Imperial College London
Alternate

Professor Roland A Smith

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics

Professor of Laser Physics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7866r.a.smith Website

 
 
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Location

 

745Blackett LaboratorySouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Price:2015:10.1063/1.4908285,
author = {Price, CJ and Donnelly, TD and Giltrap, S and Stuart, NH and Parker, S and Patankar, S and Lowe, HF and Drew, D and Gumbrell, ET and Smith, RA},
doi = {10.1063/1.4908285},
journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
title = {An in-vacuo optical levitation trap for high-intensity laser interaction experiments with isolated microtargets},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4908285},
volume = {86},
year = {2015}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - We report on the design, construction, and characterisation of a new class of in-vacuo optical levitation trap optimised for use in high-intensity, high-energy laser interaction experiments. The system uses a focused, vertically propagating continuous wave laser beam to capture and manipulate micro-targets by photon momentum transfer at much longer working distances than commonly used by optical tweezer systems. A high speed (10 kHz) optical imaging and signal acquisition system was implemented for tracking the levitated droplets position and dynamic behaviour under atmospheric and vacuum conditions, with ±5 μm spatial resolution. Optical trapping of 10 ± 4 μm oil droplets in vacuum was demonstrated, over timescales of >1 h at extended distances of ∼40 mm from the final focusing optic. The stability of the levitated droplet was such that it would stay in alignment with a ∼7 μm irradiating beam focal spot for up to 5 min without the need for re-adjustment. The performance of the trap was assessed in a series of high-intensity (1017 W cm−2) laser experiments that measured the X-ray source size and inferred free-electron temperature of a single isolated droplet target, along with a measurement of the emitted radio-frequency pulse. These initial tests demonstrated the use of optically levitated microdroplets as a robust target platform for further high-intensity laser interaction and point source studies.
AU  - Price,CJ
AU  - Donnelly,TD
AU  - Giltrap,S
AU  - Stuart,NH
AU  - Parker,S
AU  - Patankar,S
AU  - Lowe,HF
AU  - Drew,D
AU  - Gumbrell,ET
AU  - Smith,RA
DO  - 10.1063/1.4908285
PY  - 2015///
SN  - 0034-6748
TI  - An in-vacuo optical levitation trap for high-intensity laser interaction experiments with isolated microtargets
T2  - Review of Scientific Instruments
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4908285
UR  - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000352201400021&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR  - https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4908285
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/19637
VL  - 86
ER  -
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