Reflective Time-Resolved Wavefront-Images of Overcritical Ultra-Short-Pulse-Laser-Induced Plasma on Solid State Targets

Reflective Time-Resolved Wavefront-Images of Overcritical Ultra-Short-Pulse-Laser-Induced Plasma on Solid State Targets | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Reflective Time-Resolved Wavefront-Images of Overcritical Ultra-Short-Pulse-Laser-Induced Plasma on Solid State Targets Nico Potzkai, Qëndresa Ibraimi, Johanna Köchling, Michael Stumpf, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6549316/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract When intense laser pulses hit solid surfaces, hot and dense plasmas are generated, which are a critical area of study with applications ranging from fusion to medical imaging. This paper presents an experimental technique for studying the early evolution of plasma using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which analyzes the phase distortions of a probe pulse reflected by the expanding plasma. The evaluation is not straightforward, but we show that by using specially designed ray tracing algorithms, we are able to calculate optical path differences of laser beams reflecting on plasma, providing us with insights into the plasma properties and development. First measurements are presented, displaying high spatial (∼ 10 µm), temporal (∼ 30 fs), and phase (∼ 0.1 rad) resolution, allowing quantitative data interpretation. In addition, we address key challenges for the correct alignment of this type of interferometer. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6549316","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":450968618,"identity":"bf1a21ed-e522-4c1a-b834-5489d8a1def9","order_by":0,"name":"Nico Potzkai","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZhiDh4HhwMeGA0BWAnFaJEBaDs4kSgsDkhZmXmK0mLMzP3zAuMOmTr7n8MPDtjvuJDawJx/Aq8Wymc3YgPFMmgRjb5vB4dwzzxIbeJ7ht8bgMA+bBGPbYQlmfiA7t+1wYoNEjgFxWtj42T8ctgRryf9AnBYe3h6Dw4wQW/DqAGoB+iXxTJrkDJ4zBQd72w4bt/E8I+Cw84cfPvi4w4Zfvid984efbYdl+9mTH+C3BgQSG5A4bITVAwFjA0Elo2AUjIJRMJIBAE+QSGUZlQneAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nico","middleName":"","lastName":"Potzkai","suffix":""},{"id":450968619,"identity":"30d6cbc3-6757-4137-ae86-7ee702d063de","order_by":1,"name":"Qëndresa Ibraimi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qëndresa","middleName":"","lastName":"Ibraimi","suffix":""},{"id":450968620,"identity":"51df5f76-96c4-4c7c-a8d0-60527c195a56","order_by":2,"name":"Johanna Köchling","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Johanna","middleName":"","lastName":"Köchling","suffix":""},{"id":450968621,"identity":"f86cd4aa-15b1-43b8-8189-3ca874f7a2dd","order_by":3,"name":"Michael Stumpf","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"","lastName":"Stumpf","suffix":""},{"id":450968622,"identity":"8f3b10a0-5b13-42c1-b64f-aca3c32a6e54","order_by":4,"name":"Georg Pretzler","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Georg","middleName":"","lastName":"Pretzler","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-28 15:38:20","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6549316/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6549316/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85924169,"identity":"3ed2c783-c3b5-4231-962c-aac4140a6f38","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-03 08:24:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1424907,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ReflectiveTimeResolvedWavefrontImagesofOvercriticalUltraShortPulseLaserInducedPlasmaonSolidStateTargets.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6549316/v1_covered_ddcaa24f-c8c0-4802-984f-c12b7416cfb0.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Reflective Time-Resolved Wavefront-Images of Overcritical Ultra-Short-Pulse-Laser-Induced Plasma on Solid State Targets","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6549316/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6549316/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWhen intense laser pulses hit solid surfaces, hot and dense plasmas are generated, which are a critical area of study with applications ranging from fusion to medical imaging. This paper presents an experimental technique for studying the early evolution of plasma using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which analyzes the phase distortions of a probe pulse reflected by the expanding plasma. The evaluation is not straightforward, but we show that by using specially designed ray tracing algorithms, we are able to calculate optical path differences of laser beams reflecting on plasma, providing us with insights into the plasma properties and development. First measurements are presented, displaying high spatial (∼ 10 µm), temporal (∼ 30 fs), and phase (∼ 0.1 rad) resolution, allowing quantitative data interpretation. 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