White X-ray pulse emission of alkali halide aqueous solutions irradiated by focused femtosecond laser pulses: a spectroscopic study on electron temperatures as functions of laser intensity, solute concentration, and solute atomic number

Giant Enhancement of THz Wave Emission under Double-Pulse Excitation of Thin Water Flow

Simultaneous measurements of THz wave and hard X-ray emission from thin and flat water flow when irradiated by double femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm, 35 fs/transform-limited, 0.5 kHz, delay times up to 15 ns) were carried out. THz wave measurements by time-domain spectroscopy and X-ray detection by Geiger counters were performed at the transmission and the reflection sides of the flow. THz wave emission spectra show their dynamic peak shifts toward the low frequency with the highest intensity enhancements more than 1.5 × 10 3 times in |E| 2 accumulated over the whole spectrum range of 0–3 THz at the delay time of 4.7 ns between the two pulses. On the other hand, X-ray intensity enhancements are limited to about 20 times at 0 ns under the same experimental conditions. The mechanisms for the spectral changes and the intensity enhancements in THz wave emission are discussed from the viewpoint of laser ablation on the water flow induced by the pre-pulse irradiation.

Enhancement of X-ray emission from nanocolloidal gold suspensions under double-pulse excitation

Enhancement of X-ray emission was observed from a micro-jet of a nano-colloidal gold suspension in air under double-pulse excitation of ultrashort (40 fs) near-IR laser pulses. Temporal and spatial overlaps between the pre-pulse and the main pulse were optimized for the highest X-ray emission. The maximum X-ray intensity was obtained at a 1-7 ns delay of the main pulse irradiation after the pre-pulse irradiation with the micro-jet position shifted along the laser beam propagation. It was revealed that the volume around gold nanoparticles where the permittivity is near zero, ε ≈ 0, accounts for the strongest absorption, which leads to the effective enhancements of X-ray emission.

Dual THz Wave and X-ray Generation from a Water Film under Femtosecond Laser Excitation

Simultaneous emission of the THz wave and hard X-ray from thin water free-flow was induced by the irradiation of tightly-focused femtosecond laser pulses (35 fs, 800 nm, 500 Hz) in air. Intensity measurements of the THz wave and X-ray were carried out at the same time with time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) based on electro-optic sampling with a ZnTe(110) crystal and a Geiger counter, respectively. Intensity profiles of the THz wave and X-ray emission as a function of the solution flow position along the incident laser axis at the laser focus show that the profile width of the THz wave is broader than that of the X-ray. Furthermore, the profiles of the THz wave measured in reflection and transmission directions show different features and indicate that THz wave emission is, under single-pulse excitation, induced mainly in laser-induced plasma on the water flow surface. Under double-pulse excitation with a time separation of 4.6 ns, 5–10 times enhancements of THz wave emission were observed. Such dual light sources can be used to characterise materials, as well as to reveal the sequence of material modifications under intense laser pulses.

Dynamic position shifts of X-ray emission from a water film induced by a pair of time-delayed femtosecond laser pulses

Femtosecond double-pulsed laser excitation of a water film in air showed enhancements of X-ray intensity as compared with single pulse irradiation. The position of the highest yield of X-rays strongly depends on temporal separation between the pre-pulse and the main-pulse (energy ratios where ∼ 1 : 10). The strongest X-ray emission was observed at 10-15 ns delay of the main-pulse. Nanoscale roughening of water surface can account for the observation.

Femtosecond laser-induced hard X-ray generation in air from a solution flow of Au nano-sphere suspension using an automatic positioning system

Femtosecond laser-induced hard X-ray generation in air from a 100-µm-thick solution film of distilled water or Au nano-sphere suspension was carried out by using a newly-developed automatic positioning system with 1-µm precision. By positioning the solution film for the highest X-ray intensity, the optimum position shifted upstream as the laser power increased due to breakdown. Optimized positioning allowed us to control X-ray intensity with high fidelity. X-ray generation from Au nano-sphere suspension and distilled water showed different power scaling. Linear and nonlinear absorption mechanism are analyzed together with numerical modeling of light delivery.

Chirp effect in hard X-ray generation from liquid target when irradiated by femtosecond pulses

The chirp effect on a X-ray emission intensity from a CsCl aqueous solution jet irradiated by femtosecond pulses was systematically studied. The p-polarized chirped pulses were more efficient as compared with the shortest pulses determined by the spectral bandwidth. The negatively-chirped pulses of approximately 240 fs duration produced up to 10 times larger X-ray intensity as compared with the transform-limited 160 fs pulses. The angular dependence of X-ray generation can be explained by the resonant absorption. Numerical simulations of electron density evolution due to the avalanche and multi-photon absorption supports qualitatively well the experimental observations.

A broadband laser plasma x-ray source for application in ultrafast chemical structure dynamics

A plasma source free from characteristic emission lines is described, based on laser irradiation of a water jet in a helium atmosphere. Various key aspects of the laser interaction are presented along with practical characterization of the observed isotropic approximately 4-10 keV x-ray emissions, measurements of which indicate subpicosecond duration. Observations are consistent with a vacuum heating plasma mechanism at the helium-water interface and indicate strong potential for in-house ultrafast chemical structure dynamics application when coupled to contemporary detector developments.

Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy in (bio)catalysis

The ever-improving time and space resolution and molecular detection sensitivity of fluorescence microscopy offer unique opportunities to deepen our insights into the function of chemical and biological catalysts. Because single-molecule microscopy allows for counting the turnover events one by one, one can map the distribution of the catalytic activities of different sites in solid heterogeneous catalysts, or one can study time-dependent activity fluctuations of individual sites in enzymes or chemical catalysts. By experimentally monitoring individuals rather than populations, the origin of complex behavior, e.g., in kinetics or in deactivation processes, can be successfully elucidated. Recent progress of temporal and spatial resolution in single-molecule fluorescence microscopy is discussed in light of its impact on catalytic assays. Key concepts are illustrated regarding the use of fluorescent reporters in catalytic reactions. Future challenges comprising the integration of other techniques, such as diffraction, scanning probe, or vibrational methods in single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy are suggested.