the yet unexplored regime of nanosecond timescales by means of X-ray Speckle Visibility Spectroscopy. As the two pulses originate from two independent Spontaneous Amplified Stimulated Emission processes, the beam properties fluctuate from pulse pair to pulse pair, but as well between the individual pulses within a pair. However, two-pulse XSVS experiments require the intensity of the individual pulses to bemore » either identical in the ideal case, or with a accurately known intensity ratio. We present the design and performances of a non-destructive intensity diagnostic based on measurement of scattering from a transparent target using a high-speed photo-detector. Individual pulses within a pulse pair with time delays as short as 0.7 ns can be resolved. Moreover, using small angle coherent scattering, we characterize the averaged spatial overlap of the focused pulse pairs. Furthermore, the multi-shot average-speckle contrasts from individual pulses and pulse pairs are compared.« less

  14. Plasma Membrane Integrity and Survival of Melanoma Cells After Nanosecond Laser Pulses

    PubMed Central

    Pérez-Gutiérrez, Francisco G.; Camacho-López, Santiago; Evans, Rodger; Guillén, Gabriel; Goldschmidt, Benjamin S.; Viator, John A.

    2010-01-01

    Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) photoacoustic detection systems can aid clinical decision-making in the treatment of cancer. Interaction of melanin within melanoma cells with nanosecond laser pulses generates photoacoustic waves that make its detection possible. This study aims at: (1) determining melanoma cell survival after laser pulses of 6 ns at λ = 355 and 532 nm; (2) comparing the potential enhancement in the photoacoustic signal using λ = 355 nm in contrast with λ = 532 nm; (3) determining the critical laser fluence at which melanin begins to leak out from melanoma cells; and (4) developing a time-resolved imaging (TRI) system to study the intracellular interactions and their effect on the plasma membrane integrity. Monolayers of melanoma cells were grown on tissue culture-treated clusters and irradiated with up to 1.0 J/cm2. Surviving cells were stained with trypan blue and counted using a hemacytometer. The phosphate buffered saline absorbance was measured with a nanodrop spectrophotometer to detect melanin leakage from the melanoma cells post-laser irradiation. Photoacoustic signal magnitude was studied at both wavelengths using piezoelectric sensors. TRI with 6 ns resolution was used to image plasma membrane damage. Cell survival decreased proportionally with increasing laser fluence for both wavelengths, although the decrease is more pronounced for 355 nm radiation than for 532 nm. It was found that melanin leaks from cells equally for both wavelengths. No significant difference in photoacoustic signal was found between wavelengths. TRI showed clear damage to plasma membrane due to laser-induced bubble formation. PMID:20589533

  15. Characterization of a dielectric barrier discharge in contact with liquid and producing a plasma activated water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neretti, G.; Taglioli, M.; Colonna, G.; Borghi, C. A.

    2017-01-01

    In this work a low-temperature plasma source for the generation of plasma activated water (PAW) is developed and characterized. The plasma reactor was operated by means of an atmospheric-pressure air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The plasma generated is in contact with the water surface and is able to chemically activate the liquid medium. Electrodes were supplied by both sinusoidal and nanosecond-pulsed voltage waveforms. Treatment times were varied from 2 to 12 min to increase the energy dose released to the water by the DBD plasma. The physics of the discharge was studied by means of electrical, spectroscopic and imaging diagnostics. The interaction between the plasma and the liquid was investigated as well. Temperature and composition of the treated water were detected. Images of the discharges showed a filamentary behaviour in the sinusoidal case and a more homogeneous behaviour in the nanosecond-pulsed one. The images and the electrical measurements allowed to evaluate an average electron number density of about 4  ×  1019 and 6  ×  1017 m-3 for the sinusoidal and nanosecond-pulsed discharges respectively. Electron temperatures in the range of 2.1÷2.6 eV were measured by using spectroscopic diagnostics. Rotational temperatures in the range of 318-475 K were estimated by fitting synthetic spectra with the measured ones. Water temperature and pH level did not change significantly after the exposure to the DBD plasma. The production of ozone and hydrogen peroxide within the water was enhanced by increasing the plasma treatment time and the energy dose. Numerical simulations of the nanosecond-pulsed discharge were performed by using a self-consistent coupling of state-to-state kinetics of the air mixture with the Boltzmann equation of free electron kinetics. Temporal evolution of the electron energy distribution function shows departure from the Maxwellian distribution especially during the afterglow phase of the discharge. When

  16. Laser-Matter Interaction in Dielectrics: Insight from Picosecond-Pulsed Second-Harmonic Generation in Periodically Poled LiTaO3

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Louchev, Oleg A.; Wada, Satoshi; Panchenko, Vladislav Ya.

    2017-08-01

    We develop a modified two-temperature (2T) model of laser-matter interaction in dielectrics based on experimental insight from picosecond-pulsed high-frequency temperature-controlled second-harmonic (515 nm) generation in periodically poled stoichiometric LiTaO3 crystal and required for computational treatment of short-pulsed nonlinear optics and materials processing applications. We show that the incorporation of an extended set of recombination-kinetics-related energy-release and heat-exchange processes following short-pulsed photoionization by two-photon absorption of the second harmonic allows accurate simulation of the electron-lattice relaxation dynamics and electron-lattice temperature evolution in LiTaO3 crystal in nonlinear laser-frequency conversion. Our experimentally confirmed model and detailed simulation study show that two-photon ionization with the recombination mechanism via ion-electron-lattice interaction followed by a direct transfer of the recombination energy to the lattice is the main laser-matter energy-transfer pathway responsible for the majority of the crystal lattice heating (approximately 90%) continuing for approximately 50 ps after laser-pulse termination and competing with effect of electron-phonon energy transfer from the free electrons. This time delay is due to a recombination bottleneck which hinders faster relaxation to thermal equilibrium in photoionized dielectric crystal. Generally, our study suggests that in dielectrics photoionized by short-pulsed radiation with intensity range used in nonlinear laser-frequency conversion, the electron-lattice relaxation period is defined by the recombination-stage bottleneck of a few tens of picoseconds and not by the time of the electron-phonon energy transfer. This modification of the 2T model can be applied to a broad range of processes involving laser-matter interactions in dielectrics and semiconductors for charge density reaching the range of 1021- 1022 cm-3 .

  17. A nanosecond pulsing system for MeV light ions using a 2 MV Tandetron TM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mous, D. J. W.; Visser, J.; Haitsma, R. G.

    2004-06-01

    A nanosecond pulsing system for H, D and He ions has been developed to satisfy the demands of a new neutron reference field (2 keV-20 MeV) for neutron metrology and dosimetry at the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) [Gressier et al., Proceedings of the Symposium on Radiation Measurements and Applications 2002, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 505 (2003) 370]. The system is capable of delivering ion energies of 0.2-4 MeV at target with currents of 50 and 8 μA in DC and pulsed mode, respectively. The injector consists of a multi-cusp, direct negative extraction ion source operating at a relative low extraction voltage of 25 kV, which keeps system dimensions small and minimises the energy modulation of the buncher as well as the resulting beam energy spread on target. The chopper can operate at repetition frequencies between 62.5 and 2000 kHz and features additional electrostatic deflectors that cancel the energy spread that is inherently imposed on the beam by chopping. This unique and patented feature eliminates one of the main contributions that fundamentally limits the achievable pulse width on target. At the high-energy side of the accelerator an isochronous set of magnets preserve the time correlation of the ions in the bunch. The first magnet (90°) is equipped with NMR stabilisation and slit feedback to give an absolute reference of the particle energy, which is essential for the present application.

  18. Characterization of nanosecond pulse electrical field shock waves using imaging techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mimun, L. Chris; Ibey, Bennett L.; Roth, Caleb C.; Barnes, Ronald A.; Sardar, Dhiraj K.; Beier, Hope T.

    2015-03-01

    Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) cause the formation of small pores, termed nanopores, in the membrane of cells. Current nanoporation models treat nsPEF exposure as a purely electromagnetic phenomenon, but recent publications showing pressure transients, ROS production, temperature gradients, and pH waves suggest the stimulus may be physically and chemically multifactorial causing elicitation of diverse biological conditions and stressors. Our research group's goal is to quantify the breadth and participation of these stressors generated during nsPEF exposure and determine their relative importance to the observed cellular response. In this paper, we used advanced imaging techniques to identify a possible source of nsPEF-induced acoustic shock waves. nsPEFs were delivered in an aqueous media via a pair of 125 μm tungsten electrodes separated by 100 μm, mirroring our previously published cellular exposure experiments. To visualize any pressure transients emanating from the electrodes or surrounding medium, we used the Schlieren imaging technique. Resulting images and measurements confirmed that mechanical pressure waves and electrode-based stresses are formed during nsPEF, resulting in a clearer understanding of the whole exposure dosimetry. This information will be used to better quantify the impact of nsPEF-induced acoustic shock waves on cells, and has provided further evidence of non-electrical-field induced exposures for elicitation of bioieffects.

  19. Enhancement of ultracold molecule formation by local control in the nanosecond regime

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carini, J. L.; Kallush, S.; Kosloff, R.

    2015-02-01

    We describe quantum simulations of ultracold 87Rb 2 molecule formation using photoassociation (PA) with nanosecond-time-scale pulses of frequency chirped light. In particular, we compare the case of a linear chirp to one where the frequency evolution is optimized by local control (LC) of the phase, and find that LC can provide a significant enhancement. The resulting optimal frequency evolution corresponds to a rapid jump from the PA absorption resonance to a downward transition to a bound level of the lowest triplet state. We also consider the case of two frequencies and investigate interference effects. The assumed chirp parameters should bemore » achievable with nanosecond pulse shaping techniques and are predicted to provide a significant enhancement over recent experiments with linear chirps.« less

  20. Modelling of heating and photoexcitation of single-crystal silicon under multipulse irradiation by a nanosecond laser at 1.06 μm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Polyakov, D. S.; Yakovlev, E. B.

    2018-03-01

    We report a theoretical study of heating and photoexcitation of single-crystal silicon by nanosecond laser radiation at a wavelength of 1.06 μm. The proposed physicomathematical model of heating takes into account the complex nonlinear dynamics of the interband absorption coefficient of silicon and the contribution of the radial heat removal to the cooling of silicon between pulses under multipulse irradiation, which allows one to obtain a satisfactory agreement between theoretical predictions of silicon melting thresholds at different nanosecond pulse durations and experimental data (both under single-pulse and multipulse irradiation). It is found that under irradiation by nanosecond pulses at a wavelength of 1.06 μm, the dynamic Burshtein–Moss effect can play an important role in processes of photoexcitation and heating. It is shown that with the regimes typical for laser multipulse microprocessing of silicon (the laser spot diameter is less than 100 μm, and the repetition rate of pulses is about 100 kHz), the radial heat removal cannot be neglected in the analysis of heat accumulation processes.

  1. EUV nanosecond laser ablation of silicon carbide, tungsten and molybdenum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frolov, Oleksandr; Kolacek, Karel; Schmidt, Jiri; Straus, Jaroslav; Choukourov, Andrei; Kasuya, Koichi

    2015-09-01

    In this paper we present results of study interaction of nanosecond EUV laser pulses at wavelength of 46.9 nm with silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten (W) and molybdenum (Mo). As a source of laser radiation was used discharge-plasma driver CAPEX (CAPillary EXperiment) based on high current capillary discharge in argon. The laser beam is focused with a spherical Si/Sc multilayer-coated mirror on samples. Experimental study has been performed with 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 laser pulses ablation of SiC, W and Mo at various fluence values. Firstly, sample surface modification in the nanosecond time scale have been registered by optical microscope. And the secondly, laser beam footprints on the samples have been analyzed by atomic-force microscope (AFM). This work supported by the Czech Science Foundation under Contract GA14-29772S and by the Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic under Contract LG13029.

  2. Ultrafast all-optical control of the magnetization in magnetic dielectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kirilyuk, Andrei; Kimel, Alexey; Hansteen, Fredrik; Rasing, Theo; Pisarev, Roman V.

    2006-08-01

    The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent progress on laser-induced magnetization dynamics in magnetic dielectrics. Due to the slow phonon-magnon interaction in these materials, direct thermal effects of the laser excitation can only be seen on the time scale of almost a nanosecond and thus are clearly distinguished from the ultrafast nonthermal effects. However, laser pulses are shown to indirectly modify the magnetic anisotropy in rare-earth orthoferrites via the crystal field, and to bring about spin reorientation within a few picoseconds. More interesting, however, are the direct nonthermal effects of light on spin systems. We demonstrate coherent optical control of the magnetization in ferrimagnetic garnet films on a femtosecond time scale through a combination of two different ultrafast and nonthermal photomagnetic effects and by employing multiple pump pulses. Linearly polarized laser pulses are shown to create a long-lived modification of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy via optically induced electron transfer between nonequivalent ion sites. In addition, circularly polarized pulses are shown to act as strong transient magnetic field pulses originating from the nonabsorptive inverse Faraday effect. An all-optical scheme of excitation and detection of different antiferromagnetic resonance modes with frequencies of up to 500GHz will be discussed as well. The reported effects open new and exciting possibilities for ultrafast manipulation of spins by light and provide new insight into the physics of magnetism on ultrafast time scales.

  3. Modeling of plasma chemical processes in the artificial ionized layer in the upper atmosphere by the nanosecond corona discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vikharev, A. L.; Gorbachev, A. M.; Ivanov, O. A.; Kolisko, A. L.; Litvak, A. G.

    1993-08-01

    The plasma chemical processes in the corona discharge formed in air by a series of high voltage pulses of nanosecond duration are investigated experimentally. The experimental conditions (reduced electric field, duration and repetition frequency of the pulses, gas pressure in the chamber) modeled the regime of creation of the artificial ionized layer (AIL) in the upper atmosphere by a nanosecond microwave discharge. It was found that in a nanosecond microwave discharge predominantly generation of ozone occurs, and that the production of nitrogen dioxide is not large. The energy expenditures for the generation of one O 3 molecule were about 15 eV. On the basis of the experimental results the prognosis of the efficiency of ozone generation in AIL was made.

  4. Transient suppression of gap junctional intercellular communication after exposure to 100-nanosecond pulsed electric fields.

    PubMed

    Steuer, Anna; Schmidt, Anke; Labohá, Petra; Babica, Pavel; Kolb, Juergen F

    2016-12-01

    Gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) is an important mechanism that is involved and affected in many diseases and injuries. So far, the effect of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) on the communication between cells was not investigated. An in vitro approach is presented with rat liver epithelial WB-F344 cells grown and exposed in a monolayer. In order to observe sub-lethal effects, cells were exposed to pulsed electric fields with a duration of 100ns and amplitudes between 10 and 20kV/cm. GJIC strongly decreased within 15min after treatment but recovered within 24h. Gene expression of Cx43 was significantly decreased and associated with a reduced total amount of Cx43 protein. In addition, MAP kinases p38 and Erk1/2, involved in Cx43 phosphorylation, were activated and Cx43 became hyperphosphorylated. Immunofluorescent staining of Cx43 displayed the disassembly of gap junctions. Further, a reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton was observed whereas tight junction protein ZO-1 was not significantly affected. All effects were field- and time-dependent and most pronounced within 30 to 60min after treatment. A better understanding of a possible manipulation of GJIC by nsPEFs might eventually offer a possibility to develop and improve treatments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Graphene quantum dot synthesis using nanosecond laser pulses and its comparison to Methylene Blue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kholikov, Khomidkhodza; Thomas, Zachary; Seyitliyev, Dovletgeldi; Smith, Skylar

    A biocompatible photodynamic therapy agent that generates a high amount of singlet oxygen with high water dispersibility and excellent photostability is desirable. In this work, a graphene based biomaterial which is a promising alternative to a standard photosensitizers was produced. Methylene blue was used as a reference photosensitizer. Bacteria deactivation by methylene blue was shown to be inhibited inside human blood due to protein binding. Graphene quantum dots (GQD) were synthesized by irradiating benzene and nickel oxide mixture using nanosecond laser pulses. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used for characterization of GQDs. Initial results show graphene quantum dots whose size less than 5 nm were successfully obtained. UV-VIS spectra shows absorption peak around 310 nm. The results of these studies can potentially be used to develop therapies for the eradication of pathogens in open wounds, burns, or skin cancers. New therapies for these conditions are particularly needed when antibiotic-resistant infections are present. NIH KBRIN.

  6. Inactivation of Ricin Toxin by Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields Including Evidences from Cell and Animal Toxicity.

    PubMed

    Wei, Kai; Li, Wei; Gao, Shan; Ji, Bin; Zang, Yating; Su, Bo; Wang, Kaile; Yao, Maosheng; Zhang, Jue; Wang, Jinglin

    2016-01-05

    Ricin is one of the most toxic and easily produced plant protein toxin extracted from the castor oil plant, and it has been classified as a chemical warfare agent. Here, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) at 30 kV/cm (pulse durations: 10 ns, 100 ns, and 300 ns) were applied to inactivating ricin up to 4.2 μg/mL. To investigate the efficacy, cells and mice were tested against the ricin treated by the nsPEFs via direct intraperitoneal injection and inhalation exposure. Results showed that nsPEFs treatments can effectively reduce the toxicity of the ricin. Without the nsPEFs treatment, 100% of mice were killed upon the 4 μg ricin injection on the first day, however 40% of the mice survived the ricin treated by the nsPEFs. Compared to injection, inhalation exposure even with higher ricin dose required longer time to observe mice fatality. Pathological observations revealed damages to heart, lung, kidney, and stomach after the ricin exposure, more pronounced for lung and kidney including severe bleeding. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE) and circular dichroism (CD) analyses revealed that although the primary structure of ricin was not altered, its secondary structures (beta-sheet and beta-turn) underwent transition upon the nsPEFs treatment.

  7. Synthesis of arbitrary pulse waveforms in QCL-seeded ns-pulse CO2 laser for optimization of an LPP EUV source.

    PubMed

    Nowak, Krzysztof M; Kurosawa, Yoshiaki; Suganuma, Takashi; Kawasuji, Yasufumi; Nakarai, Hiroaki; Saito, Takashi; Fujimoto, Junichi; Mizoguchi, Hakaru

    2016-07-01

    One of the unique features of the quantum-cascade-laser-seeded, nanosecond-pulse CO2 laser, invented for the purpose of generation of extreme UV by laser-produced-plasma, is a robust synthesis of arbitrary pulse waveforms. In the present Letter we report on experimental results that are, to our best knowledge, the first demonstration of such functionality obtainable from nanosecond-pulse CO2 laser technology. An online pulse duration adjustment within 10-40 ns was demonstrated, and a few exemplary pulse waveforms were synthesized, such as "tophat," "tailspike," and "leadspike" shapes. Such output characteristics may be useful to optimize the performance of LPP EUV source.

  8. A method for the formation of Pt metal nanoparticle arrays using nanosecond pulsed laser dewetting

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Owusu-Ansah, Ebenezer; Horwood, Corie A.; Birss, Viola I.

    2015-05-18

    Nanosecond pulsed laser dewetting of Pt thin films, deposited on a dimpled Ta (DT) surface, has been studied here in order to form ordered Pt nanoparticle (NP) arrays. The DT substrate was fabricated via a simple electrochemical anodization process in a highly concentrated H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and HF solution. Pt thin films (3–5 nm) were sputter coated on DT and then dewetted under vacuum to generate NPs using a 355 nm laser radiation (6–9 ns, 10 Hz). The threshold laser fluence to fully dewet a 3.5 nm thick Pt film was determined to be 300 mJ/cm{sup 2}. Our experiments have shown that shorter irradiation timesmore » (≤60 s) produce smaller nanoparticles with more uniform sizes, while longer times (>60 s) give large nanoparticles with wider size distributions. The optimum laser irradiation time of 1 s (10 pulses) has led to the formation of highly ordered Pt nanoparticle arrays with an average nanoparticle size of 26 ± 3 nm with no substrate deformation. At the optimum condition of 1 s and 500 mJ/cm{sup 2}, as many as 85% of the dewetted NPs were found neatly in the well-defined dimples. This work has demonstrated that pulsed laser dewetting of Pt thin films on a pre-patterned dimpled substrate is an efficient and powerful technique to produce highly ordered Pt nanoparticle arrays. This method can thus be used to produce arrays of other high-melting-point metal nanoparticles for a range of applications, including electrocatalysis, functionalized nanomaterials, and analytical purposes.« less

  9. Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) enhance cytotoxicity of cisplatin to hepatocellular cells by microdomain disruption on plasma membrane.

    PubMed

    Yin, Shengyong; Chen, Xinhua; Xie, Haiyang; Zhou, Lin; Guo, Danjing; Xu, Yuning; Wu, Liming; Zheng, Shusen

    2016-08-15

    Previous studies showed nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) can ablate solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but its effect on cell membrane is not fully understood. We hypothesized nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on outer-cellular membrane with direct mechanical force and as a result the plasma membrane permeability increases to facilitate the small molecule intake. Three HCC cells were pulsed one pulse per minute, an interval longer than nanopore resealing time. The cationized ferritin was used to mark up the electronegative microdomains, propidium iodide (PI) for membrane permeabilization, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for the negative cell surface charge and cisplatin for inner-cellular cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that the ferritin marked-microdomain and negative cell surface charge were disrupted by nsPEF caused-mechanical force. The cell uptake of propidium and cytotoxicity of DNA-targeted cisplatin increased with a dose effect. Cisplatin gains its maximum inner-cellular cytotoxicity when combining with nsPEF stimulation. We conclude that nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on the outer cellular membrane directly and increase the membrane permeabilization for PI and cisplatin. The microdomain disruption and membrane infiltration changes are caused by the mechanical force from the changes of negative cell surface charge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Pump-probe imaging of nanosecond laser-induced bubbles in agar gel.

    PubMed

    Evans, R; Camacho-López, S; Pérez-Gutiérrez, F G; Aguilar, G

    2008-05-12

    In this paper we show results of Nd:YAG laser-induced bubbles formed in a one millimeter thick agar gel slab. The nine nanosecond duration pulse with a wave length of 532 nm was tightly focused inside the bulk of the gel sample. We present for the first time a pump-probe laser-flash shadowgraphy system that uses two electronically delayed Nd:YAG lasers to image the the bubble formation and shock wave fronts with nanosecond temporal resolution and up to nine seconds of temporal range. The shock waves generated by the laser are shown to begin at an earlier times within the laser pulse as the pulse energy increases. The shock wave velocity is used to infer a shocked to unshocked material pressure difference of up to 500 MPa. The bubble created settles to a quasi-stable size that has a linear relation to the maximum bubble size. The energy stored in the bubble is shown to increase nonlinearly with applied laser energy, and corresponds in form to the energy transmission in the agar gel. We show that the interaction is highly nonlinear, and most likely is plasma-mediated.

  11. Ultrafast high-power microwave window breakdown: nonlinear and postpulse effects.

    PubMed

    Chang, C; Verboncoeur, J; Guo, M N; Zhu, M; Song, W; Li, S; Chen, C H; Bai, X C; Xie, J L

    2014-12-01

    The time- and space-dependent optical emissions of nanosecond high-power microwave discharges near a dielectric-air interface have been observed by nanosecond-response four-framing intensified-charged-coupled device cameras. The experimental observations indicate that plasma developed more intensely at the dielectric-air interface than at the free-space region with a higher electric-field amplitude. A thin layer of intense light emission above the dielectric was observed after the microwave pulse. The mechanisms of the breakdown phenomena are analyzed by a three-dimensional electromagnetic-field modeling and a two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation, revealing the formation of a space-charge microwave sheath near the dielectric surface, accelerated by the normal components of the microwave field, significantly enhancing the local-field amplitude and hence ionization near the dielectric surface. The nonlinear positive feedback of ionization, higher electron mobility, and ultraviolet-driven photoemission due to the elevated electron temperature are crucial for achieving the ultrafast discharge. Following the high-power microwave pulse, the sheath sustains a glow discharge until the sheath collapses.

  12. Kinetics and Chemistry of Ionization Wave Discharges Propagating Over Dielectric Surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrishchev, Vitaly

    Experimental studies of near-surface ionization wave electric discharges generated by high peak voltage (20-30 kV), nanosecond duration pulses (full width at half-maximum 50-100 ns) of positive and negative polarity and propagating over dielectric surfaces have been performed. A novel way to sustain diffuse, reproducible, ns pulse surface plasmas at a liquid-vapor interface is demonstrated at buffer gas pressures ranging from 10 to 200 Torr. Generation of surface ionization waves well reproduced shot-to-shot and sustaining diffuse near-surface plasmas is one of the principal advantages of the use of ns pulse discharge waveforms. This makes possible characterization of these plasmas in repetitively pulsed experiments. Numerous applications of these plasmas include low-temperature plasma assisted combustion, plasma fuel reforming, plasma flow control, plasma materials processing, agriculture, biology, and medicine. The objectives of the present work are (i) to demonstrate that surface ionization wave discharge plasmas sustained at a liquid-vapor interface can be used as an experimental platform for studies of near-surface plasma chemical reaction kinetics, at the conditions when the interface acts as a high-yield source of radical species, and (ii) to obtain quantitative insight into dynamics, kinetics and chemistry of surface ionization wave discharges and provide experimental data for validation of kinetic models, to assess their predictive capability. Generation of the initial radical pool may trigger a number of plasma chemical processes leading to formation of a variety of stable product species, depending on the initial composition of the liquid and the buffer gas flow. One of the products formed and detected during surface plasma / liquid water interaction is hydroxyl radical, which is closely relevant to applications of plasmas for biology and medicine. The present work includes detailed studies of surface ionization wave discharges sustained in different

  13. Electrical pulse generator

    DOEpatents

    Norris, Neil J.

    1979-01-01

    A technique for generating high-voltage, wide dynamic range, shaped electrical pulses in the nanosecond range. Two transmission lines are coupled together by resistive elements distributed along the length of the lines. The conductance of each coupling resistive element as a function of its position along the line is selected to produce the desired pulse shape in the output line when an easily produced pulse, such as a step function pulse, is applied to the input line.

  14. Analysis of Picosecond Pulsed Laser Melted Graphite

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Steinbeck, J.; Braunstein, G.; Speck, J.; Dresselhaus, M. S.; Huang, C. Y.; Malvezzi, A. M.; Bloembergen, N.

    1986-12-01

    A Raman microprobe and high resolution TEM have been used to analyze the resolidified region of liquid carbon generated by picosecond pulse laser radiation. From the relative intensities of the zone center Raman-allowed mode for graphite at 1582 cm{sup -1} and the disorder-induced mode at 1360 cm{sup -1}, the average graphite crystallite size in the resolidified region is determined as a function of position. By comparison with Rutherford backscattering spectra and Raman spectra from nanosecond pulsed laser melting experiments, the disorder depth for picosecond pulsed laser melted graphite is determined as a function of irradiating energy density. Comparisons of TEM micrographs for nanosecond and picosecond pulsed laser melting experiments show that the structure of the laser disordered regions in graphite are similar and exhibit similar behavior with increasing laser pulse fluence.

  15. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields induce poly(ADP-ribose) formation and non-apoptotic cell death in HeLa S3 cells

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Morotomi-Yano, Keiko; Akiyama, Hidenori; Yano, Ken-ichi, E-mail: yanoken@kumamoto-u.ac.jp

    Highlights: •Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) is a new and unique means for life sciences. •Apoptosis was induced by nsPEF exposure in Jurkat cells. •No signs of apoptosis were detected in HeLa S3 cells exposed to nsPEFs. •Formation of poly(ADP-ribose) was induced in nsPEF-exposed HeLa S3 cells. •Two distinct modes of cell death were activated by nsPEF in a cell-dependent manner. -- Abstract: Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have recently gained attention as effective cancer therapy owing to their potency for cell death induction. Previous studies have shown that apoptosis is a predominant mode of nsPEF-induced cell death in severalmore » cell lines, such as Jurkat cells. In this study, we analyzed molecular mechanisms for cell death induced by nsPEFs. When nsPEFs were applied to Jurkat cells, apoptosis was readily induced. Next, we used HeLa S3 cells and analyzed apoptotic events. Contrary to our expectation, nsPEF-exposed HeLa S3 cells exhibited no molecular signs of apoptosis execution. Instead, nsPEFs induced the formation of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR), a hallmark of necrosis. PAR formation occurred concurrently with a decrease in cell viability, supporting implications of nsPEF-induced PAR formation for cell death. Necrotic PAR formation is known to be catalyzed by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), and PARP-1 in apoptotic cells is inactivated by caspase-mediated proteolysis. Consistently, we observed intact and cleaved forms of PARP-1 in nsPEF-exposed and UV-irradiated cells, respectively. Taken together, nsPEFs induce two distinct modes of cell death in a cell type-specific manner, and HeLa S3 cells show PAR-associated non-apoptotic cell death in response to nsPEFs.« less

  16. Characterization of Pressure Transients Generated by Nanosecond Electrical Pulse (nsEP) Exposure

    PubMed Central

    Roth, Caleb C.; Barnes Jr., Ronald A.; Ibey, Bennett L.; Beier, Hope T.; Christopher Mimun, L.; Maswadi, Saher M.; Shadaram, Mehdi; Glickman, Randolph D.

    2015-01-01

    The mechanism(s) responsible for the breakdown (nanoporation) of cell plasma membranes after nanosecond pulse (nsEP) exposure remains poorly understood. Current theories focus exclusively on the electrical field, citing electrostriction, water dipole alignment and/or electrodeformation as the primary mechanisms for pore formation. However, the delivery of a high-voltage nsEP to cells by tungsten electrodes creates a multitude of biophysical phenomena, including electrohydraulic cavitation, electrochemical interactions, thermoelastic expansion, and others. To date, very limited research has investigated non-electric phenomena occurring during nsEP exposures and their potential effect on cell nanoporation. Of primary interest is the production of acoustic shock waves during nsEP exposure, as it is known that acoustic shock waves can cause membrane poration (sonoporation). Based on these observations, our group characterized the acoustic pressure transients generated by nsEP and determined if such transients played any role in nanoporation. In this paper, we show that nsEP exposures, equivalent to those used in cellular studies, are capable of generating high-frequency (2.5 MHz), high-intensity (>13 kPa) pressure transients. Using confocal microscopy to measure cell uptake of YO-PRO®-1 (indicator of nanoporation of the plasma membrane) and changing the electrode geometry, we determined that acoustic waves alone are not responsible for poration of the membrane. PMID:26450165

  17. Characterization of Pressure Transients Generated by Nanosecond Electrical Pulse (nsEP) Exposure.

    PubMed

    Roth, Caleb C; Barnes, Ronald A; Ibey, Bennett L; Beier, Hope T; Christopher Mimun, L; Maswadi, Saher M; Shadaram, Mehdi; Glickman, Randolph D

    2015-10-09

    The mechanism(s) responsible for the breakdown (nanoporation) of cell plasma membranes after nanosecond pulse (nsEP) exposure remains poorly understood. Current theories focus exclusively on the electrical field, citing electrostriction, water dipole alignment and/or electrodeformation as the primary mechanisms for pore formation. However, the delivery of a high-voltage nsEP to cells by tungsten electrodes creates a multitude of biophysical phenomena, including electrohydraulic cavitation, electrochemical interactions, thermoelastic expansion, and others. To date, very limited research has investigated non-electric phenomena occurring during nsEP exposures and their potential effect on cell nanoporation. Of primary interest is the production of acoustic shock waves during nsEP exposure, as it is known that acoustic shock waves can cause membrane poration (sonoporation). Based on these observations, our group characterized the acoustic pressure transients generated by nsEP and determined if such transients played any role in nanoporation. In this paper, we show that nsEP exposures, equivalent to those used in cellular studies, are capable of generating high-frequency (2.5 MHz), high-intensity (>13 kPa) pressure transients. Using confocal microscopy to measure cell uptake of YO-PRO®-1 (indicator of nanoporation of the plasma membrane) and changing the electrode geometry, we determined that acoustic waves alone are not responsible for poration of the membrane.

  18. Modeling of nanosecond pulsed laser processing of polymers in air and water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marla, Deepak; Zhang, Yang; Hattel, Jesper H.; Spangenberg, Jon

    2018-07-01

    Laser ablation of polymers in water is known to generate distinct surface characteristics as compared to that in air. In order to understand the role of ambient media during laser ablation of polymers, this paper aims to develop a physics-based model of the process considering the effect of ambient media. Therefore, in the present work, models are developed for laser ablation of polymers in air and water considering all the relevant physical phenomena such as laser–polymer interaction, plasma generation, plasma expansion and plasma shielding. The current work focuses on near-infrared laser radiation (λ = 1064 nm) of nanosecond pulse duration. The laser–polymer interaction at such wavelengths is purely photo-thermal in nature and the laser–plasma interaction is assumed to occur mainly by inverse-bremsstrahlung photon absorption. The computational model is based on the finite volume method using the Crank‑Nicholson scheme. The model predicts that underwater laser ablation results in subsurface heating effect in the polymer and confinement of the laser generated plasma, which makes it different from laser ablation in air. Plasma expansion velocities are much lower in water than in air. This results in an enhanced plasma shielding effect in the case of water. The predicted results of ablation depth versus fluence from the model are in qualitative agreement with those observed in experiments.

  19. Overview of the application of nanosecond electron beams for radiochemical sterilization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kotov, Y.A.; Sokovnin, S.Y.

    Problems concerning the use of nanosecond electron beams for sterilization of hermetically packed objects, and powdered or granulated materials, are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of this type of radiation sterilization are demonstrated. The results are of interest to researchers who study the mechanism by which nanosecond electron beams act on microorganisms. It is worth considering repetitively pulsed electron accelerators as highly promising systems for use in commercial sterilization applications. Technologies and setups for the radiochemical sterilization (RCS) of medical glassware for blood products, beer bottles, bone meal used in food industry, medical instruments (surgical needles, systems for human kidneys),more » and of the external packaging for some biological materials used in ophthalmology are discussed. Such applications have been developed based on the use of the URT-0.2 and URT-0.5 repetitively nanosecond-pulsed electron accelerators. The observed sterilization of areas shaded from line-of-site irradiation and of the bottoms of, for example, glassware cannot be attributed to radiation sterilization alone, since the glass thickness was much larger than the range of electrons. Therefore, it can be conjectured that the demonstrated sterilization effect is due both to the electron beam and to the ozone and chemical radicals produced by the beam. Thus, one may introduce the notion of RCS.« less

  20. Thermal and microstructural effects of nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiation on tooth root surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilder-Smith, Petra B. B.; Arrastia-Jitosho, Anna-Marie A.; Grill, G.; Liaw, Lih-Huei L.; Berns, Michael W.

    1995-05-01

    Plaque, calculus and altered cementum removal by scaling and root planing is a fundamental procedure in periodontal treatment. However, the residual smear layer contains cytotoxic and inflammatory mediators which adversely affect healing. Chemical smear layer removal is also problematic. In previous investigations effective smear layer removal was achieved using long pulsed irradiation at 1.06 (mu) . However, laser irradiation was not adequate as an alternative to scaling and root planing procedures and concurrent temperature rises exceeded thermal thresholds for pulpal and periodontal safety. It was the aim of this study to determine whether nanosecond pulsed irradiation at 1.06 (mu) could be used as an alternative or an adjunct to scaling and root planing. Sixty freshly extracted teeth were divided as follows: 5 control, 5 root planed only, 25 irradiated only, 25 root planed and irradiated. Irradiation was performed at fluences of 0.5 - 2.7 J/cm2, total energy densities of 12 - 300 J/cm2, frequencies of 2 - 10 Hz using the Medlite (Continuum) laser. Irradiation-induced thermal events were recorded using a thermocouple within the root canal and a thermal camera to monitor surface temperatures. SEM demonstrated effective smear layer removal with minimal microstructural effects. Surface temperatures increased minimally (< 3 C) at all parameters, intrapulpal temperature rises remained below 4 C at 2 and 5 Hz, F < 0.5 J/cm2. Without prior scaling and root planing, laser effects did not provide an adequately clean root surface.

  1. Comparison of high-voltage ac and pulsed operation of a surface dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williamson, James M.; Trump, Darryl D.; Bletzinger, Peter; Ganguly, Biswa N.

    2006-10-01

    A surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric pressure air was excited either by low frequency (0.3-2 kHz) high-voltage ac or by short, high-voltage pulses at repetition rates from 50 to 600 pulses s-1. The short-pulse excited discharge was more diffuse and did not have the pronounced bright multiple cathode spots observed in the ac excited discharge. The discharge voltage, current and average power deposited into the discharge were calculated for both types of excitation. As a measure of plasma-chemical efficiency, the ozone number density was measured by UV absorption as a function of average deposited power. The density of ozone produced by ac excitation did not increase so rapidly as that produced by short-pulse excitation as a function of average power, with a maximum measured density of ~3 × 1015 cm-3 at 25 W. The maximum ozone production achieved by short-pulse excitation was ~8.5 × 1015 cm-3 at 20 W, which was four times greater than that achieved by ac excitation at the same power level.

  2. An apoptosis targeted stimulus with nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) in E4 squamous cell carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Ren, Wei; Beebe, Stephen J

    2011-04-01

    Stimuli directed towards activation of apoptosis mechanisms are an attractive approach to eliminate evasion of apoptosis, a ubiquitous cancer hallmark. In these in vitro studies, kinetics and electric field thresholds for several apoptosis characteristics are defined in E4 squamous carcinoma cells (SCC) exposed to ten 300 ns pulses with increasing electric fields. Cell death was >95% at the highest electric field and coincident with phosphatidylserine externalization, caspase and calpain activation in the presence and absence of cytochrome c release, decreases in Bid and mitochondria membrane potential (Δψm) without apparent changes reactive oxygen species levels or in Bcl2 and Bclxl levels. Bid cleavage was caspase-dependent (55-60%) and calcium-dependent (40-45%). Intracellular calcium as an intrinsic mechanism and extracellular calcium as an extrinsic mechanism were responsible for about 30 and 70% of calcium dependence for Bid cleavage, respectively. The results reveal electric field-mediated cell death induction and progression, activating pro-apoptotic-like mechanisms and affecting plasma membrane and intracellular functions, primarily through extrinsic-like pathways with smaller contributions from intrinsic-like pathways. Nanosecond second pulsed electric fields trigger heterogeneous cell death mechanisms in E4 SCC populations to delete them, with caspase-associated cell death as a predominant, but not an unaccompanied event.

  3. Disassembly of actin structures by nanosecond pulsed electric field is a downstream effect of cell swelling.

    PubMed

    Pakhomov, Andrei G; Xiao, Shu; Pakhomova, Olga N; Semenov, Iurii; Kuipers, Marjorie A; Ibey, Bennett L

    2014-12-01

    Disruption of the actin cytoskeleton structures was reported as one of the characteristic effects of nanosecond-duration pulsed electric field (nsPEF) in both mammalian and plant cells. We utilized CHO cells that expressed the monomeric fluorescent protein (mApple) tagged to actin to test if nsPEF modifies the cell actin directly or as a consequence of cell membrane permeabilization. A train of four 600-ns pulses at 19.2 kV/cm (2 Hz) caused immediate cell membrane poration manifested by YO-PRO-1 dye uptake, gradual cell rounding and swelling. Concurrently, bright actin features were replaced by dimmer and uniform fluorescence of diffuse actin. To block the nsPEF-induced swelling, the bath buffer was isoosmotically supplemented with an electropore-impermeable solute (sucrose). A similar addition of a smaller, electropore-permeable solute (adonitol) served as a control. We demonstrated that sucrose efficiently blocked disassembly of actin features by nsPEF, whereas adonitol did not. Sucrose also attenuated bleaching of mApple-tagged actin in nsPEF-treated cells (as integrated over the cell volume), although did not fully prevent it. We conclude that disintegration of the actin cytoskeleton was a result of cell swelling, which, in turn, was caused by cell permeabilization by nsPEF and transmembrane diffusion of solutes which led to the osmotic imbalance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Inactivation of Ricin Toxin by Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields Including Evidences from Cell and Animal Toxicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Kai; Li, Wei; Gao, Shan; Ji, Bin; Zang, Yating; Su, Bo; Wang, Kaile; Yao, Maosheng; Zhang, Jue; Wang, Jinglin

    2016-01-01

    Ricin is one of the most toxic and easily produced plant protein toxin extracted from the castor oil plant, and it has been classified as a chemical warfare agent. Here, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) at 30 kV/cm (pulse durations: 10 ns, 100 ns, and 300 ns) were applied to inactivating ricin up to 4.2 μg/mL. To investigate the efficacy, cells and mice were tested against the ricin treated by the nsPEFs via direct intraperitoneal injection and inhalation exposure. Results showed that nsPEFs treatments can effectively reduce the toxicity of the ricin. Without the nsPEFs treatment, 100% of mice were killed upon the 4 μg ricin injection on the first day, however 40% of the mice survived the ricin treated by the nsPEFs. Compared to injection, inhalation exposure even with higher ricin dose required longer time to observe mice fatality. Pathological observations revealed damages to heart, lung, kidney, and stomach after the ricin exposure, more pronounced for lung and kidney including severe bleeding. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE) and circular dichroism (CD) analyses revealed that although the primary structure of ricin was not altered, its secondary structures (beta-sheet and beta-turn) underwent transition upon the nsPEFs treatment.

  5. Inactivation of Ricin Toxin by Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields Including Evidences from Cell and Animal Toxicity

    PubMed Central

    Wei, Kai; Li, Wei; Gao, Shan; Ji, Bin; Zang, Yating; Su, Bo; Wang, Kaile; Yao, Maosheng; Zhang, Jue; Wang, Jinglin

    2016-01-01

    Ricin is one of the most toxic and easily produced plant protein toxin extracted from the castor oil plant, and it has been classified as a chemical warfare agent. Here, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) at 30 kV/cm (pulse durations: 10 ns, 100 ns, and 300 ns) were applied to inactivating ricin up to 4.2 μg/mL. To investigate the efficacy, cells and mice were tested against the ricin treated by the nsPEFs via direct intraperitoneal injection and inhalation exposure. Results showed that nsPEFs treatments can effectively reduce the toxicity of the ricin. Without the nsPEFs treatment, 100% of mice were killed upon the 4 μg ricin injection on the first day, however 40% of the mice survived the ricin treated by the nsPEFs. Compared to injection, inhalation exposure even with higher ricin dose required longer time to observe mice fatality. Pathological observations revealed damages to heart, lung, kidney, and stomach after the ricin exposure, more pronounced for lung and kidney including severe bleeding. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE) and circular dichroism (CD) analyses revealed that although the primary structure of ricin was not altered, its secondary structures (beta-sheet and beta-turn) underwent transition upon the nsPEFs treatment. PMID:26728251

  6. Several hundred kHz repetition rate nanosecond pulses amplification in Er-Yb co-doped fiber amplifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Weiqiang; Yin, Ke; Zhang, Bin; Xue, Guanghui; Hou, Jing

    2014-07-01

    We have experimentally investigated several hundred kHz repetition rate 1,550-nm nanosecond pulses amplification in Er-Yb co-doped fiber amplifier (EYDFA). The experimental setup has three stage fiber amplifiers. At the output of the second stage EYDFA, Yb3+ ions induced amplified spontaneous emission (Yb-ASE) is not observed owing to the low pump power. In the third stage EYDFA, a simultaneously seeded 1,064-nm continuous-wave laser is used to control Yb-ASE. Without any additional 1,064-nm signal, significantly backward Yb-ASE which caused loss-induced heat accumulation at the input port of the pump combiner can be observed. The monitored temperature at the input port of the pump combiner rapidly grows from 30 to 80 °C when the pump power is turned from 20 to 32 W. When a 196-mW forward 1,064-nm laser is added, the monitored backward Yb-ASE power is significantly declined, and the monitored temperature is kept below 35 °C. But, the additional signal caused a large power fraction at 1,064 nm in the output laser. In our experiment at the maximum pump power of 48.5 W, the total output power is 20 W with ~6.4-W 1,550-nm pulsed laser and ~13-W 1,064-nm continuous-wave laser.

  7. Reconstruction of pulse noisy images via stochastic resonance

    PubMed Central

    Han, Jing; Liu, Hongjun; Sun, Qibing; Huang, Nan

    2015-01-01

    We investigate a practical technology for reconstructing nanosecond pulse noisy images via stochastic resonance, which is based on the modulation instability. A theoretical model of this method for optical pulse signal is built to effectively recover the pulse image. The nanosecond noise-hidden images grow at the expense of noise during the stochastic resonance process in a photorefractive medium. The properties of output images are mainly determined by the input signal-to-noise intensity ratio, the applied voltage across the medium, and the correlation length of noise background. A high cross-correlation gain is obtained by optimizing these parameters. This provides a potential method for detecting low-level or hidden pulse images in various imaging applications. PMID:26067911

  8. Numerical investigation of the effect of driving voltage pulse shapes on the characteristics of low-pressure argon dielectric barrier discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eslami, E., E-mail: eeslami@iust.ac.ir; Barjasteh, A.; Morshedian, N.

    2015-06-15

    In this work, we numerically compare the effect of a sinusoidal, triangular, and rectangular pulsed voltage profile on the calculated particle production, electric current, and gas voltage in a dielectric barrier discharge. The total argon gas pressure of 400 Pa, the distance between dielectrics of 5 mm, the dielectric thickness of 0.7 mm, and the temperature of T = 300 K were considered as input parameters. The different driving voltage pulse shapes (triangular, rectangular, and sinusoidal) are considered as applied voltage with a frequency of 7 kHz and an amplitude of 700 V peak to peak. It is shown thatmore » applying a rectangular voltage, as compared with a sinusoidal or triangle voltage, increases the current peak, while the peak width is decreased. Higher current density is related to high production of charged particles, which leads to the generation of some highly active species, such as Ar* (4s level), and Ar** (4p level) in the gap.« less

  9. Coherent combining of pulsed fiber amplifiers in the nonlinear chirp regime with intra-pulse phase control.

    PubMed

    Palese, Stephen; Cheung, Eric; Goodno, Gregory; Shih, Chun-Ching; Di Teodoro, Fabio; McComb, Timothy; Weber, Mark

    2012-03-26

    Two high pulse contrast (> 95 dB) polarization maintaining all-fiber amplifier chains were coherently combined to generate 0.42 mJ, 1 ns 25 kHz pulses with 79% efficiency despite 38 radians of intra-pulse phase distortion. A recursive intra-pulse phase compensation method was utilized to correct for the large nonlinear chirp providing a path for improved coherent waveform control of nanosecond pulse trains.

  10. Dynamic effects and applications for nanosecond pulsed electric fields in cells and tissues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beebe, Stephen J.; Blackmore, Peter F.; Hall, Emily; White, Jody A.; Willis, Lauren K.; Fauntleroy, Laura; Kolb, Juergen F.; Schoenbach, Karl H.

    2005-04-01

    Nanosecond, high intensity pulsed electric fields [nsPEFs] that are below the plasma membrane [PM] charging time constant have decreasing effects on the PM and increasing effects on intracellular structures and functions as the pulse duration decreases. When human cell suspensions were exposed to nsPEFs where the electric fields were sufficiently intense [10-300ns, <=300 kV/cm.], apoptosis signaling pathways could be activated in several cell models. Multiple apoptosis markers were observed in Jurkat, HL-60, 3T3L1-preadipocytes, and isolated rat adipocytes including decreased cell size and number, caspase activation, DNA fragmentation, and/or cytochrome c release into the cytoplasm. Phosphatidylserine externalization was observed as a biological response to nsPEFs in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and p53-wildtype and -null human colon carcinoma cells. B10.2 mouse fibrosarcoma tumors that were exposed to nsPEFs ex vivo and in vivo exhibited DNA fragmentation, elevated caspase activity, and reduced size and weight compared to contralateral sham-treated control tumors. When nsPEF conditions were below thresholds for apoptosis and classical PM electroporation, non-apoptotic responses were observed similar to those initiated through PM purinergic receptors in HL-60 cells and thrombin in human platelets. These included Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores [endoplasmic reticulum] and subsequently through store-operated Ca2+ channels in the PM. In addition, platelet activation measured as aggregation responses were observed in human platelets. Finally, when nsPEF conditions followed classical electroporation-mediated transfection, the expression intensity and number of GFP-expressing cells were enhanced above cells exposed to electroporation conditions alone. These studies demonstrate that application of nsPEFs to cells or tissues can modulate cell-signaling mechanisms with possible applications as a new basic science tool, cancer treatment, wound healing, and gene therapy.

  11. Visible and near infrared resonance plasmonic enhanced nanosecond laser optoporation of cancer cells

    PubMed Central

    St-Louis Lalonde, Bastien; Boulais, Étienne; Lebrun, Jean-Jacques; Meunier, Michel

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we report a light driven, non-invasive cell membrane perforation technique based on the localized field amplification by a nanosecond pulsed laser near gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The optoporation phenomena is investigated with pulses generated by a Nd:YAG laser for two wavelengths that are either in the visible (532 nm) or near infrared (NIR) (1064 nm). Here, the main objective is to compare on and off localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) to introduce foreign material through the cell membrane using nanosecond laser pulses. The membrane permeability of human melanoma cells (MW278) has been successfully increased as shown by the intake of a fluorescent dye upon irradiation. The viability of this laser driven perforation method is evaluated by propidium iodide exclusion as well as MTT assay. Our results show that up to 25% of the cells are perforated with 532 nm pulses at 50 mJ/cm2 and around 30% of the cells are perforated with 1064 nm pulses at 1 J/cm2. With 532 nm pulses, the viability 2 h after treatment is 64% but it increases to 88% 72 h later. On the other hand, the irradiation with 1064 nm pulses leads to an improved 2 h viability of 81% and reaches 98% after 72 h. Scanning electron microscopy images show that the 5 pulses delivered during treatment induce changes in the AuNPs size distribution when irradiated by a 532 nm beam, while this distribution is barely affected when 1064 nm is used. PMID:23577284

  12. Transitions between corona, glow, and spark regimes of nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges in air at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pai, David Z.; Lacoste, Deanna A.; Laux, Christophe O.

    2010-05-01

    In atmospheric pressure air preheated from 300 to 1000 K, the nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) method has been used to generate corona, glow, and spark discharges. Experiments have been performed to determine the parameter space (applied voltage, pulse repetition frequency, ambient gas temperature, and interelectrode gap distance) of each discharge regime. In particular, the experimental conditions necessary for the glow regime of NRP discharges have been determined, with the notable result that there exists a minimum and maximum gap distance for its existence at a given ambient gas temperature. The minimum gap distance increases with decreasing gas temperature, whereas the maximum does not vary appreciably. To explain the experimental results, an analytical model is developed to explain the corona-to-glow (C-G) and glow-to-spark (G-S) transitions. The C-G transition is analyzed in terms of the avalanche-to-streamer transition and the breakdown field during the conduction phase following the establishment of a conducting channel across the discharge gap. The G-S transition is determined by the thermal ionization instability, and we show analytically that this transition occurs at a certain reduced electric field for the NRP discharges studied here. This model shows that the electrode geometry plays an important role in the existence of the NRP glow regime at a given gas temperature. We derive a criterion for the existence of the NRP glow regime as a function of the ambient gas temperature, pulse repetition frequency, electrode radius of curvature, and interelectrode gap distance.

  13. Orthogonally superimposed laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) upon nanosecond laser pulse irradiation of SiO2/Si layered systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nürnberger, Philipp; Reinhardt, Hendrik M.; Kim, Hee-Cheol; Pfeifer, Erik; Kroll, Moritz; Müller, Sandra; Yang, Fang; Hampp, Norbert A.

    2017-12-01

    In this study we examined the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on silicon (Si) in dependence on the thickness of silicon-dioxide (SiO2) on top. LIPSS were generated in air by linearly polarized ≈8 nanosecond laser pulses with a fluence per pulse of 2.41 J cm-2 at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. For SiO2 layers <80 nm, LIPSS oriented perpendicular to the laser polarization were obtained, but for SiO2 layers >120 nm parallel oriented LIPSS were observed. In both cases the periodicity was about 80-90% of the applied laser wavelength (λ0 = 532 nm). By variation of the SiO2 layer thickness in the range between 80 nm-120 nm, the dominating orientation changes. Even orthogonally superimposed LIPSS with a periodicity of only 60% of the laser wavelength were found. We show that the transition of the orientation direction of LIPSS is related to the penetration depth of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) fields into the oxide layer.

  14. Time-resolved absolute measurements by electro-optic effect of giant electromagnetic pulses due to laser-plasma interaction in nanosecond regime

    PubMed Central

    Consoli, F.; De Angelis, R.; Duvillaret, L.; Andreoli, P. L.; Cipriani, M.; Cristofari, G.; Di Giorgio, G.; Ingenito, F.; Verona, C.

    2016-01-01

    We describe the first electro-optical absolute measurements of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) generated by laser-plasma interaction in nanosecond regime. Laser intensities are inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) relevant and wavelength is 1054 nm. These are the first direct EMP amplitude measurements with the detector rather close and in direct view of the plasma. A maximum field of 261 kV/m was measured, two orders of magnitude higher than previous measurements by conductive probes on nanosecond regime lasers with much higher energy. The analysis of measurements and of particle-in-cell simulations indicates that signals match the emission of charged particles detected in the same experiment, and suggests that anisotropic particle emission from target, X-ray photoionization and charge implantation on surfaces directly exposed to plasma, could be important EMP contributions. Significant information achieved on EMP features and sources is crucial for future plants of laser-plasma acceleration and inertial-confinement-fusion and for the use as effective plasma diagnostics. It also opens to remarkable applications of laser-plasma interaction as intense source of RF-microwaves for studies on materials and devices, EMP-radiation-hardening and electromagnetic compatibility. The demonstrated extreme effectivity of electric-fields detection in laser-plasma context by electro-optic effect, leads to great potential for characterization of laser-plasma interaction and generated Terahertz radiation. PMID:27301704

  15. Time-resolved absolute measurements by electro-optic effect of giant electromagnetic pulses due to laser-plasma interaction in nanosecond regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Consoli, F.; de Angelis, R.; Duvillaret, L.; Andreoli, P. L.; Cipriani, M.; Cristofari, G.; di Giorgio, G.; Ingenito, F.; Verona, C.

    2016-06-01

    We describe the first electro-optical absolute measurements of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) generated by laser-plasma interaction in nanosecond regime. Laser intensities are inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) relevant and wavelength is 1054 nm. These are the first direct EMP amplitude measurements with the detector rather close and in direct view of the plasma. A maximum field of 261 kV/m was measured, two orders of magnitude higher than previous measurements by conductive probes on nanosecond regime lasers with much higher energy. The analysis of measurements and of particle-in-cell simulations indicates that signals match the emission of charged particles detected in the same experiment, and suggests that anisotropic particle emission from target, X-ray photoionization and charge implantation on surfaces directly exposed to plasma, could be important EMP contributions. Significant information achieved on EMP features and sources is crucial for future plants of laser-plasma acceleration and inertial-confinement-fusion and for the use as effective plasma diagnostics. It also opens to remarkable applications of laser-plasma interaction as intense source of RF-microwaves for studies on materials and devices, EMP-radiation-hardening and electromagnetic compatibility. The demonstrated extreme effectivity of electric-fields detection in laser-plasma context by electro-optic effect, leads to great potential for characterization of laser-plasma interaction and generated Terahertz radiation.

  16. Optical and microwave dielectric properties of pulsed laser deposited Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3} thin film

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Joseph, Andrews; Goud, J. Pundareekam; Raju, K. C. James

    2016-05-23

    Optical properties of pulsed laser deposited (PLD) sodium bismuth titanate thin films (NBT), are investigated at wavelengths of 190-2500 nm. Microwave dielectric properties were investigated using the Split Post Dielectric Resonator (SPDR) technique. At 10 GHz, the NBT films have a dielectric constant of 205 and loss tangent of 0.0373 at room temperature. The optical spectra analysis reveals that NBT thin films have an optical band gap E{sub g}=3.55 eV and it has a dielectric constant of 3.37 at 1000 nm with dielectric loss of 0.299. Hence, NBT is a promising candidate for photonic device applications.

  17. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields have differential effects on cells in the S-phase.

    PubMed

    Hall, Emily H; Schoenbach, Karl H; Beebe, Stephen J

    2007-03-01

    Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are a type of nonthermal, nonionizing radiation that exhibit intense electric fields with high power, but low energy. NsPEFs extend conventional electroporation (EP) to affect intracellular structures and functions and depending on the intensity, can induce lethal and nonlethal cell signaling. In this study, HCT116 human colon carcinoma cells were synchronized to the S-phase or remained unsynchronized, exposed to electric fields of 60 kV/cm with either 60-ns or 300-ns durations, and analyzed for apoptosis and proliferative markers. Several nsPEF structural and functional targets were identified. Unlike unsynchronized cells, S-phase cells under limiting conditions exhibited greater membrane integrity and caspase activation and maintained cytoskeletal structure. Regardless of synchronization, cells exposed to nsPEFs under these conditions primarily survived, but exhibited some turnover and delayed proliferation in cell populations, as well as reversible increases in phosphatidylserine externalization, membrane integrity, and nuclei size. These results show that nsPEFs can act as a nonligand agonist to modulate plasma membrane (PM) and intracellular structures and functions, as well as differentially affect cells in the S-phase, but without effect on cell survival. Furthermore, nsPEF effects on the nucleus and cytoskeleton may provide synergistic therapeutic actions with other agents, such as ionizing radiation or chemotherapeutics that affect these same structures.

  18. Observations of ETI under dielectric-overcoated aluminum pulsed to hundreds of Tesla

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hutchinson, Trevor; Bauer, Bruno; Fuelling, Stephan; Yates, Kevin; Awe, Thomas; Yelton, Graham

    2016-10-01

    MagLIF is an inertial confinement concept that takes advantage of relaxed fusion criteria due to premagnetized and preheated fuel. The drive surface is particularly susceptible to highly azimuthally correlated magneto-Rayleigh Taylor (MRT) instabilities, which section the liner wall and compromise confinement. This degree of azimuthal correlation is not due to residual lathe machining or surface roughness and a growing body of evidence suggest electrothermal instabilities (ETI) seed the MRT instability and allow for levels of azimuthal correlation that have been observed experimentally. Implementation of dielectric coatings on Sandia's Z accelerator has reduced MRT amplitudes by at least a factor of ten, which simulations suggest is due to mass tamping of the ETI. However, neither ETI nor its theorized suppression via an applied dielectric overcoat has been experimentally observed on a thick wire. We will report on experimental observations of ETI on the surface of 500 um radius aluminum rods with a 70 um parylene-N overcoat pulsed with 1 MA in 100 ns. This work was funded in part by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program (Project No. 178661).

  19. Darkening effect on AZ31B magnesium alloy surface induced by nanosecond pulse Nd:YAG laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guan, Y. C.; Zhou, W.; Zheng, H. Y.; Li, Z. L.

    2013-09-01

    Permanent darkening effect was achieved on surface of AZ31B Mg alloy irradiated with nanosecond pulse Nd:YAG laser, and special attention was made to examine how surface structure as well as oxidation affect the darkening effect. Experiments were carried out to characterize morphological evolution and chemical composition of the irradiated areas by optical reflection spectrometer, Talysurf surface profiler, SEM, EDS, and XPS. The darkening effect was found to be occurred at the surface under high laser energy. Optical spectra showed that the induced darkening surface was uniform over the spectral range from 200 nm to 1100 nm. SEM and surface profiler showed that surface morphology of darkening areas consisted of large number of micron scale cauliflower-like clusters and protruding particles. EDS and XPS showed that compared to non-irradiated area, oxygen content at the darkening areas increased significantly. It was proposed a mechanism that involved trapping of light in the surface morphology and chemistry variation of irradiated areas to explain the laser-induced darkening effect on AZ31B Mg alloy.

  20. First-principles modeling of laser-matter interaction and plasma dynamics in nanosecond pulsed laser shock processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Zhongyang; Nian, Qiong; Doumanidis, Charalabos C.; Liao, Yiliang

    2018-02-01

    Nanosecond pulsed laser shock processing (LSP) techniques, including laser shock peening, laser peen forming, and laser shock imprinting, have been employed for widespread industrial applications. In these processes, the main beneficial characteristic is the laser-induced shockwave with a high pressure (in the order of GPa), which leads to the plastic deformation with an ultrahigh strain rate (105-106/s) on the surface of target materials. Although LSP processes have been extensively studied by experiments, few efforts have been put on elucidating underlying process mechanisms through developing a physics-based process model. In particular, development of a first-principles model is critical for process optimization and novel process design. This work aims at introducing such a theoretical model for a fundamental understanding of process mechanisms in LSP. Emphasis is placed on the laser-matter interaction and plasma dynamics. This model is found to offer capabilities in predicting key parameters including electron and ion temperatures, plasma state variables (temperature, density, and pressure), and the propagation of the laser shockwave. The modeling results were validated by experimental data.

  1. The simplest equivalent circuit of a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge and the determination of the gas gap charge transfer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pipa, A. V.; Koskulics, J.; Brandenburg, R.; Hoder, T.

    2012-11-01

    The concept of the simplest equivalent circuit for a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is critically reviewed. It is shown that the approach is consistent with experimental data measured either in large-scale sinusoidal-voltage driven or miniature pulse-voltage driven DBDs. An expression for the charge transferred through the gas gap q(t) is obtained with an accurate account for the displacement current and the values of DBD reactor capacitance. This enables (i) the significant reduction of experimental error in the determination of q(t) in pulsed DBDs, (ii) the verification of the classical electrical theory of ozonizers about maximal transferred charge qmax, and (iii) the development of a graphical method for the determination of qmax from charge-voltage characteristics (Q-V plots, often referred as Lissajous figures) measured under pulsed excitation. The method of graphical presentation of qmax is demonstrated with an example of a Q-V plot measured under pulsed excitation. The relations between the discharge current jR(t), the transferred charge q(t), and the measurable parameters are presented in new forms, which enable the qualitative interpretation of the measured current and voltage waveforms without the knowledge about the value of the dielectric barrier capacitance Cd. Whereas for quantitative evaluation of electrical measurements, the accurate estimation of the Cd is important.

  2. Dynamics of the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) upon femtosecond two-color double-pulse irradiation of metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Höhm, S.; Herzlieb, M.; Rosenfeld, A.; Krüger, J.; Bonse, J.

    2016-06-01

    In order to address the dynamics and physical mechanisms of LIPSS formation for three different classes of materials (metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics), two-color double-fs-pulse experiments were performed on Titanium, Silicon and Fused Silica. For that purpose a Mach-Zehnder interferometer generated polarization controlled (parallel or cross-polarized) double-pulse sequences at 400 nm and 800 nm wavelength, with inter-pulse delays up to a few picoseconds. Multiple of these two-color double-pulse sequences were collinearly focused by a spherical mirror to the sample surfaces. The fluence of each individual pulse (400 nm and 800 nm) was always kept below its respective ablation threshold and only the joint action of both pulses lead to the formation of LIPSS. Their resulting characteristics (periods, areas) were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The periods along with the LIPSS orientation allow a clear identification of the pulse which dominates the energy coupling to the material. For strong absorbing materials (Silicon, Titanium), a wavelength-dependent plasmonic mechanism can explain the delay-dependence of the LIPSS. In contrast, for dielectrics (Fused Silica) the first pulse always dominates the energy deposition and LIPSS orientation, supporting a non-plasmonic formation scenario. For all materials, these two-color experiments confirm the importance of the ultrafast energy deposition stage for LIPSS formation.

  3. Industrial applications of high-average power high-peak power nanosecond pulse duration Nd:YAG lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harrison, Paul M.; Ellwi, Samir

    2009-02-01

    Within the vast range of laser materials processing applications, every type of successful commercial laser has been driven by a major industrial process. For high average power, high peak power, nanosecond pulse duration Nd:YAG DPSS lasers, the enabling process is high speed surface engineering. This includes applications such as thin film patterning and selective coating removal in markets such as the flat panel displays (FPD), solar and automotive industries. Applications such as these tend to require working spots that have uniform intensity distribution using specific shapes and dimensions, so a range of innovative beam delivery systems have been developed that convert the gaussian beam shape produced by the laser into a range of rectangular and/or shaped spots, as required by demands of each project. In this paper the authors will discuss the key parameters of this type of laser and examine why they are important for high speed surface engineering projects, and how they affect the underlying laser-material interaction and the removal mechanism. Several case studies will be considered in the FPD and solar markets, exploring the close link between the application, the key laser characteristics and the beam delivery system that link these together.

  4. Influence of surface emission processes on a fast-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in air at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pechereau, François; Bonaventura, Zdeněk; Bourdon, Anne

    2016-08-01

    This paper presents simulations of an atmospheric pressure air discharge in a point-to-plane geometry with a dielectric layer parallel to the cathode plane. Experimentally, a discharge reignition in the air gap below the dielectrics has been observed. With a 2D fluid model, it is shown that due to the fast rise of the high voltage applied and the sharp point used, a first positive spherical discharge forms around the point. Then this discharge propagates axially and impacts the dielectrics. As the first discharge starts spreading on the upper dielectric surface, in the second air gap with a low preionization density of {{10}4}~\\text{c}{{\\text{m}}-3} , the 2D fluid model predicts a rapid reignition of a positive discharge. As in experiments, the discharge reignition is much slower, a discussion on physical processes to be considered in the model to increase the reignition delay is presented. The limit case with no initial seed charges in the second air gap has been studied. First, we have calculated the time to release an electron from the cathode surface by thermionic and field emission processes for a work function φ \\in ≤ft[3,4\\right] eV and an amplification factor β \\in ≤ft[100,220\\right] . Then a 3D Monte Carlo model has been used to follow the dynamics of formation of an avalanche starting from a single electron emitted at the cathode. Due to the high electric field in the second air gap, we have shown that in a few nanoseconds, a Gaussian cloud of seed charges is formed at a small distance from the cathode plane. This Gaussian cloud has been used as the initial condition of the 2D fluid model in the second air gap. In this case, the propagation of a double headed discharge in the second air gap has been observed and the reignition delay is in rather good agreement with experiments.

  5. Efficient neutron production from sub-nanosecond laser pulse accelerating deuterons on target front side

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klir, D.; Krasa, J.; Cikhardt, J.; Dudzak, R.; Krousky, E.; Pfeifer, M.; Rezac, K.; Sila, O.; Skala, J.; Ullschmied, J.; Velyhan, A.

    2015-09-01

    Neutron-producing experiments have been carried out on the Prague Asterix Laser System. At the fundamental wavelength of 1.315 μm, the laser pulse of a 600 J energy and 300 ps duration was focused on a thick deuterated-polyethylene target. Neutron yields reached (4.1 ± 0.8) × 108 at the peak intensity of ≈3 × 1016 W/cm2. A more detailed analysis of neutron time-of-flight signals showed that a significant fraction of neutron yields was produced both by the 2H(d,n)3He reaction and by other neutron-producing reactions. Neutron energies together with delayed neutron and gamma emission showed that MeV deuterons escaped from a laser-produced plasma and interacted ≈50 ns later with a borosilicate blast-shield glass. In order to increase DD neutron yields and to characterize deuteron beams via nuclear reactions, a secondary deuterated polyethylene target was used in a pitcher-catcher scheme at the target front side. In this experimental arrangement, the neutron yield reached (2.0 ± 0.5) × 109 with the peak neutron fluence of (2.5 ± 0.5) × 108 n/sr. From the neutron yield, it was calculated that the secondary target was bombarded by 2 × 1014 deuterons in the 0.5-2.0 MeV energy range. The neutron yield of 2 × 109 at the laser energy of 600 J implied the production efficiency of 3 × 106 n/J. A very important result is that the efficient neutron production was achieved with the low contrast, sub-nanosecond laser pulse of the intensity of 1016 W/cm2. The latter parameters can be achieved in a rep-rate mode more easily than ultra-high intensities and contrasts.

  6. Catastrophic nanosecond laser induced damage in the bulk of potassium titanyl phosphate crystals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wagner, Frank R., E-mail: frank.wagner@fresnel.fr; Natoli, Jean-Yves; Akhouayri, Hassan

    2014-06-28

    Due to its high effective nonlinearity and the possibility to produce periodically poled crystals, potassium titanyl phosphate (KTiOPO{sub 4}, KTP) is still one of the economically important nonlinear optical materials. In this overview article, we present a large study on catastrophic nanosecond laser induced damage in this material and the very similar RbTiOPO{sub 4} (RTP). Several different systematic studies are included: multiple pulse laser damage, multi-wavelength laser damage in KTP, damage resistance anisotropy, and variations of the laser damage thresholds for RTP crystals of different qualities. All measurements were carried out in comparable experimental conditions using a 1064 nm Q-switched lasermore » and some were repeated at 532 nm. After summarizing the experimental results, we detail the proposed model for laser damage in this material and discuss the experimental results in this context. According to the model, nanosecond laser damage is caused by light-induced generation of transient laser-damage precursors which subsequently provide free electrons that are heated by the same nanosecond pulse. We also present a stimulated Raman scattering measurement and confront slightly different models to the experimental data. Finally, the physical nature of the transient damage precursors is discussed and similarities and differences to laser damage in other crystals are pointed out.« less

  7. Ozone production process in pulsed positive dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ono, Ryo; Oda, Tetsuji

    2007-01-01

    The ozone production process in a pulsed positive dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is studied by measuring the spatial distribution of ozone density using a two-dimensional laser absorption method. DBD occurs in a 6 mm point-to-plane gap with a 1 mm-thick glass plate placed on the plane electrode. First, the propagation of DBD is observed using a short-gated ICCD camera. It is shown that DBD develops in three phases: primary streamer, secondary streamer and surface discharge phases. Next, the spatial distribution of ozone density is measured. It is shown that ozone is mostly produced in the secondary streamer and surface discharge, while only a small amount of ozone is produced in the primary streamer. The rate coefficient of the ozone production reaction, O + O2 + M → O3 + M, is estimated to be 2.5 × 10-34 cm6 s-1.

  8. Magnetic-field generation by pulsed irradiation of aluminium in air

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chumakov, A N; Chekan, P V

    Magnetic-field generation arising under irradiation of an aluminium barrier in the air by a series of laser pulses is studied experimentally. It is found that the magnetic field increases nonlinearly from 10{sup -5} to 10{sup -3} T with increasing laser power density from 10{sup 7} to 10{sup 9} W cm{sup -2}, the degree of nonlinearity being different for single nanosecond pulses, for a series of such pulses with a repetition rate of 100 – 150 μs and for a combination of a millisecond laser pulse and a series of nanosecond laser pulses. The dependences of the magnetic-field induction on themore » power density of laser radiation in the above-mentioned regimes are established. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)« less

  9. Lead extraction by selective operation of a nanosecond-pulsed 355nm laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herzog, Amir; Bogdan, Stefan; Glikson, Michael; Ishaaya, Amiel A.; Love, Charles

    2016-03-01

    Lead extraction (LE) is necessary for patients who are suffering from a related infection, or in opening venous occlusions that prevent the insertion of additional lead. In severe cases of fibrous encapsulation of the lead within a vein, laser-based cardiac LE has become one of the foremost methods of removal. In cases where the laser radiation (typically at 308 nm wavelength) interacts with the vein wall rather than with the fibrotic lesion, severe injury and subsequent bleeding may occur. Selective tissue ablation was previously demonstrated by a laser operating in the UV regime; however, it requires the use of sensitizers (e.g.: tetracycline). In this study, we present a preliminary examination of efficacy and safety aspects in the use of a nanosecond-pulsed solid-state laser radiation, at 355 nm wavelength, guided in a catheter consisting of optical fibers, in LE. Specifically, we demonstrate a correlation between the tissue elasticity and the catheter advancement rate, in ex-vivo experiments. Our results indicate a selectivity property for specific parameters of the laser radiation and catheter design. The selectivity is attributed to differences in the mechanical properties of the fibrotic tissue and a normal vein wall, leading to a different photomechanical response of the tissue's extracellular matrix. Furthermore, we performed successful in-vivo animal trials, providing a basic proof of concept for using the suggested scheme in LE. Selective operation using a 355 nm laser may reduce the risk of blood vessel perforation as well as the incidence of major adverse events.

  10. Extremely High Peak Power Obtained at 29 GHZ Microwave Pulse Generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rostov, V. V.; Gunin, A. V.; Romanchenko, I. V.; Pedos, M. S.; Rukin, S. N.; Sharypov, K. A.; Shunailov, S. A.; Ul'maskulov, M. R.; Yalandin, M. I.

    2017-12-01

    The paper presents research results on enhancing the peak power of microwave pulses with sub- and nanosecond length using a backward-wave oscillator (BWO) operating at 29 GHz frequency and possessing a reproducible phase structure. Experiments are conducted in two modes on a high-current electron accelerator with the required electron beam power. In the first (superradiation) mode, which utilizes the elongated slow-wave structure, the BWO peak power is 3 GW at 180 ns pulse duration (full width at halfmaximum, FWHM). In the second (quasi-stationary) mode, the BWO peak power reaches 600 MW at 2 ns pulse duration (FWHM). The phase spread from pulse to pulse can vary from units to several tens of percent in a nanosecond pulse mode. The experiments do not show any influence of microwave breakdown on the BWO power generation and radiation pulse duration.

  11. Effect of voltage waveform on dielectric barrier discharge ozone production efficiency

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mericam-Bourdet, N.; Kirkpatrick, M. J.; Tuvache, F.; Frochot, D.; Odic, E.

    2012-03-01

    Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are commonly used for gas effluent cleanup and ozone generation. For these applications, the energy efficiency of the discharge is a major concern. This paper reports on investigations carried out on the voltage shape applied to DBD reactor electrodes, aiming to evaluate a possible energy efficiency improvement for ozone production. Two DBD reactor geometries were used: pin-to-pin and cylinder-to-cylinder, both driven either by a bi-directional power supply (voltage rise rate 1 kV/μs) or by a pulsed power supply (voltage rise rate 1 kV/ns). Ozone formed in dry air was measured at the reactor outlet. Special attention was paid to discharge input power evaluation using different methods including instantaneous current-voltage product and transferred charge-applied voltage figures. The charge transferred by the discharges was also correlated to the ozone production. It is shown that, in the case of the DBD reactors under investigation, the applied voltage shape has no influence on the ozone production efficiency. For the considered voltage rise rate, the charge deposit on the dielectric inserted inside the discharge gap is the important factor (as opposed to the voltage shape) governing the efficiency of the discharge - it does this by tailoring the duration of the current peak into the tens of nanosecond range.

  12. Effects of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) on the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans: an in vitro study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Jinsong; Dang, Jie; Wang, Kaile; Zhang, Jue; Fang, Jing

    2018-05-01

    Candida albicans is the leading human fungal pathogen that causes many life-threatening infections. Notably, the current clinical trial data indicate that Candida species shows the emerging resistance to anti-fungal drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal effects of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) as a novel drug-free strategy in vitro. In this study, we investigated the inactivation and permeabilization effects of C. albicans under different nsPEFs exposure conditions (100 pulses, 100 ns in duration, intensities of 20, 40 kV cm‑1). Cell death was studied by annexin-V and propidium iodide staining. The changes of intracellular Ca2+ concentration after nsPEFs treatment were observed using Fluo-4 AM. Results show that C. albicans cells and biofilms were both obviously inhibited and destroyed after nsPEFs treatment. Furthermore, C. albicans cells were significantly permeabilized after nsPEFs treatment. Additionally, nsPEFs exposure led to a large amount of DNA and protein leakage. Importantly, nsPEFs induced a field strength-dependent apoptosis in C. albicans cells. Further experiments revealed that Ca2+ involved in nsPEFs induced C. albicans apoptosis. In conclusion, this proof-of-concept study provides a potential alternative drug-free strategy for killing pathogenic Candida species.

  13. Coiled transmission line pulse generators

    DOEpatents

    McDonald, Kenneth Fox

    2010-11-09

    Methods and apparatus are provided for fabricating and constructing solid dielectric "Coiled Transmission Line" pulse generators in radial or axial coiled geometries. The pour and cure fabrication process enables a wide variety of geometries and form factors. The volume between the conductors is filled with liquid blends of monomers, polymers, oligomers, and/or cross-linkers and dielectric powders; and then cured to form high field strength and high dielectric constant solid dielectric transmission lines that intrinsically produce ideal rectangular high voltage pulses when charged and switched into matched impedance loads. Voltage levels may be increased by Marx and/or Blumlein principles incorporating spark gap or, preferentially, solid state switches (such as optically triggered thyristors) which produce reliable, high repetition rate operation. Moreover, these Marxed pulse generators can be DC charged and do not require additional pulse forming circuitry, pulse forming lines, transformers, or an a high voltage spark gap output switch. The apparatus accommodates a wide range of voltages, impedances, pulse durations, pulse repetition rates, and duty cycles. The resulting mobile or flight platform friendly cylindrical geometric configuration is much more compact, light-weight, and robust than conventional linear geometries, or pulse generators constructed from conventional components. Installing additional circuitry may accommodate optional pulse shape improvements. The Coiled Transmission Lines can also be connected in parallel to decrease the impedance, or in series to increase the pulse length.

  14. Micro-processing of NiMnGa shape memory alloy by using a nanosecond fiber laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biffi, C. A.; Tuissi, A.

    2016-04-01

    The interest on Ferromagnetic Shape Memory Alloys (FSMAs), such as NiMnGa, is growing up, thanks to their functional properties to be employed in a new class of micro-devices. The most evident critical issue, limiting the use of these systems in the production of industrial devices, is the brittleness of the bulk material; its workability by using convectional processing methods is very limited. Thus, alternative processing methods, including laser processing, are encouraged for the manufacture of FSMAs based new devices. In this work, the effect of the nanosecond laser microprocessing on Ni45Mn33Ga22 [at%] has been studied. Linear grooves were realized by a nanosecond 30 W fiber laser; the machined surfaces were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, coupled with energetic dispersion spectroscopy for the composition analysis. The morphology of the grooves was affected by the laser scanning velocity and the number of laser pulses while the measured material removal rate appeared to be influenced mainly by the number of laser pulses. Compositional modification, associated to the loss of Ga content, was detected only for the lower scanning velocity, because of the high fluence. On the contrary, by increasing the velocity up to 1000 mm/s no Ga loss can be seen, making possible the laser processing of this functional alloy without its chemical modification. The use of short pulses allowed also to reduce the amount of recast material and the compositional change with respect to long pulses. Finally, the calorimetric analysis indicated that laser nanosecond microprocessing could affect the functional properties of this alloy: a larger decrease of the characteristic temperatures of the martensitic transformation was observed in correspondence of the low scanning velocity.

  15. Electropermeabilization by uni- or bipolar nanosecond electric pulses: The impact of extracellular conductivity.

    PubMed

    Gianulis, Elena C; Casciola, Maura; Xiao, Shu; Pakhomova, Olga N; Pakhomov, Andrei G

    2018-02-01

    Cellular effects caused by nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP) can be reduced by an electric field reversal, a phenomenon known as bipolar cancellation. The reason for this cancellation effect remains unknown. We hypothesized that assisted membrane discharge is the mechanism for bipolar cancellation. CHO-K1 cells bathed in high (16.1mS/cm; HCS) or low (1.8mS/cm; LCS) conductivity solutions were exposed to either one unipolar (300-ns) or two opposite polarity (300+300-ns; bipolar) nsEP (4-40kV/cm) with increasing interpulse intervals (0.1-50μs). Time-lapse YO-PRO-1 (YP) uptake revealed enhanced membrane permeabilization in LCS compared to HCS at all tested voltages. The time-dependence of bipolar cancellation was similar in both solutions, using either identical (22kV/cm) or isoeffective nsEP treatments (12 and 32kV/cm for LCS and HCS, respectively). However, cancellation was significantly stronger in LCS when the bipolar nsEP had no, or very short (<1μs), interpulse intervals. Finally, bipolar cancellation was still present with interpulse intervals as long as 50μs, beyond the time expected for membrane discharge. Our findings do not support assisted membrane discharge as the mechanism for bipolar cancellation. Instead they exemplify the sustained action of nsEP that can be reversed long after the initial stimulus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Hybrid-modality ocular imaging using a clinical ultrasound system and nanosecond pulsed laser.

    PubMed

    Lim, Hoong-Ta; Matham, Murukeshan Vadakke

    2015-07-01

    Hybrid optical modality imaging is a special type of multimodality imaging significantly used in the recent past in order to harness the strengths of different imaging methods as well as to furnish complementary information beyond that provided by any individual method. We present a hybrid-modality imaging system based on a commercial clinical ultrasound imaging (USI) system using a linear array ultrasound transducer (UST) and a tunable nanosecond pulsed laser as the source. The integrated system uses photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and USI for ocular imaging to provide the complementary absorption and structural information of the eye. In this system, B-mode images from PAI and USI are acquired at 10 Hz and about 40 Hz, respectively. A linear array UST makes the system much faster compared to other ocular imaging systems using a single-element UST to form B-mode images. The results show that the proposed instrumentation is able to incorporate PAI and USI in a single setup. The feasibility and efficiency of this developed probe system was illustrated by using enucleated pig eyes as test samples. It was demonstrated that PAI could successfully capture photoacoustic signals from the iris, anterior lens surface, and posterior pole, while USI could accomplish the mapping of the eye to reveal the structures like the cornea, anterior chamber, lens, iris, and posterior pole. This system and the proposed methodology are expected to enable ocular disease diagnostic applications and can be used as a preclinical imaging system.

  17. Nanosecond laser-cluster interactions at 109-1012 W/cm 2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Rohtash; Tripathi, V. K.; Vatsa, R. K.; Das, D.

    2017-08-01

    An analytical model and a numerical code are developed to study the evolution of multiple charge states of ions by irradiating clusters of atoms of a high atomic number (e.g., Xe) by 1.06 μm and 0.53 μm nanosecond laser pulses of an intensity in the range of 109-1012 W/cm 2 . The laser turns clusters into plasma nanoballs. Initially, the momentum randomizing collisions of electrons are with neutrals, but soon these are taken over by collisions with ions. The ionization of an ion to the next higher state of ionization is taken to be caused by an energetic free electron impact, and the rates of impact ionization are suitably modelled by having an inverse exponential dependence of ionizing collision frequency on the ratio of ionization potential to electron temperature. Cluster expansion led adiabatic cooling is a major limiting mechanism on electron temperature. In the intensity range considered, ionization states up to 7 are expected with nanosecond pulses. Another possible mechanism, filamentation of the laser, has also been considered to account for the observation of higher charged states. However, filamentation is seen to be insufficient to cause substantial local enhancement in the intensity to affect electron heating rates.

  18. Comparison of femtosecond- and nanosecond-two-photon-absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF) of atomic oxygen in atmospheric-pressure plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmidt, Jacob B.; Sands, Brian; Scofield, James; Gord, James R.; Roy, Sukesh

    2017-05-01

    Absolute number densities of atomic species produced by nanosecond (ns)-duration, repetitively pulsed electric discharges are measured by two-photon-absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF). Unique to this work is the development of femtosecond-laser-based TALIF (fs-TALIF) that offers a number of advantages over more conventional nanosecond (ns)-pulse-duration laser techniques, such as higher-fidelity quenching rate measurements over a wide pressure range, significantly reduced photolytic interference (including photo-dissociation and photo-ionization), ability to collect two-dimensional images of atomic-species number densities with high spatial resolution aided by higher signal level, and efficient and accurate measurements of atomic-species number densities due to the higher repetition rates of the laser. For full quantification of these advantages, atomic-oxygen TALIF signals are collected from an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet employing both ns- and fs-duration laser-excitation pulses and the results are compared and contrasted.

  19. Schlieren visualization of flow-field modification over an airfoil by near-surface gas-density perturbations generated by a nanosecond-pulse-driven plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Komuro, Atsushi; Takashima, Keisuke; Konno, Kaiki; Tanaka, Naoki; Nonomura, Taku; Kaneko, Toshiro; Ando, Akira; Asai, Keisuke

    2017-06-01

    Gas-density perturbations near an airfoil surface generated by a nanosecond dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator (ns-DBDPA) are visualized using a high-speed Schlieren imaging method. Wind-tunnel experiments are conducted for a wind speed of 20 m s-1 with an NACA0015 airfoil whose chord length is 100 mm. The results show that the ns-DBDPA first generates a pressure wave and then stochastic perturbations of the gas density near the leading edge of the airfoil. Two structures with different characteristics are observed in the stochastic perturbations. One structure propagates along the boundary between the shear layer and the main flow at a speed close to that of the main flow. The other propagates more slowly on the surface of the airfoil and causes mixing between the main and shear flows. It is observed that these two heated structures interact with each other, resulting in a recovery in the negative pressure coefficient at the leading edge of the airfoil.

  20. Novel Interventional Management of Hepatic Hydatid Cyst with Nanosecond Pulses on Experimental Mouse Model.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xinhua; Zhang, Ruiqing; Aji, Tuerganaili; Shao, Yingmei; Chen, Yonggang; Wen, Hao

    2017-07-03

    The nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) is investigated as an alternative plan for benign hepatic hydatid cyst. Altogether 72 C57B6 mice were included. Normal group (n = 12) had no parasite injection and the other 60 mice were used to induce hydatid cyst in liver by injecting protoscolices in portal vein. The liver hydatid cysts were exposed to nsPEF with different doses and then follow up. The standard surgery was performed as positive control. The hydatid cyst growth was monitored by ultrasound; the morphology was checked by gross anatomy and pathology was tested by H&E stain. In nsPEF-treated groups no hepatic failure nor bleeding were observed. As a comparison, in the surgery group, high post-treatment complications occurred (50%). Significant parasite growth inhibition was seen in high nsPEF dose group as compared with control group (P < 0.05). Pathological analysis confirmed destruction of hydatid cyst with sharp demarcation defined by the electrodes. Laboratory analysis showed nsPEF stimulated a time-dependent infection and recoverable liver function. The traumatic reactions defined by white blood count was significant lower than surgery groups (P < 0.05).Preliminary studies demonstrate nsPEF ablation can be applied on hepatic hydatid by inhibiting parasite growth, destructing the cyst and stimulating infections.

  1. Fast switching thyristor applied in nanosecond-pulse high-voltage generator with closed transformer core.

    PubMed

    Li, Lee; Bao, Chaobing; Feng, Xibo; Liu, Yunlong; Fochan, Lin

    2013-02-01

    For a compact and reliable nanosecond-pulse high-voltage generator (NPHVG), the specification parameter selection and potential usage of fast controllable state-solid switches have an important bearing on the optimal design. The NPHVG with closed transformer core and fast switching thyristor (FST) was studied in this paper. According to the analysis of T-type circuit, the expressions for the voltages and currents of the primary and secondary windings on the transformer core of NPHVG were deduced, and the theoretical maximum analysis was performed. For NPHVG, the rise-rate of turn-on current (di/dt) across a FST may exceed its transient rating. Both mean and maximum values of di/dt were determined by the leakage inductances of the transformer, and the difference is 1.57 times. The optimum winding ratio is helpful to getting higher voltage output with lower specification FST, especially when the primary and secondary capacitances have been established. The oscillation period analysis can be effectively used to estimate the equivalent leakage inductance. When the core saturation effect was considered, the maximum di/dt estimated from the oscillating period of the primary current is more accurate than one from the oscillating period of the secondary voltage. Although increasing the leakage inductance of NPHVG can decrease di/dt across FST, it may reduce the output peak voltage of the NPHVG.

  2. Experimental study of plume induced by nanosecond repetitively pulsed spark microdischarges in air at atmospheric pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Orriere, Thomas; Benard, Nicolas; Moreau, Eric; Pai, David

    2016-09-01

    Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) spark discharges have been widely studied due to their high chemical reactivity, low gas temperature, and high ionization efficiency. They are useful in many research areas: nanomaterials synthesis, combustion, and aerodynamic flow control. In all of these fields, particular attention has been devoted to chemical species transport and/or hydrodynamic and thermal effects for applications. The aim of this study is to generate an electro-thermal plume by combining an NRP spark microdischarge in a pin-to-pin configuration with a third DC-biased electrode placed a few centimeters away. First, electrical characterization and optical emission spectroscopy were performed to reveal important plasma processes. Second, particle image velocimetry was combined with schlieren photography to investigate the main characteristics of the generated flow. Heating processes are measured by using the N2(C ->B) (0,2) and (1,3) vibrational bands, and effects due to the confinement of the discharge are described. Moreover, the presence of atomic ions N+ and O+ is discussed. Finally, the electro-thermal plume structure is characterized by a flow velocity around 1.8 m.s-1, and the thermal kernel has a spheroidal shape.

  3. Nanosecond multi-pulse laser milling for certain area removal of metal coating on plastics surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Kai; Jia, Zhenyuan; Ma, Jianwei; Liu, Wei; Wang, Ling

    2014-12-01

    Metal coating with functional pattern on engineering plastics surface plays an important role in industry applications; it can be obtained by adding or removing certain area of metal coating on engineering plastics surface. However, the manufacturing requirements are improved continuously and the plastic substrate presents three-dimensional (3D) structure-many of these parts cannot be fabricated by conventional processing methods, and a new manufacturing method is urgently needed. As the laser-processing technology has many advantages like high machining accuracy and constraints free substrate structure, the machining of the parts is studied through removing certain area of metal coating based on the nanosecond multi-pulse laser milling. To improve the edge quality of the functional pattern, generation mechanism and corresponding avoidance strategy of the processing defects are studied. Additionally, a prediction model for the laser ablation depth is proposed, which can effectively avoid the existence of residual metal coating and reduces the damage of substrate. With the optimal machining parameters, an equiangular spiral pattern on copper-clad polyimide (CCPI) is machined based on the laser milling at last. The experimental results indicate that the edge of the pattern is smooth and consistent, the substrate is flat and without damage. The achievements in this study could be applied in industrial production.

  4. Cellulose Triacetate Dielectric Films For Capacitors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yen, Shiao-Ping S.; Jow, T. Richard

    1994-01-01

    Cellulose triacetate investigated for use as dielectric material in high-energy-density capacitors for pulsed-electrical-power systems. Films of cellulose triacetate metalized on one or both sides for use as substrates for electrodes and/or as dielectrics between electrodes in capacitors. Used without metalization as simple dielectric films. Advantages include high breakdown strength and self-healing capability.

  5. Generation of nanosecond neutron pulses in vacuum accelerating tubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Didenko, A. N.; Shikanov, A. E.; Rashchikov, V. I.; Ryzhkov, V. I.; Shatokhin, V. L.

    2014-06-01

    The generation of neutron pulses with a duration of 1-100 ns using small vacuum accelerating tubes is considered. Two physical models of acceleration of short deuteron bunches in pulse neutron generators are described. The dependences of an instantaneous neutron flux in accelerating tubes on the parameters of pulse neutron generators are obtained using computer simulation. The results of experimental investigation of short-pulse neutron generators based on the accelerating tube with a vacuum-arc deuteron source, connected in the circuit with a discharge peaker, and an accelerating tube with a laser deuteron source, connected according to the Arkad'ev-Marx circuit, are given. In the experiments, the neutron yield per pulse reached 107 for a pulse duration of 10-100 ns. The resultant experimental data are in satisfactory agreement with the results of computer simulation.

  6. Nanosecond radio bursts from strong plasma turbulence in the Crab pulsar.

    PubMed

    Hankins, T H; Kern, J S; Weatherall, J C; Eilek, J A

    2003-03-13

    The Crab pulsar was discovered by the occasional exceptionally bright radio pulses it emits, subsequently dubbed 'giant' pulses. Only two other pulsars are known to emit giant pulses. There is no satisfactory explanation for the occurrence of giant pulses, nor is there a complete theory of the pulsar emission mechanism in general. Competing models for the radio emission mechanism can be distinguished by the temporal structure of their coherent emission. Here we report the discovery of isolated, highly polarized, two-nanosecond subpulses within the giant radio pulses from the Crab pulsar. The plasma structures responsible for these emissions must be smaller than one metre in size, making them by far the smallest objects ever detected and resolved outside the Solar System, and the brightest transient radio sources in the sky. Only one of the current models--the collapse of plasma-turbulent wave packets in the pulsar magnetosphere--can account for the nanopulses we observe.

  7. High Intensity Mirror-Free Nanosecond Ytterbium Fiber Laser System in Master Oscillator Power Amplification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chun-Lin, Louis Chang

    Rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and amplifiers are relatively easy to efficiently produce a stable and high quality laser beam in a compact, robust, and alignment-free configuration. Recently, high power fiber laser systems have facilitated wide spread applications in academics, industries, and militaries in replacement of bulk solid-state laser systems. The master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) composed of a highly-controlled seed, high-gain preamplifiers, and high-efficiency power amplifiers are typically utilized to scale up the pulse energy, peak power, or average power. Furthermore, a direct-current-modulated nanosecond diode laser in single transverse mode can simply provide a compact and highly-controlled seed to result in the flexible output parameters, such as repetition rate, pulse duration, and even temporal pulse shape. However, when scaling up the peak power for high intensity applications, such a versatile diode-seeded nanosecond MOPA laser system using rare-earth-doped fibers is unable to completely save its own advantages compared to bulk laser systems. Without a strong seeding among the amplifiers, the guided amplified spontaneous amplification is easy to become dominant during the amplification, leading to the harmful self-lasing or pulsing effects, and the difficulty of the quantitative numerical comparison. In this dissertation, we study a high-efficiency and intense nanosecond ytterbium fiber MOPA system with good beam quality and stability for high intensity applications. The all-PM-fiber structure is achieved with the output extinction ratio of >12 dB by optimizing the interconnection of high power optical fibers. The diode-seeded MOPA configuration without parasitic stimulated amplification (PAS) is implemented using the double-pass scheme to extract energy efficiently for scaling peak power. The broadband PAS was studied experimentally, which matches well with our numerical simulation. The 1064-nm nanosecond seed was a direct

  8. Characteristics of nanosecond pulse needle-to-plane discharges at high pressure: a particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sang, Chaofeng; Sun, Jizhong; Ren, Chunsheng; Wang, Dezhen

    2009-02-01

    A model of one dimensional in position and three dimensional in velocity space self-consistent particle in cell with Monte Carlo collision technique was employed to simulate the argon discharge between the needle and plane electrodes at high pressure, in which a nanosecond rectangular pulse was applied to the needle electrode. The work focused on the investigation of the spatiotemporal evolution of the discharge versus the needle tip size and working gas pressure. The simulation results showed that the discharge occurred mainly in the region near the needle tip at atmospheric pressure, and that the small radius of the needle tip led to easy discharge. Reducing the gas pressure gave rise to a transition from a corona discharge to a glowlike discharge along the needle-to-plane direction. The microscopic mechanism for the transition can arguably be attributed to the peak of high-energy electrons occurring before the breakdown; the magnitude of the number of these electrons determined whether the breakdown can take place.

  9. Nanosecond UV lasers stimulate transient Ca2+ elevations in human hNT astrocytes.

    PubMed

    Raos, B J; Graham, E S; Unsworth, C P

    2017-06-01

    Astrocytes respond to various stimuli resulting in intracellular Ca 2+ signals that can propagate through organized functional networks. Recent literature calls for the development of techniques that can stimulate astrocytes in a fast and highly localized manner to emulate more closely the characteristics of astrocytic Ca 2+ signals in vivo. In this article we demonstrate, for the first time, how nanosecond UV lasers are capable of reproducibly stimulating Ca 2+ transients in human hNT astrocytes. We report that laser pulses with a beam energy of 4-29 µJ generate transient increases in cytosolic Ca 2+ . These Ca 2+ transients then propagate to adjacent astrocytes as intercellular Ca 2+ waves. We propose that nanosecond laser stimulation provides a valuable tool for enabling the study of Ca 2+ dynamics in human astrocytes at both a single cell and network level. Compared to previously developed techniques nanosecond laser stimulation has the advantage of not requiring loading of photo-caged or -sensitising agents, is non-contact, enables stimulation with a high spatiotemporal resolution and is comparatively cost effective.

  10. Nano- and femtosecond UV laser pulses to immobilize biomolecules onto surfaces with preferential orientation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lettieri, S.; Avitabile, A.; Della Ventura, B.; Funari, R.; Ambrosio, A.; Maddalena, P.; Valadan, M.; Velotta, R.; Altucci, C.

    2014-10-01

    By relying on the photonic immobilization technique of antibodies onto surfaces, we realized portable biosensors for light molecules based on the use of quartz crystal microbalances, given the linear dependence of the method on the laser pulse intensity. Here, we compare the quality of the anchoring method when using nanosecond (260 nm, 25 mJ/pulse, 5 ns, 10 Hz rep. rate) and femtosecond (258 nm, 25 μJ/pulse, 150 fs, 10 kHz rep. rate) laser source, delivering the same energy to the sample with the same average power. As a reference, we also tethered untreated antibodies by means of the passive adsorption. The results are striking: When the antibodies are irradiated with the femtosecond pulses, the deposition on the gold plate is much more ordered than in the other two cases. The effects of UV pulses irradiation onto the antibodies are also analyzed by measuring absorption and fluorescence and suggest the occurrence of remarkable degradation when nanosecond pulses are used likely induced by a larger thermal coupling. In view of the high average power required to activate the antibodies for the achievement of the photonic immobilization technique, we conclude that femtosecond rather than nanosecond laser pulses have to be used.

  11. OSETI with STACEE: a search for nanosecond optical transients from nearby stars.

    PubMed

    Hanna, D S; Ball, J; Covault, C E; Carson, J E; Driscoll, D D; Fortin, P; Gingrich, D M; Jarvis, A; Kildea, J; Lindner, T; Mueller, C; Mukherjee, R; Ong, R A; Ragan, K; Williams, D A; Zweerink, J

    2009-05-01

    We have used the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) high-energy gamma-ray detector to look for fast blue-green laser pulses from the vicinity of 187 stars. The STACEE detector offers unprecedented light-collecting capability for the detection of nanosecond pulses from such lasers. We estimate STACEE's sensitivity to be approximately 10 photons/m(2) at a wavelength of 420 nm. The stars have been chosen because their characteristics are such that they may harbor habitable planets, and they are relatively close to Earth. Each star was observed for 10 minutes, and we found no evidence for laser pulses in any of the data sets. Key Words: Search for extraterrestrial intelligence-Optical search for extraterrestrial intelligence-Interstellar communication-Laser.

  12. Ionization processes in combined high-voltage nanosecond - laser discharges in inert gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starikovskiy, Andrey; Shneider, Mikhail; PU Team

    2016-09-01

    Remote control of plasmas induced by laser radiation in the atmosphere is one of the challenging issues of free space communication, long-distance energy transmission, remote sensing of the atmosphere, and standoff detection of trace gases and bio-threat species. Sequences of laser pulses, as demonstrated by an extensive earlier work, offer an advantageous tool providing access to the control of air-plasma dynamics and optical interactions. The avalanche ionization induced in a pre-ionized region by infrared laser pulses where investigated. Pre-ionization was created by an ionization wave, initiated by high-voltage nanosecond pulse. Then, behind the front of ionization wave extra avalanche ionization was initiated by the focused infrared laser pulse. The experiment was carried out in argon. It is shown that the gas pre-ionization inhibits the laser spark generation under low pressure conditions.

  13. Synthesis of bimetallic nanostructures by nanosecond laser ablation of multicomponent thin films in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nikov, R. G.; Nedyalkov, N. N.; Atanasov, P. A.; Karashanova, D. B.

    2018-03-01

    The paper presents results on nanosecond laser ablation of thin films immersed in a liquid. The thin films were prepared by consecutive deposition of layers of different metals by thermal evaporation (first layer) and classical on-axis pulsed laser deposition (second layer); Ni/Au, Ag/Au and Ni/Ag thin films were thus deposited on glass substrates. The as-prepared films were then placed at the bottom of a glass vessel filled with double distilled water and irradiated by nanosecond laser pulses delivered by a Nd:YAG laser system at λ = 355 nm. This resulted in the formation of colloids of the thin films’ material. We also compared the processes of ablation of a bulk target and a thin film in the liquid by irradiating a Au target and a Au thin film by the same laser wavelength and fluence (λ = 355 nm, F = 5 J/cm2). The optical properties of the colloids were evaluated by optical transmittance measurements in the UV– VIS spectral range. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to estimate the particles’ size distribution.

  14. Evaluation of the Genetic Response of U937 and Jurkat Cells to 10-Nanosecond Electrical Pulses (nsEP)

    PubMed Central

    Glickman, Randolph D.; Tolstykh, Gleb P.; Estlack, Larry E.; Moen, Erick K.; Echchgadda, Ibtissam; Beier, Hope T.; Barnes, Ronald A.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2016-01-01

    Nanosecond electrical pulse (nsEP) exposure activates signaling pathways, produces oxidative stress, stimulates hormone secretion, causes cell swelling and induces apoptotic and necrotic death. The underlying biophysical connection(s) between these diverse cellular reactions and nsEP has yet to be elucidated. Using global genetic analysis, we evaluated how two commonly studied cell types, U937 and Jurkat, respond to nsEP exposure. We hypothesized that by studying the genetic response of the cells following exposure, we would gain direct insight into the stresses experienced by the cell and in turn better understand the biophysical interaction taking place during the exposure. Using Ingenuity Systems software, we found genes associated with cell growth, movement and development to be significantly up-regulated in both cell types 4 h post exposure to nsEP. In agreement with our hypothesis, we also found that both cell lines exhibit significant biological changes consistent with mechanical stress induction. These results advance nsEP research by providing strong evidence that the interaction of nsEPs with cells involves mechanical stress. PMID:27135944

  15. Sub-nanosecond signal propagation in anisotropy-engineered nanomagnetic logic chains

    DOE PAGES

    Gu, Zheng; Nowakowski, Mark E.; Carlton, David B.; ...

    2015-03-16

    Energy efficient nanomagnetic logic (NML) computing architectures propagate binary information by relying on dipolar field coupling to reorient closely spaced nanoscale magnets. In the past, signal propagation in nanomagnet chains were characterized by static magnetic imaging experiments; however, the mechanisms that determine the final state and their reproducibility over millions of cycles in high-speed operation have yet to be experimentally investigated. Here we present a study of NML operation in a high-speed regime. We perform direct imaging of digital signal propagation in permalloy nanomagnet chains with varying degrees of shape-engineered biaxial anisotropy using full-field magnetic X-ray transmission microscopy and time-resolvedmore » photoemission electron microscopy after applying nanosecond magnetic field pulses. Moreover, an intrinsic switching time of 100 ps per magnet is observed. In conclusion these experiments, and accompanying macrospin and micromagnetic simulations, reveal the underlying physics of NML architectures repetitively operated on nanosecond timescales and identify relevant engineering parameters to optimize performance and reliability.« less

  16. Ozone generation in a kHz-pulsed He-O2 capillary dielectric barrier discharge operated in ambient air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sands, Brian L.; Ganguly, Biswa N.

    2013-12-01

    The generation of reactive oxygen species using nonequilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jet devices has been a subject of recent interest due to their ability to generate localized concentrations from a compact source. To date, such studies with plasma jet devices have primarily utilized radio-frequency excitation. In this work, we characterize ozone generation in a kHz-pulsed capillary dielectric barrier discharge configuration comprised of an active discharge plasma jet operating in ambient air that is externally grounded. The plasma jet flow gas was composed of helium with an admixture of up to 5% oxygen. A unipolar voltage pulse train with a 20 ns pulse risetime was used to drive the discharge at repetition rates between 2-25 kHz. Using UVLED absorption spectroscopy centered at 255 nm near the Hartley-band absorption peak, ozone was detected over 1 cm from the capillary axis. We observed roughly linear scaling of ozone production with increasing pulse repetition rate up to a "turnover frequency," beyond which ozone production steadily dropped and discharge current and 777 nm O(5P→5S°) emission sharply increased. The turnover in ozone production occurred at higher pulse frequencies with increasing flow rate and decreasing applied voltage with a common energy density of 55 mJ/cm3 supplied to the discharge. The limiting energy density and peak ozone production both increased with increasing O2 admixture. The power dissipated in the discharge was obtained from circuit current and voltage measurements using a modified parallel plate dielectric barrier discharge circuit model and the volume-averaged ozone concentration was derived from a 2D ozone absorption measurement. From these measurements, the volume-averaged efficiency of ozone production was calculated to be 23 g/kWh at conditions for peak ozone production of 41 mg/h at 11 kV applied voltage, 3% O2, 2 l/min flow rate, and 13 kHz pulse repetition rate, with 1.79 W dissipated in the discharge.

  17. Nanosecond nonlinear optical and optical limiting properties of hollow gold nanocages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Chan; Huang, Jiaxin; Lei, Li; Chen, Wenzhe; Wang, Haiyan; Li, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Gold nanocages (NCs) were prepared using the galvanic replacement reaction. Transmission electron microscopy images confirmed the porous morphology and completely hollow interior of the gold NCs. The nanosecond nonlinear optical and optical limiting (OL) properties of the NCs were characterized using the open-aperture Z-scan technique with 8-ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The gold NCs exhibited intensity-dependent transformation from saturable absorption to reverse-saturable absorption. The nonlinear absorption coefficient and saturable energy of the NCs were 5 × 10- 12 m/W and 2.5 × 1010 W/m2, respectively. Meanwhile, the gold NCs were found to display strong OL properties towards nanosecond laser pulses. The OL threshold of the gold NCs was lower than that of solid gold nanoparticles and comparable with that of a carbon nanotube suspension. Input fluence and angle-dependent scattering measurements indicated that nonlinear scattering plays an important role in the OL behavior of the gold nanostructures at high laser excitation. The improved OL response in gold NCs was discussed from the viewpoint of structural characteristic. The ultrathin and highly porous walls of the gold NCs can effectively transfer the photon-induced heat to the surrounding solvent, resulting in enhanced OL properties compared with those of solid gold nanoparticles. The intensity-dependent transformation from saturable absorption to reverse-saturable absorption and excellent OL response indicate that the smart gold NCs with ultrathin and highly porous walls can be considered as potential candidate in pulse shaping, passive mode locking, and eye protection against powerful lasers.

  18. Plasma Assisted Ignition at High Pressures and Low Temperatures. PAI Kinetics and Fast Gas Heating

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-05-06

    2636–39 [61] Creyghton Y L M 1994 Pulsed positive corona discharges PhD Thesis, Eindhoven University of Technology [62] Dyakov A F, Bobrov Yu K, Bobrova...Kim S J 2003 Measurements of electron density by emission spectroscopy in pulsed corona and dielectric barrier discharges J. Adv. Oxid. Technol. 6 17...metastable N2 molecules in the afterglow of the pulsed nanosecond discharge by technique of a cavity ring–down spectroscopy; (iv) experiments on

  19. Chemical nature of colossal dielectric constant of CaCu3Ti4O12 thin film by pulsed laser deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Guochu; Xanthopoulos, Nicolas; Muralt, Paul

    2008-04-01

    Epitaxial CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition were studied in the as-deposited and oxygen annealed state. The first one exhibited the usual transition from dielectric to colossal dielectric behavior upon increasing the temperature to above 100K. This transition disappeared after annealing at 900°C in air. The two states significantly differ in their x-ray photoelectron spectra. The state of colossal dielectric constant corresponds to a bulk material with considerable amounts of Cu + and Ti3+, combined with Cu species enrichment at the surface. The annealed state exhibited a nearly stoichiometric composition with no Cu+ and Ti3+. The previously observed p-type conduction in the as-deposited state is thus related to oxygen vacancies compensated by the point defects of Cu+ and Ti3+.

  20. Nitric Oxide Studies in Low Temperature Plasmas Generated with a Nanosecond Pulse Sphere Gap Electrical Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burnette, David Dean

    This dissertation presents studies of NO kinetics in a plasma afterglow using various nanosecond pulse discharges across a sphere gap. The discharge platform is developed to produce a diffuse plasma volume large enough to allow for laser diagnostics in a plasma that is rich in vibrationally-excited molecules. This plasma is characterized by current and voltage traces as well as ICCD and NO PLIF images that are used to monitor the plasma dimensions and uniformity. Temperature and vibrational loading measurements are performed via coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS). Absolute NO concentrations are obtained by laser-induce fluorescence (LIF) measurements, and N and O densities are found using two photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF). For all dry air conditions studied, the NO behavior is characterized by a rapid rate of formation consistent with an enhanced Zeldovich process involving electronically-excited nitrogen species that are generated within the plasma. After several microseconds, the NO evolution is entirely controlled by the reverse Zeldovich process. These results show that under the chosen range of conditions and even in extreme instances of vibrational loading, there is no formation channel beyond ~2 musec. Both the NO formation and consumption mechanisms are strongly affected by the addition of fuel species, producing much greater NO concentrations in the afterglow.

  1. High level active n+ doping of strained germanium through co-implantation and nanosecond pulsed laser melting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pastor, David; Gandhi, Hemi H.; Monmeyran, Corentin P.; Akey, Austin J.; Milazzo, Ruggero; Cai, Yan; Napolitani, Enrico; Gwilliam, Russell M.; Crowe, Iain F.; Michel, Jurgen; Kimerling, L. C.; Agarwal, Anuradha; Mazur, Eric; Aziz, Michael J.

    2018-04-01

    Obtaining high level active n+ carrier concentrations in germanium (Ge) has been a significant challenge for further development of Ge devices. By ion implanting phosphorus (P) and fluorine (F) into Ge and restoring crystallinity using Nd:YAG nanosecond pulsed laser melting (PLM), we demonstrate 1020 cm-3 n+ carrier concentration in tensile-strained epitaxial germanium-on-silicon. Scanning electron microscopy shows that after laser treatment, samples implanted with P have an ablated surface, whereas P + F co-implanted samples have good crystallinity and a smooth surface topography. We characterize P and F concentration depth profiles using secondary ion mass spectrometry and spreading resistance profiling. The peak carrier concentration, 1020 cm-3 at 80 nm below the surface, coincides with the peak F concentration, illustrating the key role of F in increasing donor activation. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy of the co-implanted sample shows that the Ge epilayer region damaged during implantation is a single crystal after PLM. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements both indicate that the as-grown epitaxial layer strain is preserved after PLM. These results demonstrate that co-implantation and PLM can achieve the combination of n+ carrier concentration and strain in Ge epilayers necessary for next-generation, high-performance Ge-on-Si devices.

  2. Changes in protein expression of U937 and Jurkat cells exposed to nanosecond pulsed electric fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moen, Erick K.; Roth, Caleb C.; Cerna, Caesar; Estalck, Larry; Wilmink, Gerald; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2013-02-01

    Application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) to various biological cell lines has been to shown to cause many diverse effects, including poration of the plasma membrane, depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane, blebbing, apoptosis, and intracellular calcium bursts. The underlying mechanism(s) responsible for these diverse responses are poorly understood. Of specific interest in this paper are the long-term effects of nsPEF on cellular processes, including the regulation of genes and production of proteins. Previous studies have reported transient activation of select signaling pathways involving mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), protein phosphorylation and downstream gene expression following nsPEF application. We hypothesize that nsPEF represents a unique stimulus that could be used to externally modulate cellular processes. To validate our hypothesis, we performed a series of cuvette-based exposures at 10 and 600ns pulse widths using a custom Blumlien line pulser system. We measured acute changes in the plasma membrane structure using flow cytometry by tracking phosphatidylserine externalization via FITC-Annexin V labeling and poration via propidium iodide uptake. We then compared these results to viability of the cells at 24 hours post exposure using MTT assay and changes in the MAPK family of proteins at 8 hours post-exposure using Luminex assay. By comparing exposures at 10 and 600ns duration, we found that most MAPK family-protein expression increased in Jurkat and U937 cell lines following exposure and compared well with drops in viability and changes in plasma membrane asymmetry. What proved interesting is that some MAPK family proteins (e.g. p53, STAT1), were expressed in one cell line, but not the other. This difference may point to an underlying mechanism for observed difference in cellular sensitivity to nsPEFinduced stresses.

  3. Diagnosis of a short-pulse dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure in helium with hydrogen-methane admixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nastuta, A. V.; Pohoata, V.; Mihaila, I.; Topala, I.

    2018-04-01

    In this study, we present results from electrical, optical, and spectroscopic diagnosis of a short-pulse (250 ns) high-power impulse (up to 11 kW) dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure running in a helium/helium-hydrogen/helium-hydrogen-methane gas mixture. This plasma source is able to generate up to 20 cm3 of plasma volume, pulsed in kilohertz range. The plasma spatio-temporal dynamics are found to be developed in three distinct phases. All the experimental observations reveal a similar dynamic to medium power microsecond barrier discharges, although the power per pulse and current density are up to two orders of magnitude higher than the case of microsecond barrier discharges. This might open the possibility for new applications in the field of gas or surface processing, and even life science. These devices can be used in laboratory experiments relevant for molecular astrophysics.

  4. Electrode/Dielectric Strip For High-Energy-Density Capacitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yen, Shiao-Ping S.

    1994-01-01

    Improved unitary electrode/dielectric strip serves as winding in high-energy-density capacitor in pulsed power supply. Offers combination of qualities essential for high energy density: high permittivity of dielectric layers, thinness, and high resistance to breakdown of dielectric at high electric fields. Capacitors with strip material not impregnated with liquid.

  5. Pulse generation and preamplification for long pulse beamlines of Orion laser facility.

    PubMed

    Hillier, David I; Winter, David N; Hopps, Nicholas W

    2010-06-01

    We describe the pulse generation, shaping, and preamplification system for the nanosecond beamlines of the Orion laser facility. The system generates shaped laser pulses of up to approximately 1 J of 100 ps-5 ns duration with a programmable temporal profile. The laser has a 30th-power supergaussian spatial profile and is diffraction limited. The system is capable of imposing 2D smoothing by spectral dispersion upon the beam, which will produce a nonuniformity of 10% rms at the target.

  6. Comparative study of electrical breakdown properties of deionized water and heavy water under pulsed power conditions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Veda Prakash, G.; Kumar, R.; Saurabh, K.

    A comparative study of electrical breakdown properties of deionized water (H{sub 2}O) and heavy water (D{sub 2}O) is presented with two different electrode materials (stainless steel (SS) and brass) and polarity (positive and negative) combinations. The pulsed (∼a few tens of nanoseconds) discharges are conducted by applying high voltage (∼a few hundred kV) pulse between two hemisphere electrodes of the same material, spaced 3 mm apart, at room temperature (∼26-28 °C) with the help of Tesla based pulse generator. It is observed that breakdown occurred in heavy water at lesser voltage and in short duration compared to deionized water irrespective ofmore » the electrode material and applied voltage polarity chosen. SS electrodes are seen to perform better in terms of the voltage withstanding capacity of the liquid dielectric as compared to brass electrodes. Further, discharges with negative polarity are found to give slightly enhanced discharge breakdown voltage when compared with those with positive polarity. The observations corroborate well with conductivity measurements carried out on original and post-treated liquid samples. An interpretation of the observations is attempted using Fourier transform infrared measurements on original and post-treated liquids as well as in situ emission spectra studies. A yet another important observation from the emission spectra has been that even short (nanosecond) duration discharges result in the formation of a considerable amount of ions injected into the liquid from the electrodes in a similar manner as reported for long (microseconds) discharges. The experimental observations show that deionised water is better suited for high voltage applications and also offer a comparison of the discharge behaviour with different electrodes and polarities.« less

  7. Mechanism and influencing factors on critical pulse width of oil-immersed polymer insulators under short pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Liang; Su, Jian Cang; Li, Rui; Zeng, Bo; Cheng, Jie; Zheng, Lei; Yu, Bin Xiong; Wu, Xiao Long; Zhang, Xi Bo; Pan, Ya Feng

    2015-04-01

    The critical pulse width (τc) is a pulse width at which the surface flashover threshold (Ef) is equal to the bulk breakdown threshold (EBD) for liquid-polymer composite insulation systems, which is discovered by Zhao et al. [Annual Report Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society, Shenzhen, China, 2013), Vol. 2, pp. 854-857]. In this paper, the mechanism of τc is interpreted in perspective of the threshold and the time delay (td) of surface flashover and bulk breakdown, respectively. It is found that two changes appear as the pulse width decreases which are responsible for the existence of τc: (1) EBD is lower than Ef; (2) td of bulk breakdown is shorter than td of surface flashover. In addition, factors which have influences on τc are investigated, such as the dielectric type, the insulation length, the dielectric thickness, the dielectrics configuration, the pulse number, and the liquid purity. These influences of factors are generalized as three types if τc is expected to increase: (1) factors causing EBD to decrease, such as increasing the pulse number or employing a dielectric of lower EBD; (2) factors causing Ef to increase, such as complicating the insulator's configuration or increasing the liquid purity; (3) factors causing EBD and Ef to increase together, but Ef increases faster than EBD, such as decreasing the dielectric thickness or the insulation length. With the data in references, all the three cases are verified experimentally. In the end, a general method based on τc for solid insulation design is presented and the significance of τc on solid insulation design and on solid demolition are discussed.

  8. Transient change in the shape of premixed burner flame with the superposition of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaima, Kazunori; Sasaki, Koichi

    2016-08-01

    We investigated the transient phenomena in a premixed burner flame with the superposition of a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The length of the flame was shortened by the superposition of DBD, indicating the activation of combustion chemical reactions with the help of the plasma. In addition, we observed the modulation of the top position of the unburned gas region and the formations of local minimums in the axial distribution of the optical emission intensity of OH. These experimental results reveal the oscillation of the rates of combustion chemical reactions as a response to the activation by pulsed DBD. The cycle of the oscillation was 0.18-0.2 ms, which could be understood as the eigenfrequency of the plasma-assisted combustion reaction system.

  9. Enhanced laser conditioning using temporally shaped pulses

    DOE PAGES

    Kafka, K. R. P.; Papernov, S.; Demos, S. G.

    2018-03-06

    Laser conditioning was investigated as a function of the temporal shape and duration of 351-nm, nanosecond pulses for fused-silica substrates polished via magnetorheological finishing. Here, the aim is to advance our understanding of the dynamics involved to enable improved control of the interaction of laser light with the material to optimize laser conditioning. Gaussian pulses that are temporally truncated at the intensity peak are observed to enhance laser conditioning, in comparison to a Gaussian pulse shape.

  10. Enhanced laser conditioning using temporally shaped pulses.

    PubMed

    Kafka, K R P; Papernov, S; Demos, S G

    2018-03-15

    Laser conditioning was investigated as a function of the temporal shape and duration of 351 nm nanosecond pulses for fused-silica substrates polished via magnetorheological finishing. The aim is to advance our understanding of the dynamics involved to enable improved control of the interaction of laser light with the material to optimize laser conditioning. Gaussian pulses that are temporally truncated at the intensity peak are observed to enhance laser conditioning, in comparison to a Gaussian pulse shape.

  11. Enhanced laser conditioning using temporally shaped pulses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kafka, K. R. P.; Papernov, S.; Demos, S. G.

    Laser conditioning was investigated as a function of the temporal shape and duration of 351-nm, nanosecond pulses for fused-silica substrates polished via magnetorheological finishing. Here, the aim is to advance our understanding of the dynamics involved to enable improved control of the interaction of laser light with the material to optimize laser conditioning. Gaussian pulses that are temporally truncated at the intensity peak are observed to enhance laser conditioning, in comparison to a Gaussian pulse shape.

  12. Efficient neutron production from sub-nanosecond laser pulse accelerating deuterons on target front side

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Klir, D.; Institute of Plasma Physics, ASCR, Za Slovankou 3, 182 00 Prague 8; Institute of Physics, ASCR, Na Slovance 2, 182 21 Prague 8

    2015-09-15

    Neutron-producing experiments have been carried out on the Prague Asterix Laser System. At the fundamental wavelength of 1.315 μm, the laser pulse of a 600 J energy and 300 ps duration was focused on a thick deuterated-polyethylene target. Neutron yields reached (4.1 ± 0.8) × 10{sup 8} at the peak intensity of ≈3 × 10{sup 16 }W/cm{sup 2}. A more detailed analysis of neutron time-of-flight signals showed that a significant fraction of neutron yields was produced both by the {sup 2}H(d,n){sup 3}He reaction and by other neutron-producing reactions. Neutron energies together with delayed neutron and gamma emission showed that MeV deuterons escaped from a laser-produced plasma and interacted ≈50 nsmore » later with a borosilicate blast-shield glass. In order to increase DD neutron yields and to characterize deuteron beams via nuclear reactions, a secondary deuterated polyethylene target was used in a pitcher-catcher scheme at the target front side. In this experimental arrangement, the neutron yield reached (2.0 ± 0.5) × 10{sup 9} with the peak neutron fluence of (2.5 ± 0.5) × 10{sup 8 }n/sr. From the neutron yield, it was calculated that the secondary target was bombarded by 2 × 10{sup 14} deuterons in the 0.5–2.0 MeV energy range. The neutron yield of 2 × 10{sup 9} at the laser energy of 600 J implied the production efficiency of 3 × 10{sup 6 }n/J. A very important result is that the efficient neutron production was achieved with the low contrast, sub-nanosecond laser pulse of the intensity of 10{sup 16 }W/cm{sup 2}. The latter parameters can be achieved in a rep-rate mode more easily than ultra-high intensities and contrasts.« less

  13. Nanosecond X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy on Magnetic Skyrmions

    DOE PAGES

    Seaberg, M. H.; Holladay, B.; Lee, J. C. T.; ...

    2017-08-09

    We report an X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy method that exploits the recent development of the two-pulse mode at the Linac Coherent Light Source. By using coherent resonant X-ray magnetic scattering, we studied spontaneous fluctuations on nanosecond timescales in thin films of multilayered Fe/Gd that exhibit ordered stripe and skyrmion lattice phases. The correlation time of the fluctuations was found to differ between the skyrmion phase and near the stripe-skyrmion boundary. As a result, this technique will enable a significant new area of research on the study of equilibrium fluctuations in condensed matter.

  14. Nanosecond X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy on Magnetic Skyrmions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seaberg, M. H.; Holladay, B.; Lee, J. C. T.

    We report an X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy method that exploits the recent development of the two-pulse mode at the Linac Coherent Light Source. By using coherent resonant X-ray magnetic scattering, we studied spontaneous fluctuations on nanosecond timescales in thin films of multilayered Fe/Gd that exhibit ordered stripe and skyrmion lattice phases. The correlation time of the fluctuations was found to differ between the skyrmion phase and near the stripe-skyrmion boundary. As a result, this technique will enable a significant new area of research on the study of equilibrium fluctuations in condensed matter.

  15. Mono-energetic ions emission by nanosecond laser solid target irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muoio, A.; Tudisco, S.; Altana, C.; Lanzalone, G.; Mascali, D.; Cirrone, G. A. P.; Schillaci, F.; Trifirò, A.

    2016-09-01

    An experimental campaign aiming to investigate the acceleration mechanisms through laser-matter interaction in nanosecond domain has been carried out at the LENS (Laser Energy for Nuclear Science) laboratory of INFN-LNS, Catania. Pure Al targets were irradiated by 6 ns laser pulses at different pumping energies, up to 2 J. Advanced diagnostics tools were used to characterize the plasma plume and ion production. We show the preliminary results of this experimental campaign, and especially the ones showing the production of multicharged ions having very narrow energy spreads.

  16. Study of nanosecond discharges in H2-air mixtures at atmospheric pressure for plasma assisted combustion applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kobayashi, Sumire; Bonaventura, Zdeněk; Tholin, Fabien; Popov, Nikolay A.; Bourdon, Anne

    2017-07-01

    This paper presents 2D simulations of nanosecond discharges between two point electrodes for four different H2-air mixtures defined by their equivalence ratios ϕ (i.e. φ =0, air, φ =0.3, lean mixture, φ =1, stoichiometric mixture and φ =1.5, rich mixture) at atmospheric pressure and at an initial temperature of 1000 K. In a first step, we have shown that the mixture composition has only a very small influence on the discharge dynamics and structure during the streamer phase and up to the formation of the plasma channel between the two point electrodes in H2-air mixtures with φ \\in [0,1.5]. However, as the plasma channel is formed slightly earlier as the equivalence ratio increases, for a given voltage pulse, the duration of the nanosecond spark phase increases as the equivalence ratio increases. As expected, we have shown that excited states of N2 (and in particular N2(A)) and radicals (and in particular O(D), O(P), H and OH) are very efficiently produced during the voltage pulse after the start of the spark phase. After the voltage pulse, and up to 100 ns, the densities of excited states of N2 and of O(D) decrease. Conversely, most of the O(P), H and OH radicals are produced after the voltage pulse due to the dissociative quenching of electronically excited N2. As for radicals, the gas temperature starts increasing after the start of the spark phase. For all studied mixtures, the density of O(P) atoms and the gas temperature reach their maxima after the end of the voltage pulse and the densities of O(P), H and OH radicals and the maximal gas temperature increase as the equivalence ratio increases. We have shown that the production of radicals is the highest on the discharge axis and the distribution of species after the voltage pulse and up to 100 ns has a larger diameter between the electrodes than close to both electrode tips. As for species, the temperature distribution presents two hot spots close to the point electrode tips. The non

  17. Spacecraft dielectric material properties and spacecraft charging

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frederickson, A. R.; Wall, J. A.; Cotts, D. B.; Bouquet, F. L.

    1986-01-01

    The physics of spacecraft charging is reviewed, and criteria for selecting and testing semiinsulating polymers (SIPs) to avoid charging are discussed and illustrated. Chapters are devoted to the required properties of dielectric materials, the charging process, discharge-pulse phenomena, design for minimum pulse size, design to prevent pulses, conduction in polymers, evaluation of SIPs that might prevent spacecraft charging, and the general response of dielectrics to space radiation. SIPs characterized include polyimides, fluorocarbons, thermoplastic polyesters, poly(alkanes), vinyl polymers and acrylates, polymers containing phthalocyanine, polyacene quinones, coordination polymers containing metal ions, conjugated-backbone polymers, and 'metallic' conducting polymers. Tables summarizing the results of SIP radiation tests (such as those performed for the NASA Galileo Project) are included.

  18. Finite element method (FEM) model of the mechanical stress on phospholipid membranes from shock waves produced in nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barnes, Ronald; Roth, Caleb C.; Shadaram, Mehdi; Beier, Hope; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2015-03-01

    The underlying mechanism(s) responsible for nanoporation of phospholipid membranes by nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsEP) remains unknown. The passage of a high electric field through a conductive medium creates two primary contributing factors that may induce poration: the electric field interaction at the membrane and the shockwave produced from electrostriction of a polar submersion medium exposed to an electric field. Previous work has focused on the electric field interaction at the cell membrane, through such models as the transport lattice method. Our objective is to model the shock wave cell membrane interaction induced from the density perturbation formed at the rising edge of a high voltage pulse in a polar liquid resulting in a shock wave propagating away from the electrode toward the cell membrane. Utilizing previous data from cell membrane mechanical parameters, and nsEP generated shockwave parameters, an acoustic shock wave model based on the Helmholtz equation for sound pressure was developed and coupled to a cell membrane model with finite-element modeling in COMSOL. The acoustic structure interaction model was developed to illustrate the harmonic membrane displacements and stresses resulting from shockwave and membrane interaction based on Hooke's law. Poration is predicted by utilizing membrane mechanical breakdown parameters including cortical stress limits and hydrostatic pressure gradients.

  19. Germanium Sub-Microspheres Synthesized by Picosecond Pulsed Laser Melting in Liquids: Educt Size Effects

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Dongshi; Lau, Marcus; Lu, Suwei; Barcikowski, Stephan; Gökce, Bilal

    2017-01-01

    Pulsed laser melting in liquid (PLML) has emerged as a facile approach to synthesize submicron spheres (SMSs) for various applications. Typically lasers with long pulse durations in the nanosecond regime are used. However, recent findings show that during melting the energy absorbed by the particle will be dissipated promptly after laser-matter interaction following the temperature decrease within tens of nanoseconds and hence limiting the efficiency of longer pulse widths. Here, the feasibility to utilize a picosecond laser to synthesize Ge SMSs (200~1000 nm in diameter) is demonstrated by irradiating polydisperse Ge powders in water and isopropanol. Through analyzing the educt size dependent SMSs formation mechanism, we find that Ge powders (200~1000 nm) are directly transformed into SMSs during PLML via reshaping, while comparatively larger powders (1000~2000 nm) are split into daughter SMSs via liquid droplet bisection. Furthermore, the contribution of powders larger than 2000 nm and smaller than 200 nm to form SMSs is discussed. This work shows that compared to nanosecond lasers, picosecond lasers are also suitable to produce SMSs if the pulse duration is longer than the material electron-phonon coupling period to allow thermal relaxation. PMID:28084408

  20. Diversified pulse generation from frequency shifted feedback Tm-doped fibre lasers.

    PubMed

    Chen, He; Chen, Sheng-Ping; Jiang, Zong-Fu; Hou, Jing

    2016-05-19

    Pulsed fibre lasers operating in the eye-safe 2 μm spectral region have numerous potential applications in areas such as remote sensing, medicine, mid-infrared frequency conversion, and free-space communication. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate versatile 2 μm ps-ns pulses generation from Tm-based fibre lasers based on frequency shifted feedback and provide a comprehensive report of their special behaviors. The lasers are featured with elegant construction and the unparalleled capacity of generating versatile pulses. The self-starting mode-locking is initiated by an intra-cavity acousto-optical frequency shifter. Diversified mode-locked pulse dynamics were observed by altering the pump power, intra-cavity polarization state and cavity structure, including as short as 8 ps single pulse sequence, pulse bundle state and up to 12 nJ, 3 ns nanosecond rectangular pulse. A reflective nonlinear optical loop mirror was introduced to successfully shorten the pulses from 24 ps to 8 ps. Beside the mode-locking operation, flexible Q-switching and Q-switched mode-locking operation can also be readily achieved in the same cavity. Up to 78 μJ high energy nanosecond pulse can be generated in this regime. Several intriguing pulse dynamics are characterized and discussed.

  1. Characteristics of colloidal aluminum nanoparticles prepared by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation in deionized water in presence of parallel external electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahdieh, Mohammad Hossein; Mozaffari, Hossein

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, we investigate experimentally the effect of electric field on the size, optical properties and crystal structure of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) of aluminum prepared by nanosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation (PLA) in deionized water. The experiments were conducted for two different conditions, with and without the electric field parallel to the laser beam path and the results were compared. To study the influence of electric field, two polished parallel aluminum metals plates perpendicular to laser beam path were used as the electrodes. The NPs were synthesized for target in negative, positive and neutral polarities. The colloidal nanoparticles were characterized using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that initial charge on the target has strong effect on the size properties and concentration of the synthesized nanoparticles. The XRD patterns show that the structure of produced NPs with and without presence of electric field is Boehmite (AlOOH).

  2. Nanosecond pulsed laser micromachining for experimental fatigue life study of Ti-3Al-2.5V tubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, Yaomin; Gupta, Mool C.; Taylor, Robert E.; Lei, Charles; Stone, William; Spidel, Tom; Yu, Michael; Williams, Reanne

    2009-01-01

    Defects on external surface of in-service hydraulic tubes can reduce total life cycles for operation. Evaluation of fatigue life of the tubes with damage is thus critical for safety reasons. A methodology of generating defects in the Ti-3Al-2.5V tube—a widely used pipeline in hydraulic systems of aircrafts—using nanosecond pulsed laser for experimental fatigue life study is described in this paper. Straight tubes of five different sizes were laser micromachined to generate notches of given length and depths on the outside surface. Approaches were developed to precisely control the notch dimensions. The laser-notched tubes were tested with cyclic internal impulse pressure and fatigue life was measured. The laser notches and fatigue cracks were characterized after the test. It is concluded that laser micromachining generated consistent notches, and the influence of notch depth on fatigue life of the tube is significant. Based on the experimental test results, the relationship between the fatigue life of the Ti-3Al-2.5V tube and the notch depth was revealed. The research demonstrated that laser micromachining is applicable for experimental fatigue life study of titanium tubes. The presented test data are useful for estimating the damage limits of the titanium tubes in service environment and for further theoretical studies.

  3. Visualization of nanosecond laser-induced dewetting, ablation and crystallization processes in thin silicon films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Dongfeng; Zhang, Zifeng; Yu, Xiaohan; Zhang, Yawen

    2018-06-01

    In the present work, nanosecond pulsed laser crystallization, dewetting and ablation of thin amorphous silicon films are investigated by time-resolved imaging. Laser pulses of 532 nm wavelength and 7 ns temporal width are irradiated on silicon film. Below the dewetting threshold, crystallization process happens after 400 ns laser irradiation in the spot central region. With the increasing of laser fluence, it is observed that the dewetting process does not conclude until 300 ns after the laser irradiation, forming droplet-like particles in the spot central region. At higher laser intensities, ablative material removal occurs in the spot center. Cylindrical rims are formed in the peripheral dewetting zone due to solidification of transported matter at about 500 ns following the laser pulse exposure.

  4. Gas Breakdown in the Sub-Nanosecond Regime with Voltages Below 15 KV

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-06-01

    needle -plane gap with outer coaxial conductor, and a 50-Ω load line. The needle consists of tungsten and has a radius of curvature below 0.5 µm. The...here gas breakdown during nanosecond pulses occurs mainly as corona discharges on wire antennas, and represents an unwanted effect - General...risetime between 400 ps to1 ns), 50-W transmission line, axial needle -plane gap with outer coaxial conductor, and a 50-W load line. The needle consists of

  5. Peculiarities of Efficient Plasma Generation in Air and Water by Short Duration Laser Pulses

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Adamovsky, Grigory; Floyd, Bertram M.

    2017-01-01

    We have conducted experiments to demonstrate an efficient generation of plasma discharges by focused nanosecond pulsed laser beams in air and provided recommendations on the design of optical systems to implement such plasma generation. We have also demonstrated generation of the secondary plasma discharge using the unused energy from the primary one. Focused nanosecond pulsed laser beams have also been utilized to generate plasma in water where we observed self-focusing and filamentation. Furthermore, we applied the laser generated plasma to the decomposition of methylene blue dye diluted in water.

  6. Generation of programmable temporal pulse shape and applications in micromachining

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, X.; Jordens, B.; Hooper, A.; Baird, B. W.; Ren, W.; Xu, L.; Sun, L.

    2009-02-01

    In this paper we presented a pulse shaping technique on regular solid-state lasers and the application in semiconductor micromachining. With a conventional Q-switched laser, all of the parameters can be adjusted over only limited ranges, especially the pulse width and pulse shape. However, some laser link processes using traditional laser pulses with pulse widths of a few nanoseconds to a few tens of nanoseconds tend to over-crater in thicker overlying passivation layers and thereby cause IC reliability problems. Use of a laser pulse with a special shape and a fast leading edge, such as tailored pulse, is one technique for controlling link processing. The pulse shaping technique is based on light-loop controlled optical modulation to shape conventional Q-switched solid-state lasers. One advantage of the pulse shaping technique is to provide a tailored pulse shape that can be programmed to have more than one amplitude value. Moreover, it has the capability of providing programmable tailored pulse shapes with discrete amplitude and time duration components. In addition, it provides fast rising and fall time of each pulse at fairly high repetition rate at 355nm with good beam quality. The regular-to-shaped efficiency is up to 50%. We conclude with a discussion of current results for laser processing of semiconductor memory link structures using programmable temporal pulse shapes. The processing experiments showed promising results with shaped pulse.

  7. E. coli electroeradication on a closed loop circuit by using milli-, micro- and nanosecond pulsed electric fields: comparison between energy costs.

    PubMed

    Guionet, Alexis; David, Fabienne; Zaepffel, Clément; Coustets, Mathilde; Helmi, Karim; Cheype, Cyril; Packan, Denis; Garnier, Jean-Pierre; Blanckaert, Vincent; Teissié, Justin

    2015-06-01

    One of the different ways to eradicate microorganisms, and particularly bacteria that might have an impact on health consists in the delivery of pulsed electric fields (PEFs). The technologies of millisecond (ms) or microsecond (μs) PEF are still well known and used for instance in the process of fruit juice sterilization. However, this concept is costly in terms of delivered energy which might be too expensive for some other industrial processes. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) might be an alternative at least for lower energetic cost. However, only few insights were available and stipulate a gain in cost and in efficiency as well. Using Escherichia coli, the impact of frequency and low rate on eradication and energy consumption by msPEF, μsPEF and nsPEF have been studied and compared. While a 1 log10 was reached with an energy cost of 100 and 158 kJ/L with micro- and millisecond PEFs respectively, nsPEF reached the reduction for similar energy consumption. The best condition was obtained for a 1 log10 deactivation in 0.5h, for energy consumption of 143 kJ/L corresponding to 0.04 W · h when the field was around 100 kV/cm. Improvement can also be expected by producing a generator capable to increase the electric field. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Transformative Pulsed Power Science and Technology

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-12-16

    Lin, D. Singleton, J. Sanders, A. Kuthi and M.A. Gundersen, “Experimental study of pulsed corona discharge in air at high pressures”, 65th Annual...Kastner, E. Gutmark, and M. A. Gundersen. “Surface Streamer Discharge for Plasma Flow Control Using Nanosecond Pulsed Power.” Plasma Sciences, IEEE... discharge in atmospheric pressure fuel/air mixtures”, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 45 495401 (2012). 28. S. J. Pendleton, S. Bowman, C. Carter, M. A. Gundersen

  9. Effects of nanosecond pulsed electrical fields (nsPEFs) on the cell cycle of CHO and Jurkat cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahlke, Megan A.; Navara, Christopher; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2014-03-01

    Exposure to nano-second pulsed electrical fields (nsPEFs) can cause poration of external and internal cell membranes, DNA damage, and disassociation of cytoskeletal components, all of which are capable of disrupting a cell's ability to replicate. Variations between cell lines in membrane and cytoskeletal structure as well as in survival of nsPEF exposure should correspond to unique line-dependent cell cycle effects. Additionally, phase of cell cycle during exposure may be linked to differential sensitivities to nsPEFs across cell lines, as DNA structure, membrane elasticity, and cytoskeletal structure change dramatically during the cell cycle. Populations of Jurkat and Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were examined post-exposure (10 ns pulse trains at 150kV/cm) by analysis of DNA content via propidium iodide staining and flow cytometric analysis at various time points (1, 6, and 12h post-exposure) to determine population distribution in cell cycle phases. Additionally, CHO and Jurkat cells were synchronized in G1/S and G2/M phases, pulsed, and analyzed to evaluate role of cell cycle phase in survival of nsPEFs. CHO populations recovered similarly to sham populations postnsPEF exposure and did not exhibit a phase-specific change in response. Jurkat cells exhibited considerable apoptosis/necrosis in response to nsPEF exposure and were unable to recover and proliferate in a manner similar to sham exposed cells. Additionally, Jurkat cells appear to be more sensitive to nsPEFs in G2/M phases than in G1/S phases. Recovery of CHO populations suggests that nsPEFs do not inhibit proliferation in CHO cells; however, inhibition of Jurkat cells post-nsPEF exposure coupled with preferential cell death in G2/M phases suggest that cell cycle phase during exposure may be an important factor in determining nsPEF toxicity in certain cell lines. Interestingly, CHO cells have a more robust and rigid cytoskeleton than Jurkat cells which is thought to contribute to their ability to

  10. Nanosecond laser ablation of target Al in a gaseous medium: explosive boiling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mazhukin, V. I.; Mazhukin, A. V.; Demin, M. M.; Shapranov, A. V.

    2018-03-01

    An approximate mathematical description of the processes of homogeneous nucleation and homogeneous evaporation (explosive boiling) of a metal target (Al) under the influence of ns laser radiation is proposed in the framework of the hydrodynamic model. Within the continuum approach, a multi-phase, multi-front hydrodynamic model and a computational algorithm are designed to simulate nanosecond laser ablation of the metal targets immersed in gaseous media. The proposed approach is intended for modeling and detailed analysis of the mechanisms of heterogeneous and homogeneous evaporation and their interaction with each other. It is shown that the proposed model and computational algorithm allow modeling of interrelated mechanisms of heterogeneous and homogeneous evaporation of metals, manifested in the form of pulsating explosive boiling. Modeling has shown that explosive evaporation in metals is due to the presence of a near-surface temperature maximum. It has been established that in nanosecond pulsed laser ablation, such exposure regimes can be implemented in which phase explosion is the main mechanism of material removal.

  11. Mechanism and influencing factors on critical pulse width of oil-immersed polymer insulators under short pulses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhao, Liang, E-mail: zhaoliang@ninit.ac.cn; Li, Rui; Zheng, Lei

    2015-04-15

    The critical pulse width (τ{sub c}) is a pulse width at which the surface flashover threshold (E{sub f}) is equal to the bulk breakdown threshold (E{sub BD}) for liquid-polymer composite insulation systems, which is discovered by Zhao et al. [Annual Report Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society, Shenzhen, China, 2013), Vol. 2, pp. 854–857]. In this paper, the mechanism of τ{sub c} is interpreted in perspective of the threshold and the time delay (t{sub d}) of surface flashover and bulk breakdown, respectively. It is found that two changes appear as the pulse widthmore » decreases which are responsible for the existence of τ{sub c}: (1) E{sub BD} is lower than E{sub f}; (2) t{sub d} of bulk breakdown is shorter than t{sub d} of surface flashover. In addition, factors which have influences on τ{sub c} are investigated, such as the dielectric type, the insulation length, the dielectric thickness, the dielectrics configuration, the pulse number, and the liquid purity. These influences of factors are generalized as three types if τ{sub c} is expected to increase: (1) factors causing E{sub BD} to decrease, such as increasing the pulse number or employing a dielectric of lower E{sub BD}; (2) factors causing E{sub f} to increase, such as complicating the insulator's configuration or increasing the liquid purity; (3) factors causing E{sub BD} and E{sub f} to increase together, but E{sub f} increases faster than E{sub BD}, such as decreasing the dielectric thickness or the insulation length. With the data in references, all the three cases are verified experimentally. In the end, a general method based on τ{sub c} for solid insulation design is presented and the significance of τ{sub c} on solid insulation design and on solid demolition are discussed.« less

  12. Single-pulse and burst-mode ablation of gold films measured by quartz crystal microbalance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andrusyak, Oleksiy G.; Bubelnik, Matthew; Mares, Jeremy; McGovern, Theresa; Siders, Craig W.

    2005-02-01

    Femtosecond ablation has several distinct advantages: the threshold energy fluence for the onset of damage and ablation is orders of magnitude less than for traditional nanosecond laser machining, and by virtue of the rapid material removal of approximately an optical penetration depth per pulse, femtosecond machined cuts can be cleaner and more precise than those made with traditional nanosecond or longer pulse lasers. However, in many materials of interest, especially metals, this limits ablation rates to 10-100 nm/pulse. We present the results of using multiple pulse bursts to significantly increase the per-burst ablation rate compared to a single pulse with the same integrated energy, while keeping the peak intensity of each individual pulse below the air ionization limit. Femtosecond ablation with pulses centered at 800-nm having integrated energy of up to 30 mJ per pulse incident upon thin gold films was measured via resonance frequency shifts in a gold-electrode-coated quartz-crystal oscillator. Measurements were performed using Michelson-interferometer-based burst generators, with up to 2 ns pulse separations, as well as pulse shaping by programmable acousto-optic dispersive filter (Dazzler from FastLite) with up to 2 ps pulse separations.

  13. Hybrid insulation coordination and optimisation for 1 MV operation of pulsed electron accelerator KALI-30GW

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Senthil, K.; Mitra, S.; Sandeep, S., E-mail: sentilk@barc.gov.in

    In a multi-gigawatt pulsed power system like KALI-30 GW, insulation coordination is required to achieve high voltages ranging from 0.3 MV to 1 MV. At the same time optimisation of the insulation parameters is required to minimize the inductance of the system, so that nanoseconds output can be achieved. The KALI-30GW pulse power system utilizes a combination of Perspex, delrin, epoxy, transformer oil, nitrogen/SF{sub 6} gas and vacuum insulation at its various stages in compressing DC high voltage to a nanoseconds pulse. This paper describes the operation and performance of the system from 400 kV to 1030 kV output voltagemore » pulse and insulation parameters utilized for obtaining peak 1 MV output. (author)« less

  14. Quantitative-phase microscopy of nanosecond laser-induced micro-modifications inside silicon.

    PubMed

    Li, Q; Chambonneau, M; Chanal, M; Grojo, D

    2016-11-20

    Laser-induced permanent modification inside silicon has been recently demonstrated by using tightly focused nanosecond sources at a 1550 nm wavelength. We have developed a quantitative-phase microscope operating in the near-infrared domain to characterize the laser-induced modifications deep into silicon. By varying the number of applied laser pulses and the energy, we observe porous and densified regions in the focal region. The observed changes are associated with refractive index variations |Δn| exceeding 10-3, enough to envision the laser writing of optical functionalities inside silicon.

  15. Completely explosive ultracompact high-voltage nanosecond pulse-generating system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shkuratov, Sergey I.; Talantsev, Evgueni F.; Baird, Jason; Rose, Millard F.; Shotts, Zachary; Altgilbers, Larry L.; Stults, Allen H.

    2006-04-01

    A conventional pulsed power technology has been combined with an explosive pulsed power technology to produce an autonomous high-voltage power supply. The power supply contained an explosive-driven high-voltage primary power source and a power-conditioning stage. The ultracompact explosive-driven primary power source was based on the physical effect of shock-wave depolarization of high-energy Pb (Zr52Ti48)O3 ferroelectric material. The volume of the energy-carrying ferroelectric elements in the shock-wave ferroelectric generators (SWFEGs) varied from 1.2 to 2.6cm3. The power-conditioning stage was based on the spiral vector inversion generator (VIG). The SWFEG-VIG system demonstrated successful operation and good performance. The amplitude of the output voltage pulse of the SWFEG-VIG system exceeded 90kV, with a rise time of 5.2ns.

  16. Double-pulse femtosecond laser peening of aluminum alloy AA5038: Effect of inter-pulse delay on transient optical plume emission and final surface micro-hardness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ageev, E. I.; Bychenkov, V. Yu.; Ionin, A. A.; Kudryashov, S. I.; Petrov, A. A.; Samokhvalov, A. A.; Veiko, V. P.

    2016-11-01

    Double-pulse ablative femtosecond laser peening of the AA5038 aluminum alloy surface in the phase explosion regime results in its enhanced microhardness, which monotonously decreases till the initial value versus inter-pulse delay, increasing on a sub-nanosecond timescale. Optical emission spectroscopy of the double-pulse ablative plume reveals the same trend in the yield of the corresponding atomic and ion emission versus inter-pulse delay, enlightening the interaction of the second femtosecond laser pump pulse with the surface and the resulting plume.

  17. Characteristics of nonlinear imaging of broadband laser stacked by chirped pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Youwen; You, Kaiming; Chen, Liezun; Lu, Shizhuan; Dai, Zhiping; Ling, Xiaohui

    2014-11-01

    Nanosecond-level pulses of specific shape is usually generated by stacking chirped pulses for high-power inertial confinement fusion driver, in which nonlinear imaging of scatterers may damage precious optical elements. We present a numerical study of the characteristics of nonlinear imaging of scatterers in broadband laser stacked by chirped pulses to disclose the dependence of location and intensity of images on the parameters of the stacked pulse. It is shown that, for sub-nanosecond long sub-pulses with chirp or transform-limited sub-pulses, the time-mean intensity and location of images through normally dispersive and anomalously dispersive self-focusing medium slab are almost identical; While for picosecond-level short sub-pulses with chirp, the time-mean intensity of images for weak normal dispersion is slightly higher than that for weak anomalous dispersion through a thin nonlinear slab; the result is opposite to that for strong dispersion in a thick nonlinear slab; Furthermore, for given time delay between neighboring sub-pulses, the time-mean intensity of images varies periodically with chirp of the sub-pulse increasing; for a given pulse width of sub-pulse, the time-mean intensity of images decreases with the time delay between neighboring sub-pulses increasing; additionally, there is a little difference in the time-mean intensity of images of the laser stacked by different numbers of sub-pulses. Finally, the obtained results are also given physical explanations.

  18. Design, characterization and experimental validation of a compact, flexible pulsed power architecture for ex vivo platelet activation

    PubMed Central

    Caiafa, Antonio; Jiang, Yan; Klopman, Steve; Morton, Christine; Torres, Andrew S.; Loveless, Amanda M.; Neculaes, V. Bogdan

    2017-01-01

    Electric pulses can induce various changes in cell dynamics and properties depending upon pulse parameters; however, pulsed power generators for in vitro and ex vivo applications may have little to no flexibility in changing the pulse duration, rise- and fall-times, or pulse shape. We outline a compact pulsed power architecture that operates from hundreds of nanoseconds (with the potential for modification to tens of nanoseconds) to tens of microseconds by modifying a Marx topology via controlling switch sequences and voltages into each capacitor stage. We demonstrate that this device can deliver pulses to both low conductivity buffers, like standard pulsed power supplies used for electroporation, and higher conductivity solutions, such as blood and platelet rich plasma. We further test the effectiveness of this pulse generator for biomedical applications by successfully activating platelets ex vivo with 400 ns and 600 ns electric pulses. This novel bioelectrics platform may provide researchers with unprecedented flexibility to explore a wide range of pulse parameters that may induce phenomena ranging from intracellular to plasma membrane manipulation. PMID:28746392

  19. Cavitation and shock waves emission on the rigid boundary of water under mid-IR nanosecond laser pulse excitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pushkin, A. V.; Bychkov, A. S.; Karabutov, A. A.; Potemkin, F. V.

    2018-06-01

    The processes of conversion of light energy into mechanical energy under mid-IR nanosecond laser excitation on a rigid boundary of water are investigated. Strong water absorption of Q-switched Cr:Yb:Ho:YSGG (2.85 µm, 6 mJ, 45 ns) laser radiation provides rapid energy deposition of ~8 kJ cm‑3 accompanied with strong mechanical transients. The evolution of shock waves and cavitation bubbles is studied using the technique of shadowgraphy and acoustic measurements, and the conversion efficiency into these energy channels for various laser fluence (0.75–2.0 J cm‑2) is calculated. For 6 mJ laser pulse with fluence of 2.0 J cm‑2, the conversion into shock wave energy reaches 67%. The major part of the shock wave energy (92%) is dissipated when the shock front travels the first 250 µm, and the remaining 8% is transferred to the acoustic far field. The calculated pressure in the vicinity of water-silicon interface is 0.9 GPa. Cavitation efficiency is significantly less and reaches up to 5% of the light energy. The results of the current study could be used in laser parameters optimization for micromachining and biological tissue ablation.

  20. A note on supersonic flow control with nanosecond plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, J. G.; Cui, Y. D.; Li, J.; Khoo, B. C.

    2018-04-01

    A concept study on supersonic flow control using nanosecond pulsed plasma actuator is conducted by means of numerical simulation. The nanosecond plasma discharge is characterized by the generation of a micro-shock wave in ambient air and a residual heat in the discharge volume arising from the rapid heating of near-surface gas by the quick discharge. The residual heat has been found to be essential for the flow separation control over aerodynamic bodies like airfoil and backward-facing step. In this study, novel experiment is designed to utilize the other flow feature from discharge, i.e., instant shock wave, to control supersonic flow through shock-shock interaction. Both bow shock in front of a blunt body and attached shock anchored at the tip of supersonic projectile are manipulated via the discharged-induced shock wave in an appropriate manner. It is observed that drag on the blunt body is reduced appreciably. Meanwhile, a lateral force on sharp-edged projectile is produced, which can steer the body and give it an effective angle of attack. This opens a promising possibility for extending the applicability of this flow control technique in supersonic flow regime.

  1. Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields Enhance the Anti-tumour Effects of the mTOR Inhibitor Everolimus against Melanoma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dai, Jie; Wu, Shan; Kong, Yan; Chi, Zhihong; Si, Lu; Sheng, Xinan; Cui, Chuanliang; Fang, Jing; Zhang, Jue; Guo, Jun

    2017-01-01

    The PI3K/mTOR/AKT pathway is activated in most melanomas, but mTOR inhibitors used singly have limited activity against advanced melanomas. The application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) is a promising cancer therapy approach. In this study, we evaluated the synergistic anti-tumour efficacy of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus in conjunction with nsPEFs against melanoma. The combined treatment of nsPEFs and everolimus gradually decreased cell growth concurrent with nsPEF intensity. nsPEFs alone or combined with everolimus could promote melanoma cell apoptosis, accompanied with a loss in cellular mitochondrial membrane potential and an increase in Ca2+ levels. In vivo experiments showed that a combination of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus and nsPEFs improved the inhibitory effect, and all skin lesions caused by nsPEFs healed in 1 week without any observed adverse effect. Combination treatment induced caspase-dependent apoptosis through the upregulation of the pro-apoptotic factor Bax and downregulation of the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2. Everolimus and nsPEFs synergistically inhibited angiogenesis by decreasing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptor (VEGFR), and CD34. Our findings indicate that nsPEFs in combination with an mTOR inhibitor can be used as a potential treatment approach for advanced melanoma.

  2. Performance enhancement of sub-nanosecond diode-pumped passively Q-switched Yb:YAG microchip laser with diamond surface cooling.

    PubMed

    Zhuang, W Z; Chen, Yi-Fan; Su, K W; Huang, K F; Chen, Y F

    2012-09-24

    We experimentally confirm that diamond surface cooling can significantly enhance the output performance of a sub-nanosecond diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched Yb:YAG laser. It is found that the pulse energy obtained with diamond cooling is approximately 1.5 times greater than that obtained without diamond cooling, where a Cr(4+):YAG absorber with the initial transmission of 84% is employed. Furthermore, the standard deviation of the pulse amplitude peak-to-peak fluctuation is found to be approximately 3 times lower than that measured without diamond cooling. Under a pump power of 3.9 W, the passively Q-switched Yb:YAG laser can generate a pulse train of 3.3 kHz repetition rate with a pulse energy of 287 μJ and with a pulse width of 650 ps.

  3. Inactivation of Escherichia coli in water by pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in coaxial reactor.

    PubMed

    Hernández-Arias, A N; Rodríguez-Méndez, B G; López-Callejas, R; Alcántara-Díaz, D; Valencia-Alvarado, R; Mercado-Cabrera, A; Peña-Eguiluz, R; Muñoz-Castro, A E; Barocio, S R; de la Piedad-Beneitez, A

    2012-09-01

    An experimental study of ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) 8739 Escherichia coli bacteria inactivation in water by means of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (PDBD) atmospheric pressure plasmas is presented. Plasma is generated by an adjustable power source capable of supplying high voltage 25 kV pulses, ∼30 μs long and at a 500 Hz frequency. The process was conducted in a ∼152 cm(3) cylindrical stainless steel coaxial reactor, endowed with a straight central electrode and a gas inlet. The bacterial concentration in water was varied from 10(3) up to 10(8) E. coli cells per millilitre. The inactivation was achieved without gas flow in the order of 82% at 10(8) colony-forming units per millilitre (CFU mL(-1)) concentrations in 600 s. In addition, oxygen was added to the gas supply in order to increase the ozone content in the process, raising the inactivation percentage to the order of 90% in the same treatment time. In order to reach a higher efficiency however, oxygen injection modulation is applied, leading to inactivation percentages above 99.99%. These results are similarly valid for lower bacterial concentrations.

  4. Observation of nanosecond laser induced fluorescence of in vitro seawater phytoplankton

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bensky, Thomas J.; Clemo, Lisa; Gilbert, Chris

    2008-08-01

    Seawater has been irradiated using a train of 70 ns flashes from a 440 nm laser source. This wavelength is on resonance with the blue absorption peak of Chlorophyll pigment associated with the photosystem of in vitro phytoplankton. The resulting fluorescence at 685 nm is instantaneously recorded during each laser pulse using a streak camera. Delayed fluorescence is observed, yielding clues about initiation of the photosynthetic process on a nanosecond time scale. Further data processing allows for determination of the functional absorption cross section, found to be 0.0095 ?{sup 2}, which is the first reporting of this number for inmore » vitro phytoplankton. Unlike other flash-pump studies of Chlorophyll, using a LED or flashlamp-based sources, the short laser pulse used here does not reveal any pulse-to-pulse hysteresis (i.e., variable fluorescence), indicating that the laser pulses used here are not able to drive the photosynthetic process to completion. This is attributed to competition from a back reaction between the photoexcited photosystem II and the intermediate electron acceptor. The significance of this work as a new type of deployable ocean fluorimeter is discussed, and it is believed the apparatus will have applications in thin-layer phytoplankton research.« less

  5. Negative pressures and spallation in water drops subjected to nanosecond shock waves

    DOE PAGES

    Stan, Claudiu A.; Willmott, Philip R.; Stone, Howard A.; ...

    2016-05-16

    Most experimental studies of cavitation in liquid water at negative pressures reported cavitation at tensions significantly smaller than those expected for homogeneous nucleation, suggesting that achievable tensions are limited by heterogeneous cavitation. We generated tension pulses with nanosecond rise times in water by reflecting cylindrical shock waves, produced by X-ray laser pulses, at the internal surface of drops of water. Depending on the X-ray pulse energy, a range of cavitation phenomena occurred, including the rupture and detachment, or spallation, of thin liquid layers at the surface of the drop. When spallation occurred, we evaluated that negative pressures below –100 MPamore » were reached in the drops. As a result, we model the negative pressures from shock reflection experiments using a nucleation-and-growth model that explains how rapid decompression could outrun heterogeneous cavitation in water, and enable the study of stretched water close to homogeneous cavitation pressures.« less

  6. Comparison of treatment with an Alexandrite picosecond laser and Nd:YAG nanosecond laser for removing blue-black Chinese eyeliner tattoos.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Mengli; Huang, Yuqing; Lin, Tong; Wu, Qiuju

    2018-02-28

    To retrospectively evaluate the efficacy of an Alexandrite picosecond laser versus Nd:YAG nanosecond laser for removing blue-black eyeliner tattoos which have existed more than 10 years. A total of 40 patients were treated with an Alexandrite picosecond laser in our department from August 2015 to July 2017, with a fluence of 1.96-6.37J/cm 2 , spot size of 2.0-3.6 mm, and pulse width of 750 ps. Another 32 patients were treated with an Nd:YAG nanosecond laser, with a fluence of 2.80-7.00 J/cm 2 , spot size of 3 mm, and pulse width of 5-20 ns. All analysed patients completed at least one treatment and follow-up. The median number of treatment for all the patients was 1 (range, 1-4). After a single session, no difference was found between the two lasers for the eyeliner removal (p > 0.05). For the people who achieved an excellent response of tattoo clearance, there was still no difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). Transient side effects were observed in two groups, but neither group had significant adverse reactions. To treat blue-black Chinese eyeliner tattoos over 10 years, Alexandrite picosecond laser does not provide better clearance than the Nd:YAG nanosecond laser.

  7. Polymer Composite and Nanocomposite Dielectric Materials for Pulse Power Energy Storage †

    PubMed Central

    Barber, Peter; Balasubramanian, Shiva; Anguchamy, Yogesh; Gong, Shushan; Wibowo, Arief; Gao, Hongsheng; Ploehn, Harry J.; zur Loye, Hans-Conrad

    2009-01-01

    This review summarizes the current state of polymer composites used as dielectric materials for energy storage. The particular focus is on materials: polymers serving as the matrix, inorganic fillers used to increase the effective dielectric constant, and various recent investigations of functionalization of metal oxide fillers to improve compatibility with polymers. We review the recent literature focused on the dielectric characterization of composites, specifically the measurement of dielectric permittivity and breakdown field strength. Special attention is given to the analysis of the energy density of polymer composite materials and how the functionalization of the inorganic filler affects the energy density of polymer composite dielectric materials.

  8. Nanosecond pulsed electric field suppresses development of eyes and germ cells through blocking synthesis of retinoic acid in Medaka (Oryzias latipes).

    PubMed

    Shiraishi, Eri; Hosseini, Hamid; Kang, Dong K; Kitano, Takeshi; Akiyama, Hidenori

    2013-01-01

    Application of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) has attracted rising attention in various scientific fields including medical, pharmacological, and biological sciences, although its effects and molecular mechanisms leading to the effects remain poorly understood. Here, we show that a single, high-intensity (10-30 kV/cm), 60-ns PEF exposure affects gene expression and impairs development of eyes and germ cells in medaka (Oryzias latipes). Exposure of early blastula stage embryos to nsPEF down-regulated the expression of several transcription factors which are essential for eye development, causing abnormal eye formation. Moreover, the majority of the exposed genetic female embryos showed a fewer number of germ cells similar to that of the control (unexposed) genetic male at 9 days post-fertilization (dpf). However, all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) treatment following the exposure rescued proliferation of germ cells and resumption of normal eye development, suggesting that the phenotypes induced by nsPEF are caused by a decrease of retinoic acid levels. These results confirm that nsPEFs induce novel effects during embryogenesis in medaka.

  9. Laser Pulse-Stretching Using Multiple Optical Ring-Cavities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kojima, Jun; Nguyen, Quang-Viet; Lee, Chi-Ming (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    We describe a simple and passive nanosecond-long (ns-long) laser 'pulse-stretcher' using multiple optical ring-cavities. We present a model of the pulse-stretching process for an arbitrary number of optical ring-cavities. Using the model, we optimize the design of a pulse-stretcher for use in a spontaneous Raman scattering excitation system that avoids laser-induced plasma spark problems. From the optimized design, we then experimentally demonstrate and verify the model with a 3-cavity pulse-stretcher system that converts a 1000 mJ, 8.4 ns-long input laser pulse into an approximately 75 ns-long (FWHM) output laser pulse with a peak power reduction of 0.10X, and an 83% efficiency.

  10. Titanium dioxide thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition and integration in radio frequency devices: Study of structure, optical and dielectric properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Orlianges, Jean-Christophe; Crunteanu, Aurelian; Pothier, Arnaud; Merle-Mejean, Therese; Blondy, Pierre; Champeaux, Corinne

    2012-12-01

    Titanium dioxide presents a wide range of technological application possibilities due to its dielectric, electrochemical, photocatalytic and optical properties. The three TiO2 allotropic forms: anatase, rutile and brookite are also interesting, since they exhibit different properties, stabilities and growth modes. For instance, rutile has a high dielectric permittivity, of particular interest for the integration as dielectric in components such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for radio frequency (RF) devices. In this study, titanium dioxide thin films are deposited by pulsed laser deposition. Characterizations by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction show the evolution of the structural properties. Thin films optical properties are investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmission measurements from UV to IR range. Co-planar waveguide (CPW) devices are fabricated based on these films. Their performances are measured in the RF domain and compared to simulation, leading to relative permittivity values in the range 30-120, showing the potentialities of the deposited material for capacitive switches applications.

  11. Ozone formation in pulsed SDBD in a wide pressure range

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starikovskiy, Andrey; Nudnova, Maryia; mipt Team

    2011-10-01

    Ozone concentration in surface anode-directed DBD for wide pressure range (150 - 1300 torr) was experimentally measured. Voltage and pressure effect were investigated. Reduced electric field was measured for anode-directed and cathode-directed SDBD. E/n values in cathode-directed SDBD is higher than in cathode-directed on 50 percent at atmospheric pressure. E/n value increase leads to decrease the rate of oxygen dissociation and Ozone formation at lower pressures. Radiating region thickness of sliding discharge was measured. Typical thickness of radiating zone is 0.4-1.0 mm within pressure range 220-740 torr. It was shown that high-voltage pulsed nanosecond discharge due to high E/n value produces less Ozone with compare to other discharges. Kinetic model was proposed to describe Ozone formation in the pulsed nanosecond SDBD.

  12. Effect of idler absorption in pulsed optical parametric oscillators.

    PubMed

    Rustad, Gunnar; Arisholm, Gunnar; Farsund, Øystein

    2011-01-31

    Absorption at the idler wavelength in an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is often considered detrimental. We show through simulations that pulsed OPOs with significant idler absorption can perform better than OPOs with low idler absorption both in terms of conversion efficiency and beam quality. The main reason for this is reduced back conversion. We also show how the beam quality depends on the beam width and pump pulse length, and present scaling relations to use the example simulations for other pulsed nanosecond OPOs.

  13. Comparative study of photothermolysis of cancer cells with nuclear-targeted or cytoplasm-targeted gold nanospheres: continuous wave or pulsed lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Xiaohua; Kang, Bin; Qian, Wei; Mackey, Megan A.; Chen, Po C.; Oyelere, Adegboyega K.; El-Sayed, Ivan H.; El-Sayed, Mostafa A.

    2010-09-01

    We conduct a comparative study on the efficiency and cell death pathways of continuous wave (cw) and nanosecond pulsed laser photothermal cancer therapy using gold nanospheres delivered to either the cytoplasm or nucleus of cancer cells. Cytoplasm localization is achieved using arginine-glycine-aspartate peptide modified gold nanospheres, which target integrin receptors on the cell surface and are subsequently internalized by the cells. Nuclear delivery is achieved by conjugating the gold nanospheres with nuclear localization sequence peptides originating from the simian virus. Photothermal experiments show that cell death can be induced with a single pulse of a nanosecond laser more efficiently than with a cw laser. When the cw laser is applied, gold nanospheres localized in the cytoplasm are more effective in inducing cell destruction than gold nanospheres localized at the nucleus. The opposite effect is observed when the nanosecond pulsed laser is used, suggesting that plasmonic field enhancement of the nonlinear absorption processes occurs at high localization of gold nanospheres at the nucleus. Cell death pathways are further investigated via a standard apoptosis kit to show that the cell death mechanisms depend on the type of laser used. While the cw laser induces cell death via apoptosis, the nanosecond pulsed laser leads to cell necrosis. These studies add mechanistic insight to gold nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy of cancer.

  14. A single-sweep, nanosecond time resolution laser temperature-jump apparatus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ballew, R. M.; Sabelko, J.; Reiner, C.; Gruebele, M.

    1996-10-01

    We describe a fast temperature-jump (T-jump) apparatus capable of acquiring kinetic relaxation transients via real-time fluorescence detection over a time interval from nanoseconds to milliseconds in a single sweep. The method is suitable for aqueous solutions, relying upon the direct absorption of laser light by the bulk water. This obviates the need for additives (serving as optical or conductive heaters) that may interact with the sample under investigation. The longitudinal temperature profile is made uniform by counterpropagating heating pulses. Dead time is limited to one period of the probe laser (16 ns). The apparatus response is tested with aqueous tryptophan and the diffusion-controlled dimerization of proflavine.

  15. Nonlinear antiferroelectric-like capacitance-voltage curves in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, A. Q.; Zhang, D. W.; Tang, T. A.

    2013-07-01

    The ferroelectric capacitance is usually nonlinear against increasing/decreasing voltage in sweeping time longer than 1 s and achieves a maximum value at around a coercive voltage within each loop. With the improved short-pulse measurements, we estimated the differential capacitance of ferroelectric Au/BiFeO3/LaNiO3/SrTiO3 thin-film capacitors from a nanosecond discharging current induced by a delta voltage after a stressing voltage pulse with widths of 500 ns-50 ms. With the shortening of the voltage sweeping time, we clearly observed two capacitance maxima from each branch of a capacitance-voltage (C-V) loop, reminiscent of an antiferroelectric behavior. After transformation of nanosecond domain switching current transients under pulses into polarization-voltage hysteresis loops, we further measured time dependent polarization retention as well as imprint in the range of 100 ns-1 s. Both positive and negative polarizations decay exponentially at characteristic times of 2.25 and 198 μs, suggesting the coexistence of preferred domains pointing to top and bottom electrodes in most epitaxial films. This exponential time dependence is similar to the dielectric degradation under a dc voltage, and the polarization retention can be improved through long-time opposite voltage stressing. With this improvement, the additional antiferroelectric-like dielectric maximum within each branch of a C-V loop disappears. This experiment provides the strong evidence of the effect of time-dependent charge injection on polarization retention and dielectric degradation.

  16. Nanosecond pulsed humid Ar plasma jet in air: shielding, discharge characteristics and atomic hydrogen production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yatom, Shurik; Luo, Yuchen; Xiong, Qing; Bruggeman, Peter J.

    2017-10-01

    Gas phase non-equilibrium plasmas jets containing water vapor are of growing interest for many applications. In this manuscript, we report a detailed study of an atmospheric pressure nanosecond pulsed Ar  +  0.26% H2O plasma jet. The plasma jet operates in an atmospheric pressure air surrounding but is shielded with a coaxial argon flow to limit the air diffusion into the jet effluent core. The jet impinges on a metal plate electrode and produces a stable plasma filament (transient spark) between the needle electrode in the jet and the metal plate. The stable plasma filament is characterized by spatially and time resolved electrical and optical diagnostics. This includes Rayleigh scattering, Stark broadening of the hydrogen Balmer lines and two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence (TaLIF) to obtain the gas temperature, the electron density and the atomic hydrogen density respectively. Electron densities and atomic hydrogen densities up to 5 × 1022 m-3 and 2 × 1022 m-3 have been measured. This shows that atomic hydrogen is one of the main species in high density Ar-H2O plasmas. The gas temperature does not exceed 550 K in the core of the plasma. To enable in situ calibration of the H TaLIF at atmospheric pressure a previously published O density calibration scheme is extended to include a correction for the line profiles by including overlap integrals as required by H TaLIF. The line width of H TaLIF, due to collision broadening has the same trend as the neutral density obtained by Rayleigh scattering. This suggests the possibility to use this technique to in situ probe neutral gas densities.

  17. Acoustic experimental investigation of interaction femtosecond laser pulses with gas-aerosol media and biological tissues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bochkarev, N. N.; Kabanov, A. M.; Stepanov, A. N.

    2008-02-01

    Using two optical acoustic approaches we experimentally investigated spatial location of filament zone of propagation channel of focused laser radiation. For femtosecond pulses passing in air it was shown that nonlinear focus length had spatial scale of 1/P at initial power P moderate for self-focusing and at optical system focus distance significantly lower than Rayleigh beam length. The results of experimental optical acoustic investigation of femto- and nanosecond pulses attenuation by some biological tissues (muscular tissue, adipose tissue, cutaneous covering, milk) and optical breakdown thresholds on these one are presented. It was shown that penetration depth of short laser pulse radiation into biological tissues is the same as for longer one. However, amplitude of acoustic response to a process of interaction of femtosecond laser pulse with biological tissue is larger in several times than that to interaction with nanosecond pulses of the same power and spectral distribution. The obtained of threshold values can be interesting for tabulation of limit allowable levels of irradiation at work with laser radiation. Such values are unknown for femtosecond laser pulses today.

  18. Laser pulse detector

    DOEpatents

    Mashburn, D.N.; Akerman, M.A.

    1979-08-13

    A laser pulse detector is provided which is small and inexpensive and has the capability of detecting laser light of any wavelength with fast response (less than 5 nanoseconds rise time). The laser beam is focused onto the receiving end of a graphite rod coaxially mounted within a close-fitting conductive, open-end cylindrical housing so that ablation and electric field breakdown of the resulting plasma occurs due to a bias potential applied between the graphite rod and housing. The pulse produced by the breakdown is transmitted through a matched impedance coaxial cable to a recording device. The cable is connected with its central lead to the graphite rod and its outer conductor to the housing.

  19. Laser pulse detector

    DOEpatents

    Mashburn, Douglas N.; Akerman, M. Alfred

    1981-01-01

    A laser pulse detector is provided which is small and inexpensive and has the capability of detecting laser light of any wavelength with fast response (less than 5 nanoseconds rise time). The laser beam is focused onto the receiving end of a graphite rod coaxially mounted within a close-fitting conductive, open-end cylindrical housing so that ablation and electric field breakdown of the resulting plasma occurs due to a bias potential applied between the graphite rod and housing. The pulse produced by the breakdown is transmitted through a matched impedance coaxial cable to a recording device. The cable is connected with its central lead to the graphite rod and its outer conductor to the housing.

  20. Modified Blumlein pulse-forming networks for bioelectrical applications.

    PubMed

    Romeo, Stefania; Sarti, Maurizio; Scarfì, Maria Rosaria; Zeni, Luigi

    2010-07-01

    Intense nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have been shown to induce, on intracellular structures, interesting effects dependent on electrical exposure conditions (pulse length and amplitude, repetition frequency and number of pulses), which are known in the literature as "bioelectrical effects" (Schoenbach et al., IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 30:293-300, 2002). In particular, pulses with a shorter width than the plasma membrane charging time constant (about 100 ns for mammalian cells) can penetrate the cell and trigger effects such as permeabilization of intracellular membranes, release of Ca(2+) and apoptosis induction. Moreover, the observed effects have led to exploration of medical applications, like the treatment of melanoma tumors (Nuccitelli et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 343:351-360, 2006). Pulsed electric fields allowing such effects usually range from several tens to a few hundred nanoseconds in duration and from a few to several tens of megavolts per meter in amplitude (Schoenbach et al., IEEE Trans Diel Elec Insul 14:1088-1109, 2007); however, the biological effects of subnanosecond pulses have been also investigated (Schoenbach et al., IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 36:414-422, 2008). The use of such a large variety of pulse parameters suggests that highly flexible pulse-generating systems, able to deliver wide ranges of pulse durations and amplitudes, are strongly required in order to explore effects and applications related to different exposure conditions. The Blumlein pulse-forming network is an often-employed circuit topology for the generation of high-voltage electric pulses with fixed pulse duration. An innovative modification to the Blumlein circuit has been recently devised which allows generation of pulses with variable amplitude, duration and polarity. Two different modified Blumlein pulse-generating systems are presented in this article, the first based on a coaxial cable configuration, matching microscopic slides as a pulse-delivery system

  1. LASER PLASMA: Experimental confirmation of the erosion origin of pulsed low-threshold surface optical breakdown of air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Min'ko, L. Ya; Chumakou, A. N.; Chivel', Yu A.

    1988-08-01

    Nanosecond kinetic spectroscopy techniques were used to identify the erosion origin of pulsed low-threshold surface optical breakdown of air as a result of interaction of microsecond neodymium and CO2 laser pulses with some metals (indium, lead).

  2. Pulsed-DC DBD Plasma Actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duong, Alan; Corke, Thomas; Thomas, Flint

    2017-11-01

    A power system for dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators that utilizes a pulsed-DC waveform is presented. The plasma actuator arrangement is identical to most typical AC-DBD designs with staggered electrodes that are separated by a dielectric insulator. A key difference is that the pulsed-DC actuator utilizes a DC voltage source to drive the actuator instead of an AC voltage input. The DC source is supplied to both electrodes. The exposed electrode remains constant in time while the encapsulated electrode is periodically grounded for short instances then is allowed to rise to the source DC level. Further investigation of the pulsed-DC plasma actuator was conducted. Time-resolved velocity measurements were done to characterize the induced velocity field generated by the pulsed-DC plasma actuator. A model of the pulsed-DC plasma actuator is developed in LTspice for further study. The work presented are intended in developing a model to be used in CFD flow control simulations. NASA SBIR NNX14CC12C.

  3. Reaction pathways of producing and losing particles in atmospheric pressure methane nanosecond pulsed needle-plane discharge plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yuefeng; Wang, Chao; Li, Li; Wang, Lijuan; Pan, Jie

    2018-03-01

    In this work, a two-dimensional fluid model is built up to numerically investigate the reaction pathways of producing and losing particles in atmospheric pressure methane nanosecond pulsed needle-plane discharge plasma. The calculation results indicate that the electron collisions with CH4 are the key pathways to produce the neutral particles CH2 and CH as well as the charged particles e and CH3+. CH3, H2, H, C2H2, and C2H4 primarily result from the reactions between the neutral particles and CH4. The charge transfer reactions are the significant pathways to produce CH4+, C2H2+, and C2H4+. As to the neutral species CH and H and the charged species CH3+, the reactions between themselves and CH4 contribute to substantial losses of these particles. The ways responsible for losing CH3, H2, C2H2, and C2H4 are CH3 + H → CH4, H2 + CH → CH2 + H, CH4+ + C2H2 → C2H2+ + CH4, and CH4+ + C2H4 → C2H4+ + CH4, respectively. Both electrons and C2H4+ are consumed by the dissociative electron-ion recombination reactions. The essential reaction pathways of losing CH4+ and C2H2+ are the charge transfer reactions.

  4. Probe Measurements of Parameters of Streamers of Nanosecond Frequency Crown Discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ponizovskiy, A. Z.; Gosteev, S. G.

    2017-12-01

    Investigations of the parameters of single streamers of nanosecond frequency corona discharge, creating a voluminous low-temperature plasma in extended coaxial electrode systems, are performed. Measurements of the parameters of streamers were made by an isolated probe situated on the outer grounded electrode. Streamers were generated under the action of voltage pulses with a front of 50-300 ns, duration of 100-600 ns, and amplitude up to 100 kV at the frequency of 50-1000 Hz. The pulse voltage, the total current of the corona, current per probe, and glow in the discharge gap were recorded in the experiments. It was established that, at these parameters of pulse voltage, streamers propagate at an average strength of the electric field of 4-10 kV/cm. Increasing the pulse amplitude leads to an increase in the number of streamers hitting the probe, an increase in the average charge of the head of a streamer, and, as a consequence, an increase in the total streamer current and the energy introduced into the gas. In the intervals up to 3 cm, streamer breakdown at an average field strength of 5-10 kV/cm is possible. In longer intervals, during the buildup of voltage after generation of the main pulse, RF breakdown is observed at E av ≈ 4 kV/cm.

  5. Multipactor experiment on a dielectric surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, Rex Beach, III

    2001-12-01

    Multipactor is an electron multiplication process, or electron avalanche, that occurs on metallic and dielectric surfaces in the presence of rf microwave fields. Just as a rock avalanche only needs one rock to cause a larger slide of destruction, one electron under multipactor conditions can cause a tremendous amount of damage to electrical components. Multipactor is a nuisance that can cause excessive noise in communication satellites and radar, and damage to vacuum windows in particle accelerators. Single-surface multipactor on dielectrics is responsible for poor transmission properties of vacuum windows and can eventually lead to vacuum window failure. The repercussions of multipactor affect a wide range of people. For example, a civilian placing a call on a cell phone, or a captain dependent on radar for his ship's safety could both be affected by multipactor. In order to combat this expensive annoyance, a unique experiment to investigate single-surface multipactor on a dielectric surface was developed and tested. The motivation of this thesis is to introduce a novel experiment for multipactor that is designed to verify theoretical calculations and explore the physics behind the phenomenon. The compact apparatus consists of a small brass microwave cavity in a high vacuum system. Most single-surface multipactor experiments consist of a large resonant ring wave guide with a MW power supply. This experiment is the first to utilize a high Q resonant cavity and kW-level power supply to create multipactor on a dielectric surface. The small brass resonant cavity has an inner length of 9.154 cm with an inner diameter of 9.045 cm. A pulsed, variable frequency microwave source at ˜2.4 GHz, 2 kW peak excites the TE111 mode with a strong electric field parallel to a dielectric plate (˜0.2 cm thickness) that is inserted at the mid-plane of the cavity. The microwave pulses from the power supply are monitored by calibrated microwave diodes. These calibrated diodes along

  6. Nanosecond barrier discharge in a krypton/helium mixture containing mercury dibromide: Optical emission and plasma parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malinina, A. A.; Starikovskaya, S. M.; Malinin, A. N.

    2015-01-01

    Spectral and electrical characteristics of atmospheric-pressure nanosecond barrier discharge plasma in a HgBr2/Kr/He mixture have been investigated. The discharge was initiated by positive 10-kV voltage pulses with a rise time of 4 ns and a half-amplitude duration of 28 ns. Emission from exciplex HgBr ( B 2Σ{1/2/+} - X 2Σ{1/2/+}) and KrBr ( B 2Σ{1/2/+} - X 2Σ{1/2/+}, C3/2-AΠ1/2, D1/2-AΠ1/2) molecules have been studied. From the time evolution of the B-X transition spectra of the HgBr molecule (502 nm) and KrBr molecule (207 nm), a mechanism of the formation of the exciplex molecules in the nanosecond discharge has been deduced. The distributions of the energies and rates of the processes responsible for emission from HgBr and KrBr molecules have been analyzed by numerically solving the Boltzmann equation for the electron distribution function. Experiments have confirmed the possibility of optimizing the voltage supply pulse for maximizing the efficiency of simultaneous emission in the UV and visible (green) spectral ranges from atmospheric-pressure discharge in the HgBr2/Kr/He mixture.

  7. High-speed pre-clinical brain imaging using pulsed laser diode based photoacoustic tomography (PLD-PAT) system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Upputuri, Paul Kumar; Pramanik, Manojit

    2016-03-01

    Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is a promising biomedical imaging modality for small animal imaging, breast cancer imaging, monitoring of vascularisation, tumor angiogenesis, blood oxygenation, total haemoglobin concentration etc. The existing PAT systems that uses Q-switched Nd:YAG and OPO nanosecond lasers have limitations in clinical applications because they are expensive, non-potable and not suitable for real-time imaging due to their low pulse repetition rate. Low-energy pulsed near-infrared diode laser which are low-cost, compact, and light-weight (<200 grams), can be used as an alternate. In this work, we present a photoacoustic tomography system with a pulsed laser diode (PLD) that can nanosecond pulses with pulse energy 1.3 mJ/pulse at ~803 nm wavelength and 7000 Hz repetition rate. The PLD is integrated inside a single-detector circular scanning geometric system. To verify the high speed imaging capabilities of the PLD-PAT system, we performed in vivo experimental results on small animal brain imaging using this system. The proposed system is portable, low-cost and can provide real-time imaging.

  8. On the use of pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharges to control the gas-phase composition of atmospheric pressure air plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barni, R.; Biganzoli, I.; Dell'Orto, E.; Riccardi, C.

    2014-11-01

    We presents results obtained from the numerical simulation of the gas-phase chemical kinetics in atmospheric pressure air non-equilibrium plasmas. In particular we have addressed the effect of pulsed operation mode of a plane dielectric barrier discharge. It was conjectured that the large difference in the time scales involved in the fast dissociation of oxygen molecules in plasma and their subsequent reactions to produce ozone and nitrogen oxides, makes the presence of a continuously repeated plasma production unnecessary and a waste of electrical power and thus efficiency. In order to test such suggestion we have performed a numerical study of the composition and the temporal evolution of the gas-phase of atmospheric pressure air non-equilibrium plasmas. Comparison with experimental findings in a dielectric barrier discharge with an electrode configuration symmetrical and almost ideally plane is briefly addressed too, using plasma diagnostics to extract the properties of the single micro-discharges and a sensor to measure the concentration of ozone produced by the plasma.

  9. Low charge state heavy ion production with sub-nanosecond laser.

    PubMed

    Kanesue, T; Kumaki, M; Ikeda, S; Okamura, M

    2016-02-01

    We have investigated laser ablation plasma of various species using nanosecond and sub-nanosecond lasers for both high and low charge state ion productions. We found that with sub-nanosecond laser, the generated plasma has a long tail which has low charge state ions determined by an electrostatic ion analyzer even under the laser irradiation condition for highly charged ion production. This can be caused by insufficient laser absorption in plasma plume. This property might be suitable for low charge state ion production. We used a nanosecond laser and a sub-nanosecond laser for low charge state ion production to investigate the difference of generated plasma using the Zirconium target.

  10. Production of simplex RNS and ROS by nanosecond pulse N2/O2 plasma jets with homogeneous shielding gas for inducing myeloma cell apoptosis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Zhijie; Xu, Dehui; Liu, Dingxin; Cui, Qingjie; Cai, Haifeng; Li, Qiaosong; Chen, Hailan; Kong, Michael G.

    2017-05-01

    In this paper, atmospheric pressure N2/O2 plasma jets with homogeneous shielding gas excited by nanosecond pulse are obtained to generate simplex reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), respectively, for the purpose of studying the simplex RNS and ROS to induce the myeloma cell apoptosis with the same discharge power. The results reveal that the cell death rate by the N2 plasma jet with N2 shielding gas is about two times that of the O2 plasma jet with O2 shielding gas for the equivalent treatment time. By diagnosing the reactive species of ONOO-, H2O2, OH and \\text{O}2- in medium, our findings suggest the cell death rate after plasma jets treatment has a positive correlation with the concentration of ONOO-. Therefore, the ONOO- in medium is thought to play an important role in the process of inducing myeloma cell apoptosis.

  11. Aerosol speckle effects on atmospheric pulsed lidar backscattered signals

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murty, S. R.

    1989-01-01

    For coherently pulsed lidar systems, the effects of refractive turbulence along the path on the aerosol speckle field propagation and on the decorrelation time are investigated. For a coherence bandwidth of 4.1 x 10 to the 11th rad/s and a time delay of 1.65 x 10 to the -14th s, the effect of pulse broadening is found to be negligible. It is suggested that pulse broadening effects need to be taken into account when the correlation time due to aerosol dephasing approaches the nanosecond range.

  12. Pattern analysis of laser-tattoo interactions for picosecond- and nanosecond-domain 1,064-nm neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet lasers in tissue-mimicking phantom.

    PubMed

    Ahn, Keun Jae; Zheng, Zhenlong; Kwon, Tae Rin; Kim, Beom Joon; Lee, Hye Sun; Cho, Sung Bin

    2017-05-08

    During laser treatment for tattoo removal, pigment chromophores absorb laser energy, resulting in fragmentation of the ink particles via selective photothermolysis. The present study aimed to outline macroscopic laser-tattoo interactions in tissue-mimicking (TM) phantoms treated with picosecond- and nanosecond-domain lasers. Additionally, high-speed cinematographs were captured to visualize time-dependent tattoo-tissue interactions, from laser irradiation to the formation of photothermal and photoacoustic injury zones (PIZs). In all experimental settings using the nanosecond or picosecond laser, tattoo pigments fragmented into coarse particles after a single laser pulse, and further disintegrated into smaller particles that dispersed toward the boundaries of PIZs after repetitive delivery of laser energy. Particles fractured by picosecond treatment were more evenly dispersed throughout PIZs than those fractured by nanosecond treatment. Additionally, picosecond-then-picosecond laser treatment (5-pass-picosecond treatment + 5-pass-picosecond treatment) induced greater disintegration of tattoo particles within PIZs than picosecond-then-nanosecond laser treatment (5-pass-picosecond treatment + 5-pass-nanosecond treatment). High-speed cinematography recorded the formation of PIZs after repeated reflection and propagation of acoustic waves over hundreds of microseconds to a few milliseconds. The present data may be of use in predicting three-dimensional laser-tattoo interactions and associated reactions in surrounding tissue.

  13. Escherichia coli identification and strain discrimination using nanosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Diedrich, Jonathan; Rehse, Steven J.; Palchaudhuri, Sunil

    2007-04-01

    Three strains of Escherichia coli, one strain of environmental mold, and one strain of Candida albicans yeast have been analyzed by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy using nanosecond laser pulses. All microorganisms were analyzed while still alive and with no sample preparation. Nineteen atomic and ionic emission lines have been identified in the spectrum, which is dominated by calcium, magnesium, and sodium. A discriminant function analysis has been used to discriminate between the biotypes and E. coli strains. This analysis showed efficient discrimination between laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy spectra from different strains of a single bacteria species.

  14. Optimized LWIR enhancement of nanosecond and femtosecond LIBS uranium emission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akpovo, Codjo A.; Ford, Alan; Johnson, Lewis

    2016-05-01

    A carbon dioxide (CO2) transverse electrical breakdown in atmosphere (TEA), pulsed laser was used to enhance the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) spectral signatures of uranium under nanosecond (ns) and femtosecond (fs) ablation. The peak areas of both ionic and neutral species increased by one order of magnitude for ns-ablation and two orders of magnitude for fs-ablation over LIBS when the CO2 TEA laser was used with samples of dried solutions of uranyl nitrate hexahydrate (UO2(NO3)2·6H2O) on silicon wafers. Electron temperature and density measurements show that the spectral emission improvement from using the TEA laser comes from plasma reheating.

  15. Low charge state heavy ion production with sub-nanosecond laser

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kanesue, T., E-mail: tkanesue@bnl.gov; Okamura, M.; Kumaki, M.

    2016-02-15

    We have investigated laser ablation plasma of various species using nanosecond and sub-nanosecond lasers for both high and low charge state ion productions. We found that with sub-nanosecond laser, the generated plasma has a long tail which has low charge state ions determined by an electrostatic ion analyzer even under the laser irradiation condition for highly charged ion production. This can be caused by insufficient laser absorption in plasma plume. This property might be suitable for low charge state ion production. We used a nanosecond laser and a sub-nanosecond laser for low charge state ion production to investigate the differencemore » of generated plasma using the Zirconium target.« less

  16. Novel design of high voltage pulse source for efficient dielectric barrier discharge generation by using silicon diodes for alternating current.

    PubMed

    Truong, Hoa Thi; Hayashi, Misaki; Uesugi, Yoshihiko; Tanaka, Yasunori; Ishijima, Tatsuo

    2017-06-01

    This work focuses on design, construction, and optimization of configuration of a novel high voltage pulse power source for large-scale dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) generation. The pulses were generated by using the high-speed switching characteristic of an inexpensive device called silicon diodes for alternating current and the self-terminated characteristic of DBD. The operation started to be powered by a primary DC low voltage power supply flexibly equipped with a commercial DC power supply, or a battery, or DC output of an independent photovoltaic system without transformer employment. This flexible connection to different types of primary power supply could provide a promising solution for the application of DBD, especially in the area without power grid connection. The simple modular structure, non-control requirement, transformer elimination, and a minimum number of levels in voltage conversion could lead to a reduction in size, weight, simple maintenance, low cost of installation, and high scalability of a DBD generator. The performance of this pulse source has been validated by a load of resistor. A good agreement between theoretically estimated and experimentally measured responses has been achieved. The pulse source has also been successfully applied for an efficient DBD plasma generation.

  17. Novel design of high voltage pulse source for efficient dielectric barrier discharge generation by using silicon diodes for alternating current

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Truong, Hoa Thi; Hayashi, Misaki; Uesugi, Yoshihiko; Tanaka, Yasunori; Ishijima, Tatsuo

    2017-06-01

    This work focuses on design, construction, and optimization of configuration of a novel high voltage pulse power source for large-scale dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) generation. The pulses were generated by using the high-speed switching characteristic of an inexpensive device called silicon diodes for alternating current and the self-terminated characteristic of DBD. The operation started to be powered by a primary DC low voltage power supply flexibly equipped with a commercial DC power supply, or a battery, or DC output of an independent photovoltaic system without transformer employment. This flexible connection to different types of primary power supply could provide a promising solution for the application of DBD, especially in the area without power grid connection. The simple modular structure, non-control requirement, transformer elimination, and a minimum number of levels in voltage conversion could lead to a reduction in size, weight, simple maintenance, low cost of installation, and high scalability of a DBD generator. The performance of this pulse source has been validated by a load of resistor. A good agreement between theoretically estimated and experimentally measured responses has been achieved. The pulse source has also been successfully applied for an efficient DBD plasma generation.

  18. A comparison of LIDT behavior of metal-dielectric mirrors in ns and ps pulse regime at 1030 nm with regard to the coating technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Škoda, Václav; Vanda, Jan; Uxa, Štěpán

    2017-11-01

    Several sets of mirror samples with multilayer system Ta2O5/SiO2 on silver metal layer were manufactured using either PVD or IAD coating technology. Both BK7 and fused silica substrates were used for preparation of samples. Laserinduced- damage-threshold (LIDT) of metal-dielectric mirrors was tested using a laser apparatus working at 1030 nm wavelength, in ns and ps pulse length domains in S-on-1 test mode. The measured damage threshold values at 45 deg angle of incidence and P-polarization were compared for different pulse length, substrate materials and coating technology.

  19. Large-volume excitation of air, argon, nitrogen and combustible mixtures by thermal jets produced by nanosecond spark discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stepanyan, Sergey; Hayashi, Jun; Salmon, Arthur; Stancu, Gabi D.; Laux, Christophe O.

    2017-04-01

    This work presents experimental observations of strong expanding thermal jets following the application of nanosecond spark discharges. These jets propagate in a toroidal shape perpendicular to the interelectrode axis, with high velocities of up to 30 m s-1 and over distances of the order of a cm. Their propagation length is much larger than the thermal expansion region produced by the conventional millisecond sparks used in car engine ignition, thus greatly improving the volumetric excitation of gas mixtures. The shape and velocity of the jets is found to be fairly insensitive to the shape of the electrodes. In addition, their spatial extent is found to increase with the number of nanosecond sparks and with the discharge voltage, and to decrease slightly with the pressure between 1 and 7 atm at constant applied voltage. Finally, this thermal jet phenomenon is observed in experiments conducted with many types of gas mixtures, including air, nitrogen, argon, and combustible CH4/air mixtures. This makes nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges particularly attractive for aerodynamic flow control or plasma-assisted combustion because of their ability to excite large volumes of gas, typically about 100 times the volume of the discharge.

  20. Intracellular cavitation as a mechanism of short-pulse laser injury to the retinal pigment epithelium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelly, Michael William

    This research was primarily motivated to determine the retinal injury mechanism from ultra-short pulse (<1ns) lasers. The American National Standards Institute, ANSI, standards for safe retinal exposures, and mechanisms for injury, are established for pulse durations longer than 1 ns. Little data exists for shorter pulse durations. High temperatures and pressures, generated within pigmented melanosomes, leads to mechanically mediated injury for such exposures. We used nanosecond time resolved imaging to evaluate transient photo-mechanical effects on isolated melanosomes, pigmented cell cultures, and the retinal pigment epithelium, RPE, ex-vivo. Exposures between 20 ns and 100 fs were performed. We developed a unique ex-vivo model to examine transient events directly on the RPE. Evaluation of cell viability was accomplished in real time, minutes after the exposure. The threshold for cavitation (bubble formation) around single melanosomes corresponded with the threshold for intracellular cavitation and cell killing, in the nanosecond and picosecond domain. Shock waves, formed around melanosomes following sub-nanosecond exposures, did not affect the mechanism for cell killing at threshold. Although the wavelength was increased for shorter exposures (3 ps, 300 fs, and 100 fs) the threshold for intracellular cavitation decreased. All results were compared with data collected by others, using live animal models.

  1. Pulse Responses of the Conducting Polymer Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): Poly(styrenesulfonate)-Based Junctions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeng, Fei; Li, Xiaojun; Li, Sizhao; Chang, Chiating; Hu, Yuandong

    2017-03-01

    Pulse responses were studied for the heterojunctions within the structure of Ti/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/Ti. The pulse response was found to resemble that of the action potential after the pulse width was modulated to a time scale of nanoseconds. Using the pulse as a stimulation protocol to simulate synaptic plasticity produced spike rate-dependent plasticity-like phenomena. Thus, the application scope of this conducting polymer-based memristor can be extended from a time scale of milliseconds to one of nanoseconds, depending on the requirement of neuromorphic circuits. Current oscillations were observed with a period within 100 ns. The mechanisms of the behavior response were analyzed according to memristor protocol. An interface barrier is thought to primarily account for the origin of the capacitive feature and the charge q, i.e., one of the basic characteristic of the memristor. The chain structure of this conducting polymer should primarily account for the origin of its inductive feature and the flux φ, i.e., another basic characteristic of the memristor.

  2. Polymer Nanocomposite Materials with High Dielectric Permittivity and Low Dielectric Loss Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toor, Anju

    Materials with high dielectric permittivity have drawn increasing interests in recent years for their important applications in capacitors, actuators, and high energy density pulsed power. Particularly, polymer-based dielectrics are excellent candidates, owing to their properties such as high breakdown strength, low dielectric loss, flexibility and easy processing. To enhance the dielectric permittivity of polymer materials, typically, high dielectric constant filler materials are added to the polymer. Previously, ferroelectric and conductive fillers have been mainly used. However, such systems suffered from various limitations. For example, composites based on ferroelectric materials like barium titanate, exhibited high dielectric loss, and poor saturation voltages. Conductive fillers are used in the form of powder aggregates, and they may show 10-100 times enhancement in dielectric constant, however these nanoparticle aggregates cause the dielectric loss to be significant. Also, agglomerates limit the volume fraction of fillers in polymer and hence, the ability to achieve superior dielectric constants. Thus, the aggregation of nanoparticles is a significant challenge to their use to improve the dielectric permittivity. We propose the use of ligand-coated metal nanoparticle fillers to enhance the dielectric properties of the host polymer while minimizing dielectric loss by preventing nanoparticle agglomeration. The focus is on obtaining uniform dispersion of nanoparticles with no agglomeration by utilizing appropriate ligands/surface functionalizations on the gold nanoparticle surface. Use of ligand coated metal nanoparticles will enhance the dielectric constant while minimizing dielectric loss, even with the particles closely packed in the polymer matrix. Novel combinations of materials, which use 5 nm diameter metal nanoparticles embedded inside high breakdown strength polymer materials are evaluated. High breakdown strength polymer materials are chosen to allow

  3. Development of a compact generator for gigawatt, nanosecond high-voltage pulses.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Lin; Jiang, Zhanxing; Liang, Chuan; Li, Mingjia; Wang, Wenchuan; Li, Zhenghong

    2016-03-01

    A compact generator producing 2.2-ns 1.5 GW high-voltage pulses was developed. The generator employed a 27.6 Ω, 0.9 ns pulse-forming-line (PFL), which was charged by an iron core transformer with a turn ratio of 2:33.5 and a coefficient of 0.94. A 1.2 μF, 20 kV capacitor and a hydrogen thyratron were used in the primary circuit. When the thyratron closed at 14.5 kV, 3.4% of the energy stored in the capacitor was delivered to the PFL in 850 ns, producing a peak voltage of up to ∼500 kV. In addition, the principle of triple resonance transformation was employed by adding a 50 pF tuning capacitor and a 1.15 mH inductor between the transformer and the PFL, which led to a significant reduction of the duration and peak value of the transformer voltage without reducing that in the PFL. Meanwhile, an adjustable self-break oil switch was applied. By using transmission lines with impedance overmatched to that of the PFL, the generator delivered a 512 kV pulse across an electron beam diode, generating radiation with a dose of 20 mR/pulse at 20 cm ahead of the diode. The generator provides an excellent ultra-short radiation pulse source for the studies on radiation physics.

  4. Nonlinear optical switching and optical limiting in colloidal CdSe quantum dots investigated by nanosecond Z-scan measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valligatla, Sreeramulu; Haldar, Krishna Kanta; Patra, Amitava; Desai, Narayana Rao

    2016-10-01

    The semiconductor nanocrystals are found to be promising class of third order nonlinear optical materials because of quantum confinement effects. Here, we highlight the nonlinear optical switching and optical limiting of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) using nanosecond Z-scan measurement. The intensity dependent nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of CdSe QDs were investigated by applying the Z-scan technique with 532 nm, nanosecond laser pulses. At lower intensities, the nonlinear process is dominated by saturable absorption (SA) and it is changed to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) at higher intensities. The SA behaviour is attributed to the ground state bleaching and the RSA is ascribed to free carrier absorption (FCA) of CdSe QDs. The nonlinear optical switching behaviour and reverse saturable absorption makes CdSe QDs are good candidate for all-optical device and optical limiting applications.

  5. Generation of energetic, picosecond seed pulses for CO2 laser using Raman shifter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Welch, Eric; Tochitsky, Sergei; Joshi, Chan

    2017-03-01

    We present a new concept for generating 3 ps seed pulses for a high-power CO2 laser amplifier that are multiple orders more energetic than seed pulses generated by slicing from a nanosecond CO2 laser pulse. We propose to send a 1 µm picosecond laser through a C6D6 Raman shifter and mix both the pump and shifted components in a DFG crystal to produce pulses at 10.6 µm. Preliminary results of a proof-of-principle experiment are presented.

  6. Injection-seeded tunable mid-infrared pulses generated by difference frequency mixing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyamoto, Yuki; Hara, Hideaki; Masuda, Takahiko; Hiraki, Takahiro; Sasao, Noboru; Uetake, Satoshi

    2017-03-01

    We report on the generation of nanosecond mid-infrared pulses having frequency tunability, a narrow linewidth, and a high pulse energy. These pulses are obtained by frequency mixing between injection-seeded near-infrared pulses in potassium titanyl arsenate crystals. A continuous-wave external cavity laser diode or a Ti:sapphire ring laser is used as a tunable seeding source for the near-infrared pulses. The typical energy of the generated mid-infrared pulses is in the range of 0.4-1 mJ/pulse. The tuning wavelength ranges from 3142 to 4806 nm. A narrow linewidth of 1.4 GHz and good frequency reproducibility of the mid-infrared pulses are confirmed by observing a rovibrational absorption line of gaseous carbon monoxide at 4587 nm.

  7. Nanosecond pulsed laser generation of holographic structures on metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wlodarczyk, Krystian L.; Ardron, Marcus; Weston, Nick J.; Hand, Duncan P.

    2016-03-01

    A laser-based process for the generation of phase holographic structures directly onto the surface of metals is presented. This process uses 35ns long laser pulses of wavelength 355nm to generate optically-smooth surface deformations on a metal. The laser-induced surface deformations (LISDs) are produced by either localized laser melting or the combination of melting and evaporation. The geometry (shape and dimension) of the LISDs depends on the laser processing parameters, in particular the pulse energy, as well as on the chemical composition of a metal. In this paper, we explain the mechanism of the LISDs formation on various metals, such as stainless steel, pure nickel and nickel-chromium Inconel® alloys. In addition, we provide information about the design and fabrication process of the phase holographic structures and demonstrate their use as robust markings for the identification and traceability of high value metal goods.

  8. Interaction of nanosecond ultraviolet laser pulses with reactive dusty plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wetering, F. M. J. H. van de; Oosterbeek, W.; Beckers, J.

    2016-05-23

    Even though UV laser pulses that irradiate a gas discharge are small compared to the plasma volume (≲3%) and plasma-on time (≲6 × 10{sup −6}%), they are found to dramatically change the discharge characteristics on a global scale. The reactive argon–acetylene plasma allows the growth of nanoparticles with diameters up to 1 μm, which are formed inside the discharge volume due to spontaneous polymerization reactions. It is found that the laser pulses predominantly accelerate and enhance the coagulation phase and are able to suppress the formation of a dust void.

  9. Development of a compact generator for gigawatt, nanosecond high-voltage pulses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhou, Lin, E-mail: zhoulin-2003@163.com; Jiang, Zhanxing; Liang, Chuan

    2016-03-15

    A compact generator producing 2.2-ns 1.5 GW high-voltage pulses was developed. The generator employed a 27.6 Ω, 0.9 ns pulse-forming-line (PFL), which was charged by an iron core transformer with a turn ratio of 2:33.5 and a coefficient of 0.94. A 1.2 μF, 20 kV capacitor and a hydrogen thyratron were used in the primary circuit. When the thyratron closed at 14.5 kV, 3.4% of the energy stored in the capacitor was delivered to the PFL in 850 ns, producing a peak voltage of up to ∼500 kV. In addition, the principle of triple resonance transformation was employed by addingmore » a 50 pF tuning capacitor and a 1.15 mH inductor between the transformer and the PFL, which led to a significant reduction of the duration and peak value of the transformer voltage without reducing that in the PFL. Meanwhile, an adjustable self-break oil switch was applied. By using transmission lines with impedance overmatched to that of the PFL, the generator delivered a 512 kV pulse across an electron beam diode, generating radiation with a dose of 20 mR/pulse at 20 cm ahead of the diode. The generator provides an excellent ultra-short radiation pulse source for the studies on radiation physics.« less

  10. Off Axis Growth of Strontium Titanate Films with High Dielectric Constant Tuning and Low Loss

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-04-03

    80309, U.S.A. ABSTRACT We have measured the nonlinear dielectric properties of strontium titanate (STO) thin films grown on neodymium gallate (NGO...and lanthanum aluminate (LAO) substrates. The films prepared by off-axis pulsed laser deposition were characterized by their dielectric constant and...performed on the films prepared with the off axis growth. EXPERIMENTAL Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was used to deposit STO films on lanthanum

  11. A compact high-voltage pulse generator based on pulse transformer with closed magnetic core.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yu; Liu, Jinliang; Cheng, Xinbing; Bai, Guoqiang; Zhang, Hongbo; Feng, Jiahuai; Liang, Bo

    2010-03-01

    A compact high-voltage nanosecond pulse generator, based on a pulse transformer with a closed magnetic core, is presented in this paper. The pulse generator consists of a miniaturized pulse transformer, a curled parallel strip pulse forming line (PFL), a spark gap, and a matched load. The innovative design is characterized by the compact structure of the transformer and the curled strip PFL. A new structure of transformer windings was designed to keep good insulation and decrease distributed capacitance between turns of windings. A three-copper-strip structure was adopted to avoid asymmetric coupling of the curled strip PFL. When the 31 microF primary capacitor is charged to 2 kV, the pulse transformer can charge the PFL to 165 kV, and the 3.5 ohm matched load can deliver a high-voltage pulse with a duration of 9 ns, amplitude of 84 kV, and rise time of 5.1 ns. When the load is changed to 50 ohms, the output peak voltage of the generator can be 165 kV, the full width at half maximum is 68 ns, and the rise time is 6.5 ns.

  12. Hybrid Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, Sawyer; Trujillo, Skyler; Fort Lewis College Laser Group Team

    This work concerns the novel design of an inexpensive pulsed Nd:YAG laser, consisting of a hybrid Kerr Mode Lock (KLM) and Q-switch pulse. The two pulse generation systems work independently, non simultaneously of each other, thus generating the ability for the user to easily switch between ultra-short pulse widths or large energy density pulses. Traditionally, SF57 glass has been used as the Kerr medium. In this work, novel Kerr mode-locking mediums are being investigated including: tellurite compound glass (TeO2), carbon disulfide (CS2), and chalcogenide glass. These materials have a nonlinear index of refraction orders of magnitude,(n2), larger than SF57 glass. The Q-switched pulse will utilize a Pockels cell. As the two pulse generation systems cannot be operated simultaneously, the Pockels cell and Kerr medium are attached to kinematic mounts, allowing for quick interchange between systems. Pulse widths and repetition rates will vary between the two systems. A goal of 100 picosecond pulse widths are desired for the mode-locked system. A goal of 10 nanosecond pulse widths are desired for the Q-switch system, with a desired repetition rate of 50 Hz. As designed, the laser will be useful in imaging applications.

  13. Dislocation structure produced by an ultrashort shock pulse

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Matsuda, Tomoki, E-mail: t-matsu@mapse.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp; Hirose, Akio; Sano, Tomokazu

    We found an ultrashort shock pulse driven by a femtosecond laser pulse on iron generates a different dislocation structure than the shock process which is on the nanosecond timescale. The ultrashort shock pulse produces a highly dense dislocation structure that varies by depth. According to transmission electron microscopy, dislocations away from the surface produce microbands via a network structure similar to a long shock process, but unlike a long shock process dislocations near the surface have limited intersections. Considering the dislocation motion during the shock process, the structure near the surface is attributed to the ultrashort shock duration. This approachmore » using an ultrashort shock pulse will lead to understanding the whole process off shock deformation by clarifying the early stage.« less

  14. Unified model of plasma formation, bubble generation and shock wave emission in water for fs to ns laser pulses (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, Xiao-Xuan; Freidank, Sebastian; Linz, Norbert; Paltauf, Günther; Zhang, Zhenxi; Vogel, Alfred

    2017-03-01

    We developed modeling tools for optical breakdown events in water that span various phases reaching from breakdown initiation via solvated electron generation, through laser induced-plasma formation and temperature evolution in the focal spot to the later phases of cavitation bubble dynamics and shock wave emission and applied them to a large parameter space of pulse durations, wavelengths, and pulse energies. The rate equation model considers the interplay of linear absorption, photoionization, avalanche ionization and recombination, traces thermalization and temperature evolution during the laser pulse, and portrays the role of thermal ionization that becomes relevant for T > 3000 K. Modeling of free-electron generation includes recent insights on breakdown initiation in water via multiphoton excitation of valence band electrons into a solvated state at Eini = 6.6 eV followed by up-conversion into the conduction band level that is located at 9.5 eV. The ability of tracing the temperature evolution enabled us to link the model of laser-induced plasma formation with a hydrodynamic model of plasma-induced pressure evolution and phase transitions that, in turn, traces bubble generation and dynamics as well as shock wave emission. This way, the amount of nonlinear energy deposition in transparent dielectrics and the resulting material modifications can be assessed as a function of incident laser energy. The unified model of plasma formation and bubble dynamics yields an excellent agreement with experimental results over the entire range of investigated pulse durations (femtosecond to nanosecond), wavelengths (UV to IR) and pulse energies.

  15. Dynamic Characteristics of Positive Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge for Ozone Generation in Air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Linsheng; Peng, Bangfa; Li, Ming; Zhang, Yafang; Hu, Zhaoji

    2016-02-01

    A comprehensive dynamic model consisting of 66 reactions and 24 species is developed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of ozone generation by positive pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) using parallel-plate reactor in air. The electron energy conservation equation is coupled to the electron continuity equation, the heavy species continuity equation, and Poisson's equation for a better description. The reliability of the model is experimentally confirmed. The model can be used to predict the temporal and spatial evolution of species, as well as streamer propagation. The simulation results show that electron density increases nearly exponentially in the direction to the anode at the electron avalanche. Streamer propagation velocity is about 5.26 × 104 m/s from anode to cathode in the simulated condition. The primary positive ion, negative ion, and excited species are O2+, O3- and O2(1Δg) in pulsed DBD in air, respectively. N2O has the largest density among nitrogen oxides. e and N2+ densities in the streamer head increase gradually to maximum values with the development of the streamer. Meanwhile, the O2+, O, O3, N2(A3Σ) and N2O densities reach maximum values in the vicinity of the anode. supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51366012 and 11105067), Jiangxi Province Young Scientists (Jinggang Star) Cultivation Plan of China (No. 20133BCB23008), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi, China (No. 20151BAB206047) and Jiangxi Province Higher School Science and Technology Landing Plan of China (No. KJLD-14015)

  16. Luminescence in the fluoride-containing phosphate-based glasses: A possible origin of their high resistance to nanosecond pulse laser-induced damage

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Pengfei; Lu, Min; Gao, Fei; Guo, Haitao; Xu, Yantao; Hou, Chaoqi; Zhou, Zhiwei; Peng, Bo

    2015-01-01

    Fusion power offers the prospect of an almost inexhaustible source of energy for future generations. It was reported that fusion fuel gains exceeding unity on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) were achieved, but so far great deal of scientific and engineering challenges have to be overcome for realizing fusion power generation. There is a bottleneck for color-separation gratings in NIF and other similar inertial confinement fusion (ICF) lasers. Here we show a series of high performance phosphate-based glasses that can transmit the third harmonic frequency (3ω) laser light with high efficiency meanwhile filter the fundamental (1ω) and the second harmonic frequency (2ω) laser lights through direct absorption, and especially they exhibit excellent damage threshold induced by nanosecond pulse laser compared with that of the fused silica used in NIF. Yellowish-orange fluorescence emits during the laser-material interaction process, and it can be tailored through regulating the glass structure. Study on its structural origin suggests that the fluorescence emission is a key factor that conduces to the high laser-induced damage resistance of these glasses. The results also indicated the feasibility of utilizing these high performance glasses in novel color separation optics, allowing novel design for the final optics assembly in ICF lasers. PMID:25716328

  17. Luminescence in the fluoride-containing phosphate-based glasses: a possible origin of their high resistance to nanosecond pulse laser-induced damage.

    PubMed

    Wang, Pengfei; Lu, Min; Gao, Fei; Guo, Haitao; Xu, Yantao; Hou, Chaoqi; Zhou, Zhiwei; Peng, Bo

    2015-02-26

    Fusion power offers the prospect of an almost inexhaustible source of energy for future generations. It was reported that fusion fuel gains exceeding unity on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) were achieved, but so far great deal of scientific and engineering challenges have to be overcome for realizing fusion power generation. There is a bottleneck for color-separation gratings in NIF and other similar inertial confinement fusion (ICF) lasers. Here we show a series of high performance phosphate-based glasses that can transmit the third harmonic frequency (3ω) laser light with high efficiency meanwhile filter the fundamental (1ω) and the second harmonic frequency (2ω) laser lights through direct absorption, and especially they exhibit excellent damage threshold induced by nanosecond pulse laser compared with that of the fused silica used in NIF. Yellowish-orange fluorescence emits during the laser-material interaction process, and it can be tailored through regulating the glass structure. Study on its structural origin suggests that the fluorescence emission is a key factor that conduces to the high laser-induced damage resistance of these glasses. The results also indicated the feasibility of utilizing these high performance glasses in novel color separation optics, allowing novel design for the final optics assembly in ICF lasers.

  18. An All-Dielectric Coaxial Waveguide.

    PubMed

    Ibanescu; Fink; Fan; Thomas; Joannopoulos

    2000-07-21

    An all-dielectric coaxial waveguide that can overcome problems of polarization rotation and pulse broadening in the transmission of optical light is presented here. It consists of a coaxial waveguiding region with a low index of refraction, bounded by two cylindrical, dielectric, multilayer, omnidirectional reflecting mirrors. The waveguide can be designed to support a single mode whose properties are very similar to the unique transverse electromagnetic mode of a traditional metallic coaxial cable. The new mode has radial symmetry and a point of zero dispersion. Moreover, because the light is not confined by total internal reflection, the waveguide can guide light around very sharp corners.

  19. The application of pulse modulated plasma to the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of dielectric materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Yu

    This dissertation work applied the pulse modulated plasma to the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of two types of dielectric materials: SiO2-like coatings and Teflon-like coatings. SiO2-like coatings were firstly implemented with continuous plasma. It was proven that three different precursors: hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), 1, 3, 5, 7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS) can be used to generate hard, clear and high density SiO2 deposition with coupled high growth rate and low processing temperature via PECVD. Under similar conditions, HMDSO has the lowest growth rate, lowest hardness and highest carbon content; TMCTS has the highest growth rate and hardness, and lowest carbon content; and OMCTS has moderate rates of these deposition qualities, but the best corrosion resistance. Substrate bias seems to have no effect on any deposition quality. High chamber pressure can significantly lower the carbon content in the thin films but does not affect any other qualities; the O2/precursor ratio is the most influential factor among all variables considered in this experiment. The deposition hardness and O:Si ratio always increase with this ratio while the carbon content always decreases. However, different precursors require different optimal ratios to achieve the highest growth rate. Pulse modulation was introduced into PECVD of SiO2-like coatings and OMCTS was selected as the precursor. It was demonstrated that pulse frequency, duty ratio and peak power have significant effects on deposition qualities. The proper combination of the pulse parameters and other traditional plasma parameters can significantly lower the processing temperature while retaining or even improving other deposition qualities, such as growth rate, corrosion resistance and elemental composition. Hardness is the only sacrifice of the lower time-average power caused by pulsing. Therefore, pulse modulation can effectively expand the possible

  20. Effect of CaRuO3 interlayer on the dielectric properties of Ba(Zr ,Ti)O3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, X. G.; Tian, H. Y.; Wang, J.; Wong, K. H.; Chan, H. L. W.

    2006-10-01

    Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 (BZT) thin films on Pt(111)/Ti /SiO2/Si(100) substrates without and with CaRuO3 (CRO) buffer layer were fabricated at 650°C in situ by pulsed laser deposition. The BZT thin films showed a dense morphology, many clusters are found on the surface images of BZT/Pt films, which are composed by nanosized grains of 25-35nm; the average grain size of BZT/CRO films is about 80nm, which lager than that of BZT/Pt thin film. The dielectric constants and dissipation factors of BZT/Pt and BZT/CRO thin films were 392 and 0.019 and 479 and 0.021 at 1MHz, respectively. The dielectric constant of BZT/Pt and BZT/CRO thin films changes significantly with applied dc bias field and has high tunabilities and figures of merit of ˜70% and 37 and 75% and 36, respectively, under an applied field of 400kV /cm. The possible microstructural background responsible for the high dielectric constant and tunability was discussed.

  1. Nanosecond time-resolved characterization of a pentacene-based room-temperature MASER

    PubMed Central

    Salvadori, Enrico; Breeze, Jonathan D.; Tan, Ke-Jie; Sathian, Juna; Richards, Benjamin; Fung, Mei Wai; Wolfowicz, Gary; Oxborrow, Mark; Alford, Neil McN.; Kay, Christopher W. M.

    2017-01-01

    The performance of a room temperature, zero-field MASER operating at 1.45 GHz has been examined. Nanosecond laser pulses, which are essentially instantaneous on the timescale of the spin dynamics, allow the visible-to-microwave conversion efficiency and temporal response of the MASER to be measured as a function of excitation energy. It is observed that the timing and amplitude of the MASER output pulse are correlated with the laser excitation energy: at higher laser energy, the microwave pulses have larger amplitude and appear after shorter delay than those recorded at lower laser energy. Seeding experiments demonstrate that the output variation may be stabilized by an external source and establish the minimum seeding power required. The dynamics of the MASER emission may be modeled by a pair of first order, non-linear differential equations, derived from the Lotka-Volterra model (Predator-Prey), where by the microwave mode of the resonator is the predator and the spin polarization in the triplet state of pentacene is the prey. Simulations allowed the Einstein coefficient of stimulated emission, the spin-lattice relaxation and the number of triplets contributing to the MASER emission to be estimated. These are essential parameters for the rational improvement of a MASER based on a spin-polarized triplet molecule. PMID:28169331

  2. Dielectric elastomer memory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    O'Brien, Benjamin M.; McKay, Thomas G.; Xie, Sheng Q.; Calius, Emilio P.; Anderson, Iain A.

    2011-04-01

    Life shows us that the distribution of intelligence throughout flexible muscular networks is a highly successful solution to a wide range of challenges, for example: human hearts, octopi, or even starfish. Recreating this success in engineered systems requires soft actuator technologies with embedded sensing and intelligence. Dielectric Elastomer Actuator(s) (DEA) are promising due to their large stresses and strains, as well as quiet flexible multimodal operation. Recently dielectric elastomer devices were presented with built in sensor, driver, and logic capability enabled by a new concept called the Dielectric Elastomer Switch(es) (DES). DES use electrode piezoresistivity to control the charge on DEA and enable the distribution of intelligence throughout a DEA device. In this paper we advance the capabilities of DES further to form volatile memory elements. A set reset flip-flop with inverted reset line was developed based on DES and DEA. With a 3200V supply the flip-flop behaved appropriately and demonstrated the creation of dielectric elastomer memory capable of changing state in response to 1 second long set and reset pulses. This memory opens up applications such as oscillator, de-bounce, timing, and sequential logic circuits; all of which could be distributed throughout biomimetic actuator arrays. Future work will include miniaturisation to improve response speed, implementation into more complex circuits, and investigation of longer lasting and more sensitive switching materials.

  3. Formation of nanosecond SBS-compressed pulses for pumping an ultra-high power parametric amplifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuz’min, A. A.; Kulagin, O. V.; Rodchenkov, V. I.

    2018-04-01

    Compression of pulsed Nd : glass laser radiation under stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in perfluorooctane is investigated. Compression of 16-ns pulses at a beam diameter of 30 mm is implemented. The maximum compression coefficient is 28 in the optimal range of laser pulse energies from 2 to 4 J. The Stokes pulse power exceeds that of the initial laser pulse by a factor of about 11.5. The Stokes pulse jitter (fluctuations of the Stokes pulse exit time from the compressor) is studied. The rms spread of these fluctuations is found to be 0.85 ns.

  4. Convection roll-driven generation of supra-wavelength periodic surface structures on dielectrics upon irradiation with femtosecond pulsed lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsibidis, George D.; Skoulas, Evangelos; Papadopoulos, Antonis; Stratakis, Emmanuel

    2016-08-01

    The significance of the magnitude of the Prandtl number of a fluid in the propagation direction of induced convection rolls is elucidated. Specifically, we report on the physical mechanism to account for the formation and orientation of previously unexplored supra-wavelength periodic surface structures in dielectrics, following melting and subsequent capillary effects induced upon irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses. Counterintuitively, it is found that such structures exhibit periodicities, which are markedly, even multiple times, higher than the laser excitation wavelength. It turns out that the extent to which the hydrothermal waves relax depends upon the laser beam energy, produced electron densities upon excitation with femtosecond pulsed lasers, the magnitude of the induced initial local roll disturbances, and the magnitude of the Prandtl number with direct consequences on the orientation and size of the induced structures. It is envisaged that this elucidation may be useful for the interpretation of similar, albeit large-scale periodic or quasiperiodic structures formed in other natural systems due to thermal gradients, while it can also be of great importance for potential applications in biomimetics.

  5. Note: A novel method for generating multichannel quasi-square-wave pulses.

    PubMed

    Mao, C; Zou, X; Wang, X

    2015-08-01

    A 21-channel quasi-square-wave nanosecond pulse generator was constructed. The generator consists of a high-voltage square-wave pulser and a channel divider. Using an electromagnetic relay as a switch and a 50-Ω polyethylene cable as a pulse forming line, the high-voltage pulser produces a 10-ns square-wave pulse of 1070 V. With a specially designed resistor-cable network, the channel divider divides the high-voltage square-wave pulse into 21 identical 10-ns quasi-square-wave pulses of 51 V, exactly equal to 1070 V/21. The generator can operate not only in a simultaneous mode but also in a delay mode if the cables in the channel divider are different in length.

  6. High-yield nontoxic gene transfer through conjugation of the CM₁₈-Tat₁₁ chimeric peptide with nanosecond electric pulses.

    PubMed

    Salomone, Fabrizio; Breton, Marie; Leray, Isabelle; Cardarelli, Francesco; Boccardi, Claudia; Bonhenry, Daniel; Tarek, Mounir; Mir, Lluis M; Beltram, Fabio

    2014-07-07

    We report a novel nontoxic, high-yield, gene delivery system based on the synergistic use of nanosecond electric pulses (NPs) and nanomolar doses of the recently introduced CM18-Tat11 chimeric peptide (sequence of KWKLFKKIGAVLKVLTTGYGRKKRRQRRR, residues 1-7 of cecropin-A, 2-12 of melittin, and 47-57 of HIV-1 Tat protein). This combined use makes it possible to drastically reduce the required CM18-Tat11 concentration and confines stable nanopore formation to vesicle membranes followed by DNA release, while no detectable perturbation of the plasma membrane is observed. Two different experimental assays are exploited to quantitatively evaluate the details of NPs and CM18-Tat11 cooperation: (i) cytofluorimetric analysis of the integrity of synthetic 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine giant unilamellar vesicles exposed to CM18-Tat11 and NPs and (ii) the in vitro transfection efficiency of a green fluorescent protein-encoding plasmid conjugated to CM18-Tat11 in the presence of NPs. Data support a model in which NPs induce membrane perturbation in the form of transient pores on all cellular membranes, while the peptide stabilizes membrane defects selectively within endosomes. Interestingly, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations show that the latter activity can be specifically attributed to the CM18 module, while Tat11 remains essential for cargo binding and vector subcellular localization. We argue that this result represents a paradigmatic example that can open the way to other targeted delivery protocols.

  7. Supression of laser breakdown by pulsed nonequilibrium ns discharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starikovskiy, A. Y.; Semenov, I. E.; Shneider, M. N.

    2016-10-01

    The avalanche ionization induced by infrared laser pulses was investigated in a pre-ionized argon gas. Pre-ionization was created by a high-voltage pulsed nanosecond discharge developed in the form of a fast ionization wave. Then, behind the front of ionization wave additional avalanche ionization was initiated by the focused Nd-YAG laser pulse. It was shown that the gas pre-ionization inhibits the laser spark generation. It was demonstrated that the suppression of laser spark development in the case of strong gas pre-ionization is because of fast electron energy transfer from the laser beam focal region. The main mechanism of this energy transfer is free electrons diffusion.

  8. Device for detecting imminent failure of high-dielectric stress capacitors

    DOEpatents

    McDuff, George G.

    1982-01-01

    A device for detecting imminent failure of a high-dielectric stress capacitor utilizing circuitry for detecting pulse width variations and pulse magnitude variations. Inexpensive microprocessor circuitry is utilized to make numerical calculations of digital data supplied by detection circuitry for comparison of pulse width data and magnitude data to determine if preselected ranges have been exceeded, thereby indicating imminent failure of a capacitor. Detection circuitry may be incorporated in transmission lines, pulse power circuitry, including laser pulse circuitry or any circuitry where capacitors or capactior banks are utilized.

  9. Ultrafast optomechanical pulse picking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lilienfein, Nikolai; Holzberger, Simon; Pupeza, Ioachim

    2017-01-01

    State-of-the-art optical switches for coupling pulses into and/or out of resonators are based on either the electro-optic or the acousto-optic effect in transmissive elements. In high-power applications, the damage threshold and other nonlinear and thermal effects in these elements impede further improvements in pulse energy, duration, and average power. We propose a new optomechanical switching concept which is based solely on reflective elements and is suitable for switching times down to the ten-nanosecond range. To this end, an isolated section of a beam path is moved in a system comprising mirrors rotating at a high angular velocity and stationary imaging mirrors, without affecting the propagation of the beam thereafter. We discuss three variants of the concept and exemplify practical parameters for its application in regenerative amplifiers and stack-and-dump enhancement cavities. We find that optomechanical pulse picking has the potential to achieve switching rates of up to a few tens of kilohertz while supporting pulse energies of up to several joules.

  10. Investigating membrane nanoporation induced by bipolar pulsed electric fields via second harmonic generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moen, E. K.; Ibey, B. L.; Beier, H. T.; Armani, A. M.

    2016-09-01

    Electric pulses have become an effective tool for transporting cargo (DNA, drugs, etc.) across cell membranes. This enhanced transport is believed to occur through temporary pores formed in the plasma membrane. Traditionally, millisecond duration, monopolar (MP) pulses are used for electroporation, but bipolar (BP) pulses have proven equally effective as MP pulses with the added advantage of less cytotoxicity. With the goal of further reducing cytotoxic effects and inducing non-thermal, intra-cellular effects, researchers began investigating reduced pulse durations, pushing into the nanosecond regime. Cells exposed to these MP, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have shown increased repairable membrane permeability and selective channel activation. However, attempts to improve this further by moving to the BP pulse regime has proven unsuccessful. In the present work, we use second harmonic generation imaging to explore the structural effects of bipolar nsPEFs on the plasma membrane. By varying the temporal spacing between the pulse phases over several orders of magnitude and comparing the response to a single MP case, we systematically examine the disparity in cellular response. Our circuit-based model predicts that, as the temporal spacing increases several orders of magnitude, nanoporation increases and eventually exceeds the MP case. On the whole, our experimental data agree with this assertion; however, a detailed analysis of the data sets demonstrates that biological processes may play a larger role in the observed response than previously thought, dominating the effect for temporal spacing up to 5 μs. These findings could ultimately lead to understanding the biophysical mechanism underlying all electroporation.

  11. Ellipticity-dependent of multiple ionisation methyl iodide cluster using 532 nm nanosecond laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Bin; Zhao, Wuduo; Wang, Weiguo; Hua, Lei; Chen, Ping; Hou, Keyong; Huang, Yunguang; Li, Haiyang

    2016-03-01

    The dependence of multiply charged ions on laser ellipticity in methyl iodide clusters with 532 nm nanosecond laser was measured using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The intensities of multiply charged ions Iq+(q = 2-4) with circularly polarised laser pulse were clearly higher than those with linearly polarised laser pulse but the intensity of single charged ions I+ was inverse. And the dependences of ions on the optical polarisation state were investigated and a flower petal and square distribution for single charged ions (I+, C+) and multiply charged ions (I2+, I3+, I4+, C2+) were observed, respectively. A theoretical calculation was also proposed to simulate the distributions of ions and theoretical results fitted well with the experimental ones. It indicated that the high multiphoton ionisation probability in the initial stage would result in the disintegration of big clusters into small ones and suppress the production of multiply charged ions.

  12. [Research advances of anti-tumor immune response induced by pulse electric field ablation].

    PubMed

    Cui, Guang-ying; Diao, Hong-yan

    2015-11-01

    As a novel tumor therapy, pulse electric field has shown a clinical perspective. This paper reviews the characteristics of tumor ablation by microsecond pulse and nanosecond pulse electric field, and the research advances of anti-tumor immune response induced by pulse electric field ablation. Recent researches indicate that the pulse electric field not only leads to a complete ablation of local tumor, but also stimulates a protective immune response, thereby inhibiting tumor recurrence and metastasis. These unique advantages will show an extensive clinical application in the future. However, the mechanism of anti-tumor immune response and the development of related tumor vaccine need further studies.

  13. Study on processing parameters of glass cutting by nanosecond 532 nm fiber laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jin; Gao, Fan; Xiong, Baoxing; Zhang, Xiang; Yuan, Xiao

    2018-03-01

    The processing parameters of soda-lime glass cutting with several nanosecond 532 nm pulsed fiber laser are studied in order to obtain sufficiently large ablation rate and better processing quality. The influences of laser processing parameters on effective cutting speed and cutting quality of 1 2 mm thick soda-lime glass are studied. The experimental results show that larger laser pulse energy will lead to higher effective cutting speed and larger maximum edge collapse of the front side of the glass samples. Compared with that of 1.1 mm thick glass samples, the 2.0 mm thick glass samples is more difficult to cut. With the pulse energy of 51.2 μJ, the maximum edge collapse is more than 200 μm for the 2.0 mm thick glass samples. In order to achieve the high effective cutting speed and good cutting quality at the same time, the dual energy overlapping method is used to obtain the better cutting performance for the 2.0 mm thick glass samples, and the cutting speed of 194 mm/s and the maximum edge collapse of less than 132 μm are realized.

  14. On mechanism of explosive boiling in nanosecond regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Çelen, Serap

    2016-06-01

    Today laser-based machining is used to manufacture vital parts for biomedical, aviation and aerospace industries. The aim of the paper is to report theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations of explosive boiling under nanosecond pulsed ytterbium fiber laser irradiation. Experiments were performed in an effective peak power density range between 1397 and 1450 MW/cm2 on pure titanium specimens. The threshold laser fluence for phase explosion, the pressure and temperature at the target surface and the velocity of the expulsed material were reported. A narrow transition zone was realized between the normal vaporization and phase explosion fields. The proof of heterogeneous boiling was given with detailed micrographs. A novel thermal model was proposed for laser-induced splashing at high fluences. Packaging factor and scattering arc radius terms were proposed to state the level of the melt ejection process. Results of the present investigation explain the explosive boiling during high-power laser interaction with metal.

  15. Attosecond control of electron beams at dielectric and absorbing membranes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morimoto, Yuya; Baum, Peter

    2018-03-01

    Ultrashort electron pulses are crucial for time-resolved electron diffraction and microscopy of the fundamental light-matter interaction. In this work, we study experimentally and theoretically the generation and characterization of attosecond electron pulses by optical-field-driven compression and streaking at dielectric or absorbing interaction elements. The achievable acceleration and deflection gradient depends on the laser-electron angle, the laser's electric and magnetic field directions, and the foil orientation. Electric and magnetic fields have similar contributions to the final effect and both need to be considered. Experiments and theory agree well and reveal the optimum conditions for highly efficient, velocity-matched electron-field interactions in the longitudinal or transverse direction. We find that metallic membranes are optimum for light-electron control at mid-infrared or terahertz wavelengths, but dielectric membranes are excellent in the visible and near-infrared regimes and are therefore ideal for the formation of attosecond electron pulses.

  16. Analysis of folded pulse forming line operation.

    PubMed

    Domonkos, M T; Watrous, J; Parker, J V; Cavazos, T; Slenes, K; Heidger, S; Brown, D; Wilson, D

    2014-09-01

    A compact pulse forming line (CPFL) concept based on a folded transmission line and high-breakdown strength dielectric was explored through an effort combining proof-of-principle experiments with electromagnetic modeling. A small-scale folded CPFL was fabricated using surface-mount ceramic multilayer capacitors. The line consisted of 150 capacitors close-packed in parallel and delivered a 300 ns flat-top pulse. The concept was carried to a 10 kV class device using a polymer-ceramic nanocomposite dielectric with a permittivity of 37.6. The line was designed for a 161 ns FWHM length pulse into a matched load. The line delivered a 110 ns FWHM pulse, and the pulse peak amplitude exceeded the matched load ideal. Transient electromagnetic analysis using the particle-in-cell code ICEPIC was conducted to examine the nature of the unexpected pulse shortening and distortion. Two-dimensional analysis failed to capture the anomalous behavior. Three-dimensional analysis replicated the pulse shape and revealed that the bends were largely responsible for the pulse shortening. The bends not only create the expected reflection of the incident TEM wave but also produce a non-zero component of the Poynting vector perpendicular to the propagation direction of the dominant electromagnetic wave, resulting in power flow largely external to the PFL. This analysis explains both the pulse shortening and the amplitude of the pulse.

  17. Analysis of folded pulse forming line operation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Domonkos, M. T.; Watrous, J.; Parker, J. V.; Cavazos, T.; Slenes, K.; Heidger, S.; Brown, D.; Wilson, D.

    2014-09-01

    A compact pulse forming line (CPFL) concept based on a folded transmission line and high-breakdown strength dielectric was explored through an effort combining proof-of-principle experiments with electromagnetic modeling. A small-scale folded CPFL was fabricated using surface-mount ceramic multilayer capacitors. The line consisted of 150 capacitors close-packed in parallel and delivered a 300 ns flat-top pulse. The concept was carried to a 10 kV class device using a polymer-ceramic nanocomposite dielectric with a permittivity of 37.6. The line was designed for a 161 ns FWHM length pulse into a matched load. The line delivered a 110 ns FWHM pulse, and the pulse peak amplitude exceeded the matched load ideal. Transient electromagnetic analysis using the particle-in-cell code ICEPIC was conducted to examine the nature of the unexpected pulse shortening and distortion. Two-dimensional analysis failed to capture the anomalous behavior. Three-dimensional analysis replicated the pulse shape and revealed that the bends were largely responsible for the pulse shortening. The bends not only create the expected reflection of the incident TEM wave but also produce a non-zero component of the Poynting vector perpendicular to the propagation direction of the dominant electromagnetic wave, resulting in power flow largely external to the PFL. This analysis explains both the pulse shortening and the amplitude of the pulse.

  18. Nanosecond plasma-mediated electrosurgery with elongated electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vankov, Alexander; Palanker, Daniel

    2007-06-01

    Progress in interventional medicine is associated with the development of more delicate and less invasive surgical procedures, which requires more precise and less traumatic, yet affordable, surgical instruments. Previously we reported on the development of the pulsed electron avalanche knife for dissection of soft tissue in liquid media using the 100 ns plasma-mediated electric discharges applied via a 25 μm disk microelectrode. Cavitation bubbles accompanying explosive vaporization of the liquid medium in front of such a pointed electrode produced a series of craters that did not always merge into a continuous cut. In addition, this approach of surface ablation provided a limited depth of cutting. Application of an elongated electrode capable of cutting with its edge rather than just with its pointed apex faces a problem of nonuniformity of the electric field on a nonspherical electrode. In this article we explore dynamics of the plasma-mediated nanosecond discharges in liquid medium in positive and negative polarities and describe the geometry of an electrode that provides a sufficiently uniform electric field along an extended edge of a surgical probe. A highly enhanced and uniform electric field was obtained on very sharp (2.5 μm) exposed edges of a planar electrode insulated on its flat sides. Uniform ionization and simultaneous vaporization was obtained along the whole edge of such a blade with 100 ns pulses at 4-6 kV. A continuous cutting rate of 1 mm/s in the retina and in soft membranes was achieved at a pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz. The collateral damage zone at the edges of incision did not exceed 80 μm. Negative polarity was found advantageous due to the lower rate of electrode erosion and due to better spatial confinement of the plasma-mediated discharge in liquid.

  19. Short pulse laser stretcher-compressor using a single common reflective grating

    DOEpatents

    Erbert, Gaylen V.; Biswal, Subrat; Bartolick, Joseph M.; Stuart, Brent C.; Telford, Steve

    2004-05-25

    The present invention provides an easily aligned, all-reflective, aberration-free pulse stretcher-compressor in a compact geometry. The stretcher-compressor device is a reflective multi-layer dielectric that can be utilized for high power chirped-pulse amplification material processing applications. A reflective grating element of the device is constructed: 1) to receive a beam for stretching of laser pulses in a beam stretcher beam path and 2) to also receive stretched amplified pulses to be compressed in a compressor beam path through the same (i.e., common) reflective multilayer dielectric diffraction grating. The stretched and compressed pulses are interleaved about the grating element to provide the desired number of passes in each respective beam path in order to achieve the desired results.

  20. Temporal waveguides for optical pulses

    DOE PAGES

    Plansinis, Brent W.; Donaldson, William R.; Agrawal, Govind P.

    2016-05-12

    Here we discuss, temporal total internal reflection (TIR), in analogy to the conventional TIR of an optical beam at a dielectric interface, is the total reflection of an optical pulse inside a dispersive medium at a temporal boundary across which the refractive index changes. A pair of such boundaries separated in time acts as the temporal analog of planar dielectric waveguides. We study the propagation of optical pulses inside such temporal waveguides, both analytically and numerically, and show that the waveguide supports a finite number of temporal modes. We also discuss how a single-mode temporal waveguide can be created inmore » practice. In contrast with the spatial case, the confinement can occur even when the central region has a lower refractive index.« less

  1. Synthesis of ultrawideband radiation of combined antenna arrays excited by nanosecond bipolar voltage pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koshelev, V. I.; Plisko, V. V.; Sevostyanov, E. A.

    2017-05-01

    To broaden the spectrum of high-power ultrawideband radiation, it is suggested to synthesize an electromagnetic pulse summing the pulses of different length in free space. On the example of model pulses corresponding to radiation of combined antennas excited by bipolar voltage pulses of the length of 2 and 3 ns, the possibility of twofold broadening of the radiation spectrum was demonstrated. Radiation pulses with the spectrum width exceeding three octaves were obtained. Pattern formation by the arrays of different geometry excited by the pulses having different time shifts was considered. Optimum array structure with the pattern maximum in the main direction was demonstrated on the example of a 2×2 array.

  2. DC-pulse atmospheric-pressure plasma jet and dielectric barrier discharge surface treatments on fluorine-doped tin oxide for perovskite solar cell application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsai, Jui-Hsuan; Cheng, I.-Chun; Hsu, Cheng-Che; Chen, Jian-Zhang

    2018-01-01

    Nitrogen DC-pulse atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and nitrogen dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) were applied to pre-treat fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Nitrogen DC-pulse APPJ treatment (substrate temperature: ~400 °C) for 10 s can effectively increase the wettability, whereas nitrogen DBD treatment (maximum substrate temperature: ~140 °C) achieved limited improvement in wettability even with increased treatment time of 60 s. XPS results indicate that 10 s APPJ, 60 s DBD, and 15 min UV-ozone treatment of FTO glass substrates can decontaminate the surface. A PSC fabricated on APPJ-treated FTO showed the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.90%; by contrast, a PSC with nitrogen DBD-treated FTO shows slightly lower PCE of 12.57% which was comparable to that of a PSC on FTO treated by a 15 min UV-ozone process. Both nitrogen DC-pulse APPJ and nitrogen DBD can decontaminate FTO substrates and can be applied for the substrate cleaning step of PSC.

  3. Pulse shape discrimination based on fast signals from silicon photomultipliers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Junhao; Wei, Zhiyong; Fang, Meihua; Zhang, Zixia; Cheng, Can; Wang, Yi; Su, Huiwen; Ran, Youquan; Zhu, Qingwei; Zhang, He; Duan, Kai; Chen, Ming; Liu, Meng

    2018-06-01

    Recent developments in organic plastic scintillators capable of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) enable a breakthrough in discrimination between neutrons and gammas. Plastic scintillator detectors coupled with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) offer many advantages, such as lower power consumption, smaller volume, and especially insensitivity to magnetic fields, compared with conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A SensL SiPM has two outputs: a standard output and a fast output. It is known that the charge injected into the fast output electrode is typically approximately 2% of the total charge generated during the avalanche, whereas the charge injected into the standard output electrode is nearly 98% of the total. Fast signals from SiPMs exhibit better performance in terms of timing and time-correlated measurements compared with standard signals. The pulse duration of a standard signal is on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds, whereas the pulse duration of the main monopole waveform of a fast signal is a few tens of nanoseconds. Fast signals are traditionally thought to be suitable for photon counting at very high speeds but unsuitable for PSD due to the partial charge collection. Meanwhile, the standard outputs of SiPMs coupled with discriminating scintillators have yielded nice PSD performances, but there have been no reports on PSD using fast signals. Our analysis shows that fast signals can also provide discrimination if the rate of charge injection into the fast output electrode is fixed for each event, even though only a portion of the charge is collected. In this work, we achieved successful PSD using fast signals; meanwhile, using a coincidence timing window of less 3 nanoseconds between the readouts from both ends of the detector reduced the influence of the high SiPM dark current. We experimentally achieved good timing performance and PSD capability simultaneously.

  4. High efficiency fourth-harmonic generation from nanosecond fiber master oscillator power amplifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mu, Xiaodong; Steinvurzel, Paul; Rose, Todd S.; Lotshaw, William T.; Beck, Steven M.; Clemmons, James H.

    2016-03-01

    We demonstrate high power, deep ultraviolet (DUV) conversion to 266 nm through frequency quadrupling of a nanosecond pulse width 1064 nm fiber master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA). The MOPA system uses an Yb-doped double-clad polarization-maintaining large mode area tapered fiber as the final gain stage to generate 0.5-mJ, 10 W, 1.7- ns single mode pulses at a repetition rate of 20 kHz with measured spectral bandwidth of 10.6 GHz (40 pm), and beam qualities of Mx 2=1.07 and My 2=1.03, respectively. Using LBO and BBO crystals for the second-harmonic generation (SHG) and fourth-harmonic generation (FHG), we have achieved 375 μJ (7.5 W) and 92.5 μJ (1.85 W) at wavelengths of 532 nm and 266 nm, respectively. To the best of our knowledge these are the highest narrowband infrared, green and UV pulse energies obtained to date from a fully spliced fiber amplifier. We also demonstrate high efficiency SHG and FHG with walk-off compensated (WOC) crystal pairs and tightly focused pump beam. An SHG efficiency of 75%, FHG efficiency of 47%, and an overall efficiency of 35% from 1064 nm to 266 nm are obtained.

  5. ELI-Beamlines: development of next generation short-pulse laser systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rus, B.; Bakule, P.; Kramer, D.; Naylon, J.; Thoma, J.; Green, J. T.; Antipenkov, R.; Fibrich, M.; Novák, J.; Batysta, F.; Mazanec, T.; Drouin, M. A.; Kasl, K.; Baše, R.; Peceli, D.; Koubíková, L.; Trojek, P.; Boge, R.; Lagron, J. C.; Vyhlídka, Å.; Weiss, J.; Cupal, J.,; Hřebíček, J.; Hříbek, P.; Durák, M.; Polan, J.; Košelja, M.; Korn, G.; Horáček, M.; Horáček, J.; Himmel, B.; Havlíček, T.; Honsa, A.; Korouš, P.; Laub, M.; Haefner, C.; Bayramian, A.; Spinka, T.; Marshall, C.; Johnson, G.; Telford, S.; Horner, J.; Deri, B.; Metzger, T.; Schultze, M.; Mason, P.; Ertel, K.; Lintern, A.; Greenhalgh, J.; Edwards, C.; Hernandez-Gomez, C.; Collier, J.; Ditmire, T.,; Gaul, E.; Martinez, M.; Frederickson, C.; Hammond, D.; Malato, C.; White, W.; Houžvička, J.

    2015-05-01

    Overview of the laser systems being built for ELI-Beamlines is presented. The facility will make available high-brightness multi-TW ultrashort laser pulses at kHz repetition rate, PW 10 Hz repetition rate pulses, and kilojoule nanosecond pulses for generation of 10 PW peak power. The lasers will extensively employ the emerging technology of diode-pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL) to pump OPCPA and Ti:sapphire broadband amplifiers. These systems will provide the user community with cutting-edge laser resources for programmatic research in generation and applications of high-intensity X-ray sources, in particle acceleration, and in dense-plasma and high-field physics.

  6. Energy compression of nanosecond high-voltage pulses based on two-stage hybrid scheme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ulmaskulov, M. R.; Mesyats, G. A.; Sadykova, A. G.; Sharypov, K. A.; Shpak, V. G.; Shunailov, S. A.; Yalandin, M. I.

    2017-04-01

    Test results of high-voltage subnanosecond pulse generator with a hybrid, two-stage energy compression scheme are presented. After the first compression section with a gas discharger, a ferrite-filled gyromagnetic nonlinear transmitting line is used. The offered technical solution makes it possible to increase the voltage pulse amplitude from -185 kV to -325 kV, with a 2-ns pulse rise time minimized down to ˜180 ps. For the small output voltage amplitude of -240 kV, the shortest pulse front of ˜85 ps was obtained. The generator with maximum amplitude was utilized to form an ultra-short flow of runaway electrons in air-filled discharge gap with particles' energy approaching to 700 keV.

  7. Pulsed corona generation using a diode-based pulsed power generator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pemen, A. J. M.; Grekhov, I. V.; van Heesch, E. J. M.; Yan, K.; Nair, S. A.; Korotkov, S. V.

    2003-10-01

    Pulsed plasma techniques serve a wide range of unconventional processes, such as gas and water processing, hydrogen production, and nanotechnology. Extending research on promising applications, such as pulsed corona processing, depends to a great extent on the availability of reliable, efficient and repetitive high-voltage pulsed power technology. Heavy-duty opening switches are the most critical components in high-voltage pulsed power systems with inductive energy storage. At the Ioffe Institute, an unconventional switching mechanism has been found, based on the fast recovery process in a diode. This article discusses the application of such a "drift-step-recovery-diode" for pulsed corona plasma generation. The principle of the diode-based nanosecond high-voltage generator will be discussed. The generator will be coupled to a corona reactor via a transmission-line transformer. The advantages of this concept, such as easy voltage transformation, load matching, switch protection and easy coupling with a dc bias voltage, will be discussed. The developed circuit is tested at both a resistive load and various corona reactors. Methods to optimize the energy transfer to a corona reactor have been evaluated. The impedance matching between the pulse generator and corona reactor can be significantly improved by using a dc bias voltage. At good matching, the corona energy increases and less energy reflects back to the generator. Matching can also be slightly improved by increasing the temperature in the corona reactor. More effective is to reduce the reactor pressure.

  8. Hysteresis in Lanthanide Aluminum Oxides Observed by Fast Pulse CV Measurement

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Chun; Zhao, Ce Zhou; Lu, Qifeng; Yan, Xiaoyi; Taylor, Stephen; Chalker, Paul R.

    2014-01-01

    Oxide materials with large dielectric constants (so-called high-k dielectrics) have attracted much attention due to their potential use as gate dielectrics in Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs). A novel characterization (pulse capacitance-voltage) method was proposed in detail. The pulse capacitance-voltage technique was employed to characterize oxide traps of high-k dielectrics based on the Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) capacitor structure. The variation of flat-band voltages of the MOS structure was observed and discussed accordingly. Some interesting trapping/detrapping results related to the lanthanide aluminum oxide traps were identified for possible application in Flash memory technology. After understanding the trapping/detrapping mechanism of the high-k oxides, a solid foundation was prepared for further exploration into charge-trapping non-volatile memory in the future. PMID:28788225

  9. OH density measured by PLIF in a nanosecond atmospheric pressure diffuse discharge in humid air under steep high voltage pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ouaras, K.; Magne, L.; Pasquiers, S.; Tardiveau, P.; Jeanney, P.; Bournonville, B.

    2018-04-01

    The spatiotemporal distributions of the OH radical density are measured using planar laser induced fluorescence in the afterglow of a nanosecond diffuse discharge at atmospheric pressure in humid air. The diffuse discharge is generated between a pin and a grounded plate electrodes within a gap of 18 mm. The high voltage pulse applied to the pin ranges from 65 to 85 kV with a rise time of 2 ns. The specific electrical energy transferred to the gas ranges from 5 to 40 J l‑1. The influence of H2O concentration is studied from 0.5% to 1.5%. An absolute calibration of OH density is performed using a six-level transient rate equation model to simulate the dynamics of OH excitation by the laser, taking into account collisional processes during the optical pumping and the fluorescence. Rayleigh scattering measurements are used to achieve the geometrical part of the calibration. A local maximum of OH density is found in the pin area whatever the operating conditions. For 85 kV and 1% of H2O, this peak reaches a value of 2.0 × 1016 cm‑3 corresponding to 8% of H2O dissociation. The temporal decay of the spatially averaged OH density is found to be similar as in the afterglow of a homogeneous photo-triggered discharge for which a self-consistent modeling is done. These tools are then used to bring discussion elements on OH kinetics.

  10. Plasma and Cavitation Dynamics during Pulsed Laser Microsurgery in vivo

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hutson, M. Shane; Ma Xiaoyan

    We compare the plasma and cavitation dynamics underlying pulsed laser microsurgery in water and in fruit fly embryos (in vivo)--specifically for nanosecond pulses at 355 and 532 nm. We find two key differences. First, the plasma-formation thresholds are lower in vivo --especially at 355 nm--due to the presence of endogenous chromophores that serve as additional sources for plasma seed electrons. Second, the biological matrix constrains the growth of laser-induced cavitation bubbles. Both effects reduce the disrupted region in vivo when compared to extrapolations from measurements in water.

  11. Laser-driven dielectric electron accelerator for radiobiology researches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koyama, Kazuyoshi; Matsumura, Yosuke; Uesaka, Mitsuru; Yoshida, Mitsuhiro; Natsui, Takuya; Aimierding, Aimidula

    2013-05-01

    In order to estimate the health risk associated with a low dose radiation, the fundamental process of the radiation effects in a living cell must be understood. It is desired that an electron bunch or photon pulse precisely knock a cell nucleus and DNA. The required electron energy and electronic charge of the bunch are several tens keV to 1 MeV and 0.1 fC to 1 fC, respectively. The smaller beam size than micron is better for the precise observation. Since the laser-driven dielectric electron accelerator seems to suite for the compact micro-beam source, a phase-modulation-masked-type laser-driven dielectric accelerator was studied. Although the preliminary analysis made a conclusion that a grating period and an electron speed must satisfy the matching condition of LG/λ = v/c, a deformation of a wavefront in a pillar of the grating relaxed the matching condition and enabled the slow electron to be accelerated. The simulation results by using the free FDTD code, Meep, showed that the low energy electron of 20 keV felt the acceleration field strength of 20 MV/m and gradually felt higher field as the speed was increased. Finally the ultra relativistic electron felt the field strength of 600 MV/m. The Meep code also showed that a length of the accelerator to get energy of 1 MeV was 3.8 mm, the required laser power and energy were 11 GW and 350 mJ, respectively. Restrictions on the laser was eased by adopting sequential laser pulses. If the accelerator is illuminated by sequential N pulses, the pulse power, pulse width and the pulse energy are reduced to 1/N, 1/N and 1/N2, respectively. The required laser power per pulse is estimated to be 2.2 GW when ten pairs of sequential laser pulse is irradiated.

  12. Multi-delay, phase coherent pulse pair generation for precision Ramsey-frequency comb spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Morgenweg, J; Eikema, K S E

    2013-03-11

    We demonstrate the generation of phase-stable mJ-pulse pairs at programmable inter-pulse delays up to hundreds of nanoseconds. A detailed investigation of potential sources for phase shifts during the parametric amplification of the selected pulses from a Ti:Sapphire frequency comb is presented, both numerically and experimentally. It is shown that within the statistical error of the phase measurement of 10 mrad, there is no dependence of the differential phase shift over the investigated inter-pulse delay range of more than 300 ns. In combination with nonlinear upconversion of the amplified pulses, the presented system will potentially enable short wavelength (<100 nm), multi-transition Ramsey-frequency comb spectroscopy at the kHz-level.

  13. Determination of cellular injury and death thresholds following exposure to high voltage 10ns electrical pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ibey, Bennett L.; Roth, Caleb C.; Bernhard, Joshua A.; Pakhomov, Andrei G.; Wilmink, Gerald J.; Pakhomova, Olga

    2011-03-01

    Intense, nanosecond-duration electric pulses (nsEP) have been introduced as a novel modality to alter cellular function, with a mechanism of action qualitatively different from micro- and millisecond duration pulses used in electroporation. In this study, we determined the thresholds for plasma membrane injury (within 15 minutes) and cell death (at 24 hours) for 4 different cell types (CHO-K1, HeLa, Jurkat and U937). Plasma membrane injury was measured by flow cytometry using two fluorescent dyes, namely Annexin V-FITC, which binds to phosphatidylserine (PS) upon its externalization (subtle membrane injury), and propidium iodide (PI), which is typically impermeable to the cell, but enters when large pores are formed in the plasma membrane. In all cell types, 10-ns pulses caused phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization at low doses (<150kV/cm and 100 pulses for each cell type) and no PI uptake. Jurkat and U937 cell lines showed substantial cell death without uptake of PI (15 minutes post exposure) suggesting either delayed permeabilization due to swelling, or damage to intracellular components. In CHO-K1 and HeLa cell lines, PI uptake occurred at low doses relative to that necessary to cause cell death suggesting a necrotic death similar to longer pulse exposures. These findings suggest that nanosecond pulses may be beneficial in applications that require selective elimination of specific cell types.

  14. Ultra-Compact Accelerator Technologies for Application in Nuclear Techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sampayan, S.; Caporaso, G.; Chen, Y.-J.; Carazo, V.; Falabella, S.; Guethlein, G.; Guse, S.; Harris, J. R.; Hawkins, S.; Holmes, C.; Krogh, M.; Nelson, S.; Paul, A. C.; Pearson, D.; Poole, B.; Schmidt, R.; Sanders, D.; Selenes, K.; Sitaraman, S.; Sullivan, J.; Wang, L.; Watson, J.

    2009-12-01

    We report on compact accelerator technology development for potential use as a pulsed neutron source quantitative post verifier. The technology is derived from our on-going compact accelerator technology development program for radiography under the US Department of Energy and for a clinic sized compact proton therapy systems under an industry sponsored Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. The accelerator technique relies on the synchronous discharge of a prompt pulse generating stacked transmission line structure with the beam transit. The goal of this technology is to achieve ˜10 MV/m gradients for 10 s of nanoseconds pulses and ˜100 MV/m gradients for ˜1 ns systems. As a post verifier for supplementing existing x-ray equipment, this system can remain in a charged, stand-by state with little or no energy consumption. We describe the progress of our overall component development effort with the multilayer dielectric wall insulators (i.e., the accelerator wall), compact power supply technology, kHz repetition-rate surface flashover ion sources, and the prompt pulse generation system consisting of wide-bandgap switches and high performance dielectric materials.

  15. Electric field measurements in a near atmospheric pressure nanosecond pulse discharge with picosecond electric field induced second harmonic generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goldberg, Benjamin M.; Chng, Tat Loon; Dogariu, Arthur; Miles, Richard B.

    2018-02-01

    We present an optical electric field measurement method for use in high pressure plasma discharges. The method is based upon the field induced second harmonic generation technique and can be used for localized electric field measurements with sub-nanosecond resolution in any gaseous species. When an external electric field is present, a dipole is induced in the typically centrosymmetric medium, allowing for second harmonic generation with signal intensities which scale by the square of the electric field. Calibrations have been carried out in 100 Torr room air, and a minimum sensitivity of 450 V/cm is demonstrated. Measurements were performed with nanosecond or faster temporal resolution in a 100 Torr room air environment both with and without a plasma present. It was shown that with no plasma present, the field follows the applied voltage to gap ratio, as measured using the back current shunt method. When the electric field is strong enough to exceed the breakdown threshold, the measured field was shown to exceed the anticipated voltage to gap ratio which is taken as an indication of the ionization wave front as it sweeps through the plasma volume.

  16. Very Fast Current Diagnostic for Linear Pulsed Beams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nassisi, Vincenzo; Delle Side, Domenico; Turco, Vito

    2018-01-01

    Fast current pulses manage lasers and particle accelerators and require sophisticate systems to be detected. At today Rogowski coils are well known. They are designed and built with a toroidal structure. In recently application, flat transmission lines are imploded and for this reason we develop a linear Rogowski coil to detect current pulses inside flat conductors. To get deep information from the system, it was approached by means of the theory of the transmission lines. The coil we build presents a resistance but it doesn't influence the rise time of the response, instead the integrating time. We also studied the influence of the magnetic properties of coil support. The new device was able to record pulses of more hundred nanoseconds depending on the inductance, load impedance and resistance of the coil. Furthermore, its response was characterized by a sub-nanosecond rise time ( 100 ps), The attenuation coefficient depends mainly on the turn number of the coil, while the quality of the response depends both on the manufacture quality of the coil and on the magnetic core characteristics. In biophysical applications often, a double line is employed in order to have a sample as control and a sample stressed by a light source. So, in this case we build two equal plane lines by 100 Ω characteristic resistance connected in parallel. We diagnosed the current present in a line. The attenuation factor resulted to be 11,5 A/V.

  17. Tunable pulsed narrow bandwidth light source

    DOEpatents

    Powers, Peter E.; Kulp, Thomas J.

    2002-01-01

    A tunable pulsed narrow bandwidth light source and a method of operating a light source are provided. The light source includes a pump laser, first and second non-linear optical crystals, a tunable filter, and light pulse directing optics. The method includes the steps of operating the pump laser to generate a pulsed pump beam characterized by a nanosecond pulse duration and arranging the light pulse directing optics so as to (i) split the pulsed pump beam into primary and secondary pump beams; (ii) direct the primary pump beam through an input face of the first non-linear optical crystal such that a primary output beam exits from an output face of the first non-linear optical crystal; (iii) direct the primary output beam through the tunable filter to generate a sculpted seed beam; and direct the sculpted seed beam and the secondary pump beam through an input face of the second non-linear optical crystal such that a secondary output beam characterized by at least one spectral bandwidth on the order of about 0.1 cm.sup.-1 and below exits from an output face of the second non-linear optical crystal.

  18. Amorphization dynamics of Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} films upon nano- and femtosecond laser pulse irradiation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Siegel, J.; Gawelda, W.; Puerto, D.

    2008-01-15

    Phase transformations of crystalline Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} films upon pulsed laser irradiation have been studied using in situ reflectivity measurements with temporal resolution. Two different configurations allowed point probing with nanosecond temporal resolution and imaging with subpicosecond temporal and micrometer spatial resolution. The role of the pulse duration and laser fluence on the dynamics of the phase change and the degree of amorphization is discussed. Several advantageous features of femtosecond compared to nanosecond laser-induced amorphization are identified. Moreover, a high-resolution study of the amorphization dynamics reveals the onset of amorphization at moderate fluences to occur within {approx}100 ps aftermore » arrival of the laser pulse. At high fluences, amorphization occurs after {approx}430 ps and the molten phase is characterized by an anomalously low reflectivity value, indicative of a state of extreme supercooling.« less

  19. Development of a pulsed UV laser system for laser-desorption mass spectrometry on Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolleck, C.; Büttner, A.; Ernst, M.; Hülsenbusch, T.; Lang, T.; Marwah, R.; Mebben, S.; Priehs, M.; Kracht, D.; Neumann, J.

    2017-11-01

    A near-flight prototype of a pulsed UV laser has been developed for the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) of the ExoMars mission. The laser head is based on a Nd:YAG oscillator with subsequent frequency quadrupling and emits nanosecond pulses with an energy of > 300 μJ at a wavelength of 266 nm. The design is compact and lightweight. Tests in relevant environment regarding temperature, vibration, and radiation have been performed.

  20. Enhanced electrohydrodynamic force generation in a two-stroke cycle dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Shintaro; Takahashi, Masayuki; Ohnishi, Naofumi

    2017-05-01

    An approach for electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force production is proposed with a focus on a charge cycle on a dielectric surface. The cycle, consisting of positive-charging and neutralizing strokes, is completely different from the conventional methodology, which involves a negative-charging stroke, in that the dielectric surface charge is constantly positive. The two-stroke charge cycle is realized by applying a DC voltage combined with repetitive pulses. Simulation results indicate that the negative pulse eliminates the surface charge accumulated during constant voltage phase, resulting in repetitive EHD force generation. The time-averaged EHD force increases almost linearly with increasing repetitive pulse frequency and becomes one order of magnitude larger than that driven by the sinusoidal voltage, which has the same peak-to-peak voltage.

  1. Nanopore formation in neuroblastoma cells following ultrashort electric pulse exposure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Caleb C.; Payne, Jason A.; Wilmink, Gerald J.; Ibey, Bennett L.

    2011-03-01

    Ultrashort or nanosecond electrical pulses (USEP) cause repairable damage to the plasma membranes of cells through formation of nanopores. These nanopores are able to pass small ions such as sodium, calcium, and potassium, but remain impermeable to larger molecules like trypan blue and propidium iodide. What remains uncertain is whether generation of nanopores by ultrashort electrical pulses can inhibit action potentials in excitable cells. In this paper, we explored the sensitivity of excitable cells to USEP using Calcium Green AM 1 ester fluorescence to measure calcium uptake indicative of nanopore formation in the plasma membrane. We determined the threshold for nanopore formation in neuroblastoma cells for three pulse parameters (amplitude, pulse width, and pulse number). Measurement of such thresholds will guide future studies to determine if USEP can inhibit action potentials without causing irreversible membrane damage.

  2. Multi-mJ energy extraction using Yb-fiber based coherent pulse stacking amplification of fs pulses (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruppe, John M.; Pei, Hanzhang; Chen, Siyun; Sheikhsofla, Morteza; Wilcox, Russell B.; Nees, John A.; Galvanauskas, Almantas

    2017-03-01

    We report multi-mJ energy (>5mJ) extraction from femtosecond-pulse Yb-doped fiber CPA using coherent pulse stacking amplification (CPSA) technique. This high energy extraction has been enabled by amplifying 10's of nanosecond long pulse sequence, and by using 85-µm core Yb-doped CCC fiber based power amplification stage. The CPSA system consists of 1-GHz repetition rate mode-locked fiber oscillator, followed by a pair of fast phase and amplitude electro-optic modulators, a diffraction-grating based pulse stretcher, a fiber amplifier chain, a GTI-cavity based pulse stacker, and a diffraction grating pulse compressor. Electro-optic modulators are used to carve out from the 1-GHz mode-locked pulse train an amplitude and phase modulated pulse burst, which after stretching and amplification, becomes equal-amplitude pulse burst consisting of 27 stretched pulses, each approximately 1-ns long. Initial pulse-burst shaping accounts for the strong amplifier saturation effects, so that it is compensated at the power amplifier output. This 27-pulse burst is then coherently stacked into a single pulse using a multiplexed sequence of 5 GTI cavities. The compact-footprint 4+1 multiplexed pulse stacker consists of 4 cavities having rountrip of 1 ns, and one Herriott-cell folded cavity - with 9ns roundtrip. After stacking, stretched pulses are compressed down to the bandwidth-limited 300 fs duration using a standard diffraction-grating pulse compressor.

  3. Sub-Nanosecond Infrared Optical Parametric Pulse Generation in Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate Pumped by a Seeded Fiber Amplifier

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-02-01

    Photonics. New York: John J. Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1991. 30. “How to (Maybe) Measure Laser Beam Quality” Prof. A. E. Siegman Tutorial Presentation at...Deterministic Nanosecond Laser -Induced Breakdown Thresholds in Pure and Yb3+ Doped Fused Silica,” Proc. of SPIE 6453 (2007) 37. Siegman , A.E...seeded at one end and pumped at the other end, using dichroic filters to protect the pump and seed lasers , creating a fiber amplifier. The seed laser

  4. Rectifying the Optical-Field-Induced Current in Dielectrics: Petahertz Diode.

    PubMed

    Lee, J D; Yun, Won Seok; Park, Noejung

    2016-02-05

    Investigating a theoretical model of the optical-field-induced current in dielectrics driven by strong few-cycle laser pulses, we propose an asymmetric conducting of the current by forming a heterojunction made of two distinct dielectrics with a low hole mass (m_{h}^{*}≪m_{e}^{*}) and low electron mass (m_{e}^{*}≪m_{h}^{*}), respectively. This proposition introduces the novel concept of a petahertz (10^{15}  Hz) diode to rectify the current in the petahertz domain, which should be a key ingredient for the electric signal manipulation of future light-wave electronics. Further, we suggest the candidate dielectrics for the heterojunction.

  5. A 7.8 kV nanosecond pulse generator with a 500 Hz repetition rate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, M.; Liao, H.; Liu, M.; Zhu, G.; Yang, Z.; Shi, P.; Lu, Q.; Sun, X.

    2018-04-01

    Pseudospark switches are widely used in pulsed power applications. In this paper, we present the design and performance of a 500 Hz repetition rate high-voltage pulse generator to drive TDI-series pseudospark switches. A high-voltage pulse is produced by discharging an 8 μF capacitor through a primary windings of a setup isolation transformer using a single metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) as a control switch. In addition, a self-break spark gap is used to steepen the pulse front. The pulse generator can deliver a high-voltage pulse with a peak trigger voltage of 7.8 kV, a peak trigger current of 63 A, a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ~30 ns, and a rise time of 5 ns to the trigger pin of the pseudospark switch. During burst mode operation, the generator achieved up to a 500 Hz repetition rate. Meanwhile, we also provide an AC heater power circuit for heating a H2 reservoir. This pulse generator can be used in circuits with TDI-series pseudospark switches with either a grounded cathode or with a cathode electrically floating operation. The details of the circuits and their implementation are described in the paper.

  6. Device for detecting imminent failure of high-dielectric stress capacitors. [Patent application

    DOEpatents

    McDuff, G.G.

    1980-11-05

    A device is described for detecting imminent failure of a high-dielectric stress capacitor utilizing circuitry for detecting pulse width variations and pulse magnitude variations. Inexpensive microprocessor circuitry is utilized to make numerical calculations of digital data supplied by detection circuitry for comparison of pulse width data and magnitude data to determine if preselected ranges have been exceeded, thereby indicating imminent failure of a capacitor. Detection circuitry may be incorporated in transmission lines, pulse power circuitry, including laser pulse circuitry or any circuitry where capacitors or capacitor banks are utilized.

  7. A hybrid pulse combining topology utilizing the combination of modularized avalanche transistor Marx circuits, direct pulse adding, and transmission line transformer.

    PubMed

    Li, Jiangtao; Zhao, Zheng; Sun, Yi; Liu, Yuhao; Ren, Ziyuan; He, Jiaxin; Cao, Hui; Zheng, Minjun

    2017-03-01

    Numerous applications driven by pulsed voltage require pulses to be with high amplitude, high repetitive frequency, and narrow width, which could be satisfied by utilizing avalanche transistors. The output improvement is severely limited by power capacities of transistors. Pulse combining is an effective approach to increase the output amplitude while still adopting conventional pulse generating modules. However, there are drawbacks in traditional topologies including the saturation tendency of combining efficiency and waveform oscillation. In this paper, a hybrid pulse combining topology was adopted utilizing the combination of modularized avalanche transistor Marx circuits, direct pulse adding, and transmission line transformer. The factors affecting the combining efficiency were determined including the output time synchronization of Marx circuits, and the quantity and position of magnetic cores. The numbers of the parallel modules and the stages were determined by the output characteristics of each combining method. Experimental results illustrated the ability of generating pulses with 2-14 kV amplitude, 7-11 ns width, and a maximum 10 kHz repetitive rate on a matched 50-300 Ω resistive load. The hybrid topology would be a convinced pulse combining method for similar nanosecond pulse generators based on the solid-state switches.

  8. A hybrid pulse combining topology utilizing the combination of modularized avalanche transistor Marx circuits, direct pulse adding, and transmission line transformer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiangtao; Zhao, Zheng; Sun, Yi; Liu, Yuhao; Ren, Ziyuan; He, Jiaxin; Cao, Hui; Zheng, Minjun

    2017-03-01

    Numerous applications driven by pulsed voltage require pulses to be with high amplitude, high repetitive frequency, and narrow width, which could be satisfied by utilizing avalanche transistors. The output improvement is severely limited by power capacities of transistors. Pulse combining is an effective approach to increase the output amplitude while still adopting conventional pulse generating modules. However, there are drawbacks in traditional topologies including the saturation tendency of combining efficiency and waveform oscillation. In this paper, a hybrid pulse combining topology was adopted utilizing the combination of modularized avalanche transistor Marx circuits, direct pulse adding, and transmission line transformer. The factors affecting the combining efficiency were determined including the output time synchronization of Marx circuits, and the quantity and position of magnetic cores. The numbers of the parallel modules and the stages were determined by the output characteristics of each combining method. Experimental results illustrated the ability of generating pulses with 2-14 kV amplitude, 7-11 ns width, and a maximum 10 kHz repetitive rate on a matched 50-300 Ω resistive load. The hybrid topology would be a convinced pulse combining method for similar nanosecond pulse generators based on the solid-state switches.

  9. Dependence of optimal initial density on laser parameters for multi-keV x-ray radiators generated by nanosecond laser-produced underdense plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tu, Shao-yong; Yuan, Yong-teng; Hu, Guang-yue; Miao, Wen-yong; Zhao, Bin; Zheng, Jian; Jiang, Shao-en; Ding, Yong-kun

    2016-01-01

    Efficient multi-keV x-ray sources can be produced using nanosecond laser pulse-heated middle-Z underdense plasmas generated using gas or foam. Previous experimental results show that an optimal initial target density exists for efficient multi-keV x-ray emission at which the laser ionization wave is supersonic. Here we explore the influence of the laser intensity and the pulse duration on this optimal initial target density via a one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulation. The simulation shows that the optimal initial density is sensitive to both the laser intensity and the pulse duration. However, the speed of the supersonic ionization wave at the end of the laser irradiation is always maintained at 1.5 to 1.7 times that of the ion acoustic wave under the optimal initial density conditions.

  10. Numerical investigation of dielectric barrier discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jing

    1997-12-01

    A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a transient discharge occurring between two electrodes in coaxial or planar arrangements separated by one or two layers of dielectric material. The charge accumulated on the dielectric barrier generates a field in a direction opposite to the applied field. The discharge is quenched before an arc is formed. It is one of the few non-thermal discharges that operates at atmospheric pressure and has the potential for use in pollution control. In this work, a numerical model of the dielectric barrier discharge is developed, along with the numerical approach. Adaptive grids based on the charge distribution is used. A self-consistent method is used to solve for the electric field and charge densities. The Successive Overrelaxation (SOR) method in a non-uniform grid spacing is used to solve the Poisson's equation in the cylindrically-symmetric coordinate. The Flux Corrected Transport (FCT) method is modified to solve the continuity equations in the non-uniform grid spacing. Parametric studies of dielectric barrier discharges are conducted. General characteristics of dielectric barrier discharges in both anode-directed and cathode-directed streamer are studied. Effects of the dielectric capacitance, the applied field, the resistance in external circuit and the type of gases (O2, air, N2) are investigated. We conclude that the SOR method in an adaptive grid spacing for the solution of the Poisson's equation in the cylindrically-symmetric coordinate is convergent and effective. The dielectric capacitance has little effect on the g-factor of radical production, but it determines the strength of the dielectric barrier discharge. The applied field and the type of gases used have a significant role on the current peak, current pulse duration and radical generation efficiency, discharge strength, and microstreamer radius, whereas the external series resistance has very little effect on the streamer properties. The results are helpful in

  11. Enhanced optical absorbance and fabrication of periodic arrays on nickel surface using nanosecond laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fu, Jinxiang; Liang, Hao; Zhang, Jingyuan; Wang, Yibo; Liu, Yannan; Zhang, Zhiyan; Lin, Xuechun

    2017-04-01

    A hundred-nanosecond pulsed laser was employed to structure the nickel surface. The effects of laser spatial filling interval and laser scanning speed on the optical absorbance capacity and morphologies on the nickel surface were experimentally investigated. The black nickel surface covered with dense micro/nanostructured broccoli-like clusters with strong light trapping capacity ranging from the UV to the near IR was produced at a high laser scanning speed up to v=100 mm/s. The absorbance of the black nickel is as high as 98% in the UV range of 200-400 nm, more than 97% in the visible spectrum, ranging from 400 to 800 nm, and over 90% in the IR between 800 and 2000 nm. In addition, when the nickel surface was irradiated in two-dimensional crossing scans by laser with different processing parameters, self-organized and shape-controllable structures of three-dimensional (3D) periodic arrays can be fabricated. Compared with ultrafast laser systems previously used for such processing, the nanosecond fiber laser used in this work is more cost-effective, compact and allows higher processing rates. This nickel surface structured technique may be applicable in optoelectronics, batteries industry, solar/wave absorbers, and wettability materials.

  12. Plasma Actuators for Turbomachinery Flow Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miles, Richard, B; Shneider, Mikhail, N.

    2012-01-01

    This report is Part I of the final report of NASA Cooperative Agreement contract no. NNX07AC02A. The period of performance was January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2010. This report includes the project summary, a list of publications and reprints of the publications that appeared in archival journals. Part II of the final report includes a Ph.D. dissertation and is published separately as NASA/CR-2012-2172655. The research performed under this project was focused on the operation of surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) devices driven by high voltage, nanosecond scale pulses plus constant or time varying bias voltages. The main interest was in momentum production and the range of voltages applied eliminated significant heating effects. The approach was experimental supplemented by computational modeling. All the experiments were conducted at Princeton University. The project provided comprehensive understanding of the associated physical phenomena. Limitations on the performance of the devices for the generation of high velocity surface jets were established and various means for overcoming those limitations were proposed and tested. The major limitations included the maximum velocity limit of the jet due to electrical breakdown in air and across the dielectric, the occurrence of backward breakdown during the short pulse causing reverse thrust, the buildup of surface charge in the dielectric offsetting the forward driving potential of the bias voltage, and the interaction of the surface jet with the surface through viscous losses. It was also noted that the best performance occurred when the nanosecond pulse and the bias voltage were of opposite sign. Solutions include the development of partially conducting surface coatings, the development of a semiconductor diode inlaid surface material to suppress the backward breakdown. Extension to long discharge channels was studied and a new ozone imaging method developed for more quantitative determination of surface jet

  13. Thrust noise minimization in long-term laser ablation of propellant material in the nanosecond and picosecond regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lorbeer, Raoul-Amadeus; Scharring, Stefan; Karg, Stephanie; Pastow, Jan; Pastuschka, Lisa; Förster, Daniel Johannes; Eckel, Hans-Albert

    2017-01-01

    The avoidance of any moving parts in a microthruster exhibits a great potential for low-noise thrust generation in the micronewton range. This is required, e.g., for scientific missions that need attitude and orbit control systems with exquisite precision. Laser ablation propulsion offers the opportunity of permanent inertia-free, electro-optical delivery of laser energy to access the propellant entirely without moving it. New propellant is accessed by ablating the previous surface in layers, essentially damaging the surface with a laser over and over again. The resulting surface properties for different fluences and scanning patterns were investigated for multiple layers of aluminum, copper, and gold. The pulse-length-specific issues of various ablation mechanisms such as vaporization, spallation, and phase explosion are accounted for by the use of a 10-ps laser system and a 500-ps laser system. We show that the surface roughness produced with 500-ps laser pulses is approximately twice the surface roughness generated by using 10-ps laser pulses. Furthermore, with 500-ps pulses, the surface roughness shows low dependency on the fluence for carefully chosen scanning parameters. Therefore, we conclude that laser pulse duration differences in the picosecond and nanosecond regimes will not necessarily alter surface roughness properties.

  14. Microsecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma stimulation of tissue macrophages for treatment of peripheral vascular disease

    PubMed Central

    Miller, V.; Lin, A.; Kako, F.; Gabunia, K.; Kelemen, S.; Brettschneider, J.; Fridman, G.; Fridman, A.; Autieri, M.

    2015-01-01

    Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels and normally occurs during the process of inflammatory reactions, wound healing, tissue repair, and restoration of blood flow after injury or insult. Stimulation of angiogenesis is a promising and an important step in the treatment of peripheral artery disease. Reactive oxygen species have been shown to be involved in stimulation of this process. For this reason, we have developed and validated a non-equilibrium atmospheric temperature and pressure short-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma system, which can non-destructively generate reactive oxygen species and other active species at the surface of the tissue being treated. We show that this plasma treatment stimulates the production of vascular endothelial growth factor, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and CXCL 1 that in turn induces angiogenesis in mouse aortic rings in vitro. This effect may be mediated by the direct effect of plasma generated reactive oxygen species on tissue. PMID:26543345

  15. Microsecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma stimulation of tissue macrophages for treatment of peripheral vascular disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Miller, V., E-mail: vmiller@coe.drexel.edu; Lin, A.; Brettschneider, J.

    Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels and normally occurs during the process of inflammatory reactions, wound healing, tissue repair, and restoration of blood flow after injury or insult. Stimulation of angiogenesis is a promising and an important step in the treatment of peripheral artery disease. Reactive oxygen species have been shown to be involved in stimulation of this process. For this reason, we have developed and validated a non-equilibrium atmospheric temperature and pressure short-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma system, which can non-destructively generate reactive oxygen species and other active species at the surface of themore » tissue being treated. We show that this plasma treatment stimulates the production of vascular endothelial growth factor, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and CXCL 1 that in turn induces angiogenesis in mouse aortic rings in vitro. This effect may be mediated by the direct effect of plasma generated reactive oxygen species on tissue.« less

  16. Myocardium tissue ablation with high-peak-power nanosecond 1,064- and 532-nm pulsed lasers: influence of laser-induced plasma.

    PubMed

    Ogura, Makoto; Sato, Shunichi; Ishihara, Miya; Kawauchi, Satoko; Arai, Tunenori; Matsui, Takemi; Kurita, Akira; Kikuchi, Makoto; Ashida, Hiroshi; Obara, Minoru

    2002-01-01

    We investigated the mechanism and characteristics of porcine myocardium tissue ablation in vitro with nanosecond 1,064- and 532-nm pulsed lasers at laser intensities up to approximately 5.0 GW/cm(2). Particular attention was paid to study the influence of the laser-induced plasma on the ablation characteristics. The applicability of these two lasers to transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) was discussed. Porcine myocardium tissue samples were irradiated with 1,064- and 532-nm, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pulses, and the ablation depths were measured. The temporal profiles of the laser-induced optical emissions were measured with a biplanar phototube. For the ablated tissue samples, histological analysis was performed with an optical microscope and a polarization microscope. The ablation efficiency at 1,064 nm was higher than that at 532 nm. The ablation threshold at 1,064 nm (approximately 0.8 GW/cm(2)) was lower than that at 532 nm (approximately 1.6 GW/cm(2)), in spite of the lower absorption coefficient being expected at 1,064 nm. For the 1,064-nm laser-ablated tissues, thermal damage was very limited, while damage presumably caused by the mechanical effect was observed in most of the cases. For the 1,064-nm laser ablation, the ablation threshold was equal to the threshold of the laser-induced optical emission (approximately 0.8 GW/cm(2)), while for the 532-nm laser ablation, the optical emission threshold ( approximately 2.4 GW/cm(2)) was higher than the ablation threshold. We considered that for the 1,064-nm laser ablation, the tissue removal was achieved through a photodisruption process at laser intensities of > approximately 0.8 GW/cm(2). At laser intensities of > 3.0 GW/cm(2), however, the ablation efficiency decreased; this can be attributed to the absorption of incoming laser pulses by the plasma. For the 532-nm laser ablation, the tissue removal was achieved through a photothermal process at laser intensities of > approximately 1.6 GW/cm(2). At

  17. Multi-Chromatic Ultrashort Pulse Filamentation and Bulk Modification in Dielectrics

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-05

    multi -pulse fields 7 6 Filamentation and bulk modification by spatio-temporally chirped pulses 8 7 Quantum modeling of photoionization and nonlinear...pulses. (b) two co-propagating pulses of di↵erent frequencies. 4) Develop non-time-averaged multi -chromatic quantum -mechanical models of photoion- ization...very well with those of the extended multi -rate equation using the relaxation approximation, which is much faster. A continued collaboration to also

  18. Quantitative measurement of electron number in nanosecond and picosecond laser-induced air breakdown

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wu, Yue; Sawyer, Jordan C.; Su, Liu

    2016-05-07

    Here we present quantitative measurements of total electron numbers in laser-induced air breakdown at pressures ranging from atmospheric to 40 bar{sub g} by 10 ns and 100 ps laser pulses. A quantifiable definition for the laser-induced breakdown threshold is identified by a sharp increase in the measurable total electron numbers via dielectric-calibrated coherent microwave scattering. For the 10 ns laser pulse, the threshold of laser-induced breakdown in atmospheric air is defined as the total electron number of ∼10{sup 6}. This breakdown threshold decreases with an increase of pressure and laser photon energy (shorter wavelength), which is consistent with the theory of initialmore » multiphoton ionization and subsequent avalanche processes. For the 100 ps laser pulse cases, a clear threshold is not present and only marginal pressure effects can be observed, which is due to the short pulse duration leading to stronger multiphoton ionization and minimal collisional avalanche ionization.« less

  19. Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition Control by Nanosecond Gas Discharges

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-04-07

    Report 3. DATES COVERED (From – To) 1 April 2007 - 18 August 09 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Deflagration-To- Detonation Transition Control By Nanosecond...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT During the current project, an extensive experimental study of detonation initiation by high{voltage...nanosecond gas discharges has been performed in a smooth detonation tube with different discharge chambers and various discharge cell numbers. The chambers

  20. Piezoelectric ceramics with high dielectric constants for ultrasonic medical transducers.

    PubMed

    Hosono, Yasuharu; Yamashita, Yohachi

    2005-10-01

    Complex system ceramics Pb(Sc(1/2)Nb(1/2))O3-Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-Pb(Ni(1/2)Nb(1/2))O3-(Pb0.965,Sr0.035) (Zr,Ti)O3 (PSN-PMN-PNN-PSZT abbreviated PSMNZT) have been synthesized by the conventional technique, and dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics have been investigated for ultrasonic medical transducers. High capacitances of the transducers are desired in order to match the electrical impedance between the transducers and the coaxial cable in array probes. Although piezoelectric ceramics that have high dielectric constants (epsilon33t/epsilon0 > 5000, k'33 < 70%) are produced in many foundries, the dielectric constants are insufficient. However, we have reported that low molecular mass B-site ions in the lead-perovskite structures are important in realizing better dielectric and piezoelectric properties. We focused on the complex system ceramics PSMNZT that consists of light B-site elements. The maximum dielectric constant, epsilon33T/epsilon0 = 7, 200, was confirmed in the ceramics, where k'33 = 69%, d33 = 940 pC/N, and T(c) = 135 degrees C were obtained. Moreover, pulse-echo characteristics were simulated using the Mason model. The PSMNZT ceramic probe showed echo amplitude about 5.5 dB higher than that of the conventional PZT ceramic probe (PZT-5H type). In this paper, the electrical properties of the PSMNZT ceramics and the simulation results for pulse-echo characteristics of the phased-array probes are introduced.