This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 10974, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Author and Conference Committee lists.

The paper is a concise digest of works presented during the 12th National Symposium on Laser Technology (SLT2018) [1]. The Symposium is organized since 1984 every three years [2-11], now every two years. SLT2016 and SLT 2018 were organized by the Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology (IO, WAT) Warsaw, with cooperation of Warsaw University of Technology (PW), Warsaw University (UW), and Wrocław University of Technology (PWr) in Jastarnia. SLT 2018 was organized on 25-27 September 2018. The Symposium is a representative portrait of the laser technology research in Poland. Symposium Proceedings are traditionally published by SPIE [12-21]. The meeting has gathered around 120 participants who presented around 100 research and technical papers. The Symposium organized now every 2 years is a good representation of laser technology and laser applications development in Poland at university laboratories, governmental institutes, company R&D laboratories, etc. The SLT also presents the current technical projects under realization by the national research, development and industrial teams. Topical tracks of the Symposium, traditionally divided to two large areas – sources and applications, were: laser sources in near and medium infrared, picosecond and femtosecond lasers, optical fiber lasers and amplifiers, semiconductor lasers, high power and high energy lasers and their applications, new materials and components for laser technology, applications of laser technology in measurements, metrology and science, military applications of laser technology, laser applications in environment protection and remote detection of trace substances, laser applications in medicine and biomedical engineering, laser applications in industry, technologies and material science.

In this paper, we demonstrate the performance of self-fabricated passive fiber components in a laser and amplifiers setups operating at ~1.55 μm wavelength. Three different types of power combiners and one mode field adaptor were fabricated using three-electrode Large Diameter Splicer System (LDS System). Application of pump and signal power combiners in two configurations is presented, including (5+1)x1-SM (i.e. with single mode signal fibers) and (6+1)x1-LMA (with large mode area signal fibers). We also demonstrate pump power combiner in 7x1 configuration with single mode output fiber and mode filed adaptor which connects single mode fiber with large mode area type fiber. All those components were successfully applied in two high-power systems, a three-stage amplifier MOPA setup and a high-power amplifier with medium-power signal source.

In this paper the possibility of improvement of emitted beam quality of high-power laser diodes by stabilization of an optical field distribution in the junction plane, forced by lateral periodicity built into their wide-stripe waveguide is described. Current flow control by such periodic structure prevents the lateral current crowding, carrier accumulation at the stripe edges and optical far-field blooming typical for conventional wide-stripe laser diodes. As a result, stabilization of the lateral emitted beam divergence in wide drive current range of CW operation has been evidenced.

In this work, we present numerical simulation of over-threshold characteristics of a GaN-based tunnel-junction verticalcavity surface-emitting laser similar to the device developed at the University of California, Santa Barbara [1]. This structure has dual dielectric mirrors, and a bottom ring contact which additionally works as a heat spreader. Moreover, to introduce confinement of current and optical mode, the additional implantation is applied for outer regions of the cavity. The results show how the number of pairs in the top mirror influence the power emitted by the device. We found that for 11 pairs in the top DBR, which is 1 pair less than for the basic structure, the maximal output power is the highest and is equal to 0.2 mW. We also investigate the impact of the carrier injection efficiency, which can be treated as a fitting parameter in described model, on power-current characteristics.

We present a graphene-based holmium-doped fiber laser incorporating a Martinez-style compressor which enables precise and continuous dispersion control of the cavity. Solitonic operation of the laser for a wide range of net cavity dispersion values is achieved without significantly altering the repetition frequency. The compressor also provides the possibility to introduce additional spectral filtering - stable mode-locking operation in the 2049- 2093 nm wavelength span is presented.

Effective, high energy ultrafast laser systems for practical applications requires laser sources with low and tunable repetition rate. Intrinsically, a mode-locked fiber laser operates at relatively high and fixed repetition rates (at the order of MHz). Such a high repetition rate limits the achievable pulse energy from an amplifier. To overcome this limitation, we demonstrate a fast, compact, and fully automatic custom made pulse picking system for operation with femtosecond lasers with repetition rates up to 50 MHz. It employs custom electronics with FPGA based signal processing unit and a fast 200 MHz acousto-optic modulator. Proposed solution is flexible and it can be used with various lasers, modulators and detectors. Therefore it is possible to operate e.g. at 1.55 Μm and 2 μm wavelengths. Moreover, the unit can automatically adopted to different repetition rates of seed lasers by adjustable time delay, to be in phase with optical signal. FPGA based signal processing unit can be reconfigured by a microcontroller to deliver several triggering options, digital delay line and frequency meter unit.

In this paper we present a passively mode-locked laser oscillator based on Yb:LPS crystal with a single-mode laser diode as a pumping source. The pulsed operation was initiated with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The pulses were as short as 90 fs, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the shortest pulse duration obtained from a Yb:LPS laser to date. The central emission wavelength was 1050.6 nm and it was 16.2 nm broad. The average power was equal to 82 mW corresponding to a peak power of 7.8 kW.

We report recent results of works on quantum cascade lasers at the Institute of Electron Technology. During that time we have developed technology of lasers emitting at wavelengths 9.0–9.5 μm and 4.7 μm, based on InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs and InAlAs/InGaAs/InP heterostructures; both lattice matched and strain compensated. The structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy MBE and by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy MOVPE. The InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs lasers were grown by MBE. For InP based lasers three types of structures were investigated; the one grown exclusively by MBE without MOVPE overgrowth, the second fabricated by hybrid approach combining MBE grown AlInAs/InGaAs active region with MOVPE grown InP top waveguide layer and the third one with both the top and the bottom InP waveguide grown by MOVPE. Regardless of the waveguide construction, the active region was grown by MBE in every case. The lasers were fabricated in double trench geometry using standard processing technology. The buried heterostructure lasers were also investigated.

A new structure of semiconductor lasers called the quantum-cascade vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (QC VCSEL) is proposed in the present paper. A structure of the QC VCSEL is a cross of the quantum-cascade laser (QCL) and the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). The QC VCSEL is expected to demonstrate important advantages of laser emission of both the QCL and the VCSEL without their drawbacks. In the QC VCSEL, the monolithic highcontrast grating (MHCG) structure is applied to cope with the fundamental requirement of the polarization direction of the electro-magnetic radiation perpendicular to the quantum cascade (QC) necessary to initiate within it the stimulated emission. The QC VCSEL structure recommended in the present paper is a result of the advanced modeling with the aid of our comprehensive self-consistent optical-electrical model.

The article presents application of microsieves made of graphene paper for separation of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and SW-954 vulva cancer cells. The tests were carried out on a cell line grown under laboratory conditions. Holes in the sieves were made with a laser ablation method. The tests showed that the analysed material is biocompatible with cancer cells. The aim of both separation and diagnosis of the cancer cells circulating on microsieves is early identification of cancer disease conditions even at an early stage of its development.

This paper presents the design of the side-polished optical fibre sensor. The polished core on one side of the optical fibre excites the fluorescence phenomenon inside the tubes by emitting rays of light outside the optical fibre cor. The sensor constructed in this way can be used both in industry and in the medicine. This article discusses the ability to collect information about the condition of blood vessels in the human body, which is the intended practical use of the sensor. An important part of the design process is the selection of a suitable optical fibre, the bend radius and the length of the polished fibre fragment so as to obtain optimal power concentration in the investigated place. The entire process taking place in the optical fibre was simulated using the Ray tracing method with optimised fibre optic parameters.

The cooperation of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw with the Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology in the area of implementing laser technology in conservation, and later in diagnostics of the preservation state of artworks started in 1997. The year 1997 was also the year of the big flood in the south-western provinces of Poland, which exposed the lack of a quick reaction and of using conservation personnel and students in the action of rescuing national heritage. It initiated the idea of appointing an emergency conservation unit and extending legislative tasks in situations of natural disasters, catastrophes, fires, etc., as well as undertaking immediate conservation and research work after these events. The paper presents the origin, aims and tasks of the Emergency Conservation Service, its instrumental and personnel-based research/intervention potential, the preliminary results of work and proposals of wide cooperation with staff responsible for heritage protection and care on a national and international scale.

Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is a popular tool for acquiring data for geographical and urban analysis, but also is increasingly used in measurements related to widely understood vegetation monitoring. Based on the application of the Multispectral Laser Reflectance Scanner (MLRS) developed and constructed at the Institute of Optoelectronics of the Military University of Technology, it is possible to analyze the vegetative status of plants. One of the most important parameters of such analysis is the distinction of plant health based on the density of foliage, as well as in terms of the occurrence of drying and wilting phenomena. The article presents and discusses changes in the reflectance spectra of healthy and wilting or drying plants. Also presented are examples of digital surface models, enriched with information on the condition of vegetation, obtained during one of the field tests of the MLRS scanner.

We discuss the optical configuration and present mathematical modelling of intense electric fields sensor. The device is dedicated for the measurements of high power electromagnetic pulses (HPM) magnitude. For this reason, the sensor head has been designed as all-dielectric component, in order to avoid interferences with the measured fields. The laser source and detector unit are joined with the head through long optical fibres and the whole system utilizes 1.5 μm telecomm fibre technology. The sensor operation is based on Pockels effect induced by electric component of EM wave in bulk LiNbO₃ crystal. Collimated laser beam propagating through the crystal is obtained by the application of miniature GRIN lens attached to the end of the fibre. Similarly, the fibre coupling of the beam after it crosses the crystal, is obtained. In the paper the focus is also put on mathematical foundations of full 3-dimentional sensing of E-field, which would enable to measure not only the magnitude, but also to determine the direction to the HPM source.

We developed unconventional laser scanner, which monitors the area with two independent laser beams shaped into lines. These lines are oriented perpendicular to each other. The solution is based on pulsed laser diodes and PIN photodetectors, making the whole platform more compact, lighter and cheaper comparing to the existing alternatives, which most often include an extensive high-resolution video track integrated with a scanning platform of considerable dimensions. The paper discusses the scanning methodology and presents a range analysis in the context of commercially available semiconductor lasers with the desired emission parameters. Another problem discussed in the paper is a method of forming a multimode laser beam into the shape of possibly narrow and homogenous line of light. The first issue can be settled through the application of commercially available aspherical components, while achieving perfect homogeneity requires the design and implementation of a dedicated freeform optical element. The current version of the experimental model is limited to off-the-shelf optical components, while the study also presents the design and simulation of the freeform transmitter.

Sensors detecting angle of incoming light incidence, are basic elements of systems indicating direction to source of emission and Laser Warning Systems (LWS). Onboard satellites, sensors of such type are used to determine sun position. Another sensors are used in military systems. Current method of arrival angle estimations mostly rely on the analysis of slit projection on photosensitive array or quadrant detector. Novel solution in this paper is proposed. It is based on five detectors distributed on side walls of truncated pyramid. Such geometrical configuration of detectors allows to measure in wide field of view with good accuracy offered by a small size of active surface. The proposed algorithm is able to calculate angle of both azimuth and elevation of incoming light. Laboratory tests have also been discussed in the paper.

In this work a custom direct ray tracing software providing accurate simulations of multiple mirrors setups is demonstrated. Therefore multipass cells and optical cavities with specific properties can be developed and tested before fabrication. A genetic algorithm was implemented to automate the design process. Various parameters such as initial geometry, optical path length and thermal stability can be defined as the boundary conditions for the genetic algorithm based design process.

In this paper, an innovative concept of optical component for CO₂ laser operating industrial robot is presented. The robot was rebuild and adapted for special optical path for up to 6kW CO₂ laser beam to follow all of its joints up to cutting head. Originally, welding robots have some joints hollow inside. This fact was used to carry on laser beam inside robot joints. The idea for this concepts comes from the fact, that CO₂ laser beam cannot be put into fiber, like in case of fiber lasers. Moreover, CO₂ laser have enormous advantage over other IR lasers in cutting polymers, plastics and thermoforming materials due to its absorption for the 10,6 μm wavelength [1]. In this paper, a result of industrial robot cage with fume extraction system is presented.

In this article results of numerical simulation done based one the real experiments input of S700MC steel laser and hybrid welding were presented. Differences in the process thermal cycles of both mentioned technologies cause different distortions and stresses distribution. Numerical analyzes carried out in the SYSWELD software made it possible to understand both the influence of thermal cycles of used methods on the distributions of temperature fields and individual metallurgical phases, as well as the distribution of stresses and strains arising as a result of their interaction. The results of the analysis allowed to determine both the differences in the stress values and the method of their distribution, which is often much more important from the point of view of the exploitation of welded joints. An additional aim of this paper is to propose a mathematical description of the computational model that is usable for simulation computations of welding processes. The benefits resulting from the use of such analyzes have also been indicated due to the significant savings in time and resources to be spent on the development of correct technologies for combining modern construction materials such as thermomechanically treated steels.

Article presents results of using padding welding technology with laser and filler wire as an additional material. Research work presented in this paper shown relation between laser parameters and padding welds geometry. Possibility of rapid prototyping of spatial structures are presented.

Laser surface texturing is currently the most developed technique of producing in a completely repetitive way microcavities on the surface of machine elements. From the point of view of the technology of making textures, a very important aspect is the appropriate selection of process parameters in order to obtain texture elements with desirable and repeatable geometries and physicochemical properties. Surface texturing increases the resistance to scuffing and wear through fretting, and is also used wherever the adhesive properties of surface layers are of importance (printing techniques, joining materials, biological and chemical activity of the surface, coating, etc.) [7]

The earlier papers of the team presented the results of theoretical analyses concerning the interaction of CW laser radiation with metal targets. Laser power ranged from 1 to 10 kW and the thickness of targets ranged between 0.1 and 1 cm. It was also assumed that the beam diameter at an Al target was around 1 cm. The present paper describes another variant of similar interaction, with simultaneous blowing of air on the object surface. Like before, the mathematicalphysical model of the phenomenon was based on the equation of conservation of energy (spatially one-dimensional model – (z,t)), taking into account: radiation absorption and transport inside the target, heat conduction, reflection of part of radiation from the target’s surface and heat losses in the processes of melting and evaporation. Coefficients of light absorption and reflection from the target’s surface were described with semi-empirical expressions which took into account their dependence on temperature and density. Calculations were performed for conditions with and without the removal of melted layers and for two variants of laser radiation pulses: (1) 1 kJ of energy with a duration of 2x10^-4 s, and (2) 10 kJ of energy with a duration of 1 s. The most interesting result of the calculations is the effect of significant impact of the blowing out of melted layers to the thickness of melting only in the case of shorter pulses with higher peak power.

Plastics are used as a construction material in many branches of industry, in particular in the biomedical industry, mechatronics, electronics, automotive industry and chemical devices. The study presents the results of the tests on the effects of micromachining of elastomeric materials with UV Laser Marker. The analysis of the impact of machining parameters on the performance and the quality of machining was the key point of the study, which allowed to recommend the most favourable machining parameters for materials, such as fluorinated elastomer (FPM) and silicone (MVQ). The authors perceive the prospective application of the developed technology in sealing and microfluidization. The results of the tests on the frictional resistance reduction of a pneumatic actuator with a piston sealing and a textured friction face are presented in the final part of the study.

Paper presents results of microstructure and mechanical tests of welded joints of new generation Super304 austenitic stainless steel using high power CO₂ laser (LBW method) with bifocal welding head. Super304 is modified 304 steel dedicated to energetic installation material, designed to replace currently used. High content of chromium and nickel with others alloying elements improve its resistance and strength characteristic. Use of Super304 steel for production of the superheaters, heating chambers and walls in steam boilers resulted in various weldability researches.

In article are presented results of destructive and non-destructive tests. For destructive: static bending and Vickers hardness tests, and for non-destructive: VT, RT, UT, micro and macroscopic tests were performed.

The article presents the results of laser microtexturing on the surface of structural materials used in aeronautics, civil aviation and the automotive industry. Using the laser with ultrashort pulses and UV radiation, the authors presented the possibility of surface treatment of titanium alloys. The microtexture can be used for many different industrial applications. One of such applications is to increase the surface area in order to increase the adhesive of bonded joints to other structural materials. The UV laser with ultra-short pulses used for this purpose allows micromachining of the material using the cold ablation process, which does not damage the material when it is micromachining. The research carried out by the authors is aimed to verifying how features such as the shape, density and depth of the laser-made microtexture affect to the strength of the constituted adhesive joint for the tested pair of materials.

The presented article describes the effects of laser micro texture of the surface of construction materials used in civil aviation, aeronautics and the automotive industry. For this purpose, a laser with ultrashort pulses generating UV radiation was used. The authors presented the possibility of micro machining of INCONEL 718 alloy surfaces. The texture made can be used in many modern industrial applications relevant to the development of technology. One of such applications is the development of surfaces to increase the adhesiveness of bonded joints to other construction materials. The TruMicro 5325c laser used for this purpose allows the material to be processed using a cold ablation process, which allows precise, selective removal of the material without a thermal influence on the adjacent areas of the workpiece.

The article presents a developed, proprietary system of automatic temperature control of the workpiece surface for a laser processing. In the control system, a regulator based on fuzzy logic algorithms has been developed. The system is based on a RT real time system with a frequency of 1 kHz. In order to implement the system, the reconfigurable NI CompactRio microprocessor system together with the appropriate input modules was used. The control application was created based on the LabView software. The feedback signal for the control system was realized with usage of a fiber optic pyrometer observing the area of the laser beam. In order to implement the system in the existing, dedicated control system of the Trumpf TruCell 1005 laser device, a number of integration works were carried out. During the preliminary tests, the settings of the developed regulator were selected empirically and the correctness of its operation was checked for various working conditions. The article also presents the time series of the temperature control value and the control error combined with the course of the modulated laser device power during the laser machining process.

Laser welding in the case of the beam inclined (not perpendicular) to the metal surface is analysed. The geometry of the heated area is described and the influence of this inclination on the depth and the shape of the fusion zone is experimentally studied. An example of the laser welding of the zinc-coated steel structural element with the use of inclined beam is presented.

Tube bending locally heated by a laser beam is analysed. This heating reduces the yield stress and prevents stress hardening thus making easier the process of plastic deformation. In the present work simple model of elasto-plastic bending of circular tubes is developed and some experimental results of laser assisted bending are shown.

Laser-assisted forming is a method based on contactless shaping of profiles with the use of a laser beam impact. This method has been developed from the early 1980s by the Centre for Laser Technology of Metals at the Kielce University of Technology (PŚk) and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), among others [1-7]. In general, the mechanism allowing for changing the shape of profiles is the material’s thermal expansion. Suitable profile heating (on programmed paths with an adequately selected temperature, etc.) allows for obtaining the planned shapes.

Despite certain areas of application (electrical mechanics, precision mechanics, micro-positioning and others), this method is ineffective [4-5]. When changing the shape of large-diameter profiles, this method is power and time consuming, thereby eliminating it from industrial applications. Thus, the concept of a hybrid method was created, i.e. laser forming with mechanical assistance. I

n 2015, PŚk established co-operation with the Metal Forming Institute (INOP) in Poznań, PAN’s Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, and the Rzeszów University of Technology in terms of research in the aforementioned topic. The above consortium commenced the execution of the project titled “Laser forming of thinwalled profiles with mechanical assistance, financed by the National Centre for Research and Development as part of subsidy no. PBS3/A5/47/2015.

The paper’s authors will present, among other things, the main concept of hybrid laser and mechanical forming, one of the concepts selected for the execution, design and construction of a station for bending thin-walled tubes and cone diffusers used in the construction of aircraft engines. The target materials of the research are Inconel 618 and Inconel 625 refractory nickel superalloys, as well as AISI 410 and AISI 325 heat-resistant Martensitic steels. These materials, due to their good mechanical properties when working at higher temperatures, are used for building turboprop engines. For economic reasons, the testing was conducted on X5CrNi18-10 acid-resistant austenitic steel. The hybrid method (assumptions, concept, design) presented in the paper was subjected to validation in laboratory conditions. The testing featured measurements of the forces required to obtain plastic deformations in the profile, bending angle, and determination of the process temperature. Furthermore, the paper will feature a presentation of future plans concerning the work executed as part of the said project.

The laser surface texturing of coated glass by picosecond laser with 355nm wavelength strongly absorbed by the glass is reported. The texturing was performed using various pulse energy and the distance of ablative single mark on the coated glass surface. In the performed experiment it was possible to control for the surface’s optical reflectance.

In the paper the results of 3D micromachining of silicon using nanosecond (1064 nm), picosecond (343 nm) and femtosecond (343 nm) laser pulses are presented. Effective laser processing demands repeated scanning of the laser beam and overlapping of paths what generate many phenomena which do not occur by impact of individual laser pulses. Thermal incubation effect and shielding of laser beam by ejected particles compete and decide on the final result of ablative micromachining. Applying femto and picosecond laser pulses does not directly guarantee expected quality and effectiveness.

The influence of Q-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser interference heating parameters on microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous Fe₈₀Si₁₁B₉ alloy was examined. Different laser pulse energy and a variable number of consecutive pulses were used. Results were compared with amorphous and conventionally annealed ribbons. Microstructural analysis, using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, was complemented by results of AFM and Mössbauer spectroscopy, as well as measurements of magnetic properties (vibrating sample magnetometer). Periodically distributed crystallized micro-areas, ~10 μm in diameter, in the amorphous matrix were produced by the laser treatment. Laser heating produced nanograin crystalline structure in the amorphous matrix. While after the conventional annealing – dendritic structure was observed. The magnetic hysteresis loop measurement showed that laser heating had no significant influence on soft magnetic properties. Magnetization measurements showed that the as-cast ribbon and laser light irradiated samples are magnetically soft materials. The results lead to the conclusion that the dots corresponding to the laser modified regions exhibit a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Magnetic force microscopy showed expanded magnetic structure in laser heated microareas, while the amorphous matrix did not give any magnetic signal.

The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is a large-scale pan-European project currently being implemented in three European countries. It uses cutting-edge laser technologies to build multi-PW lasers capable of generating femtosecond light pulses of ultra-relativistic intensities (~ 10²³ – 10²⁴ W/cm² ), unattainable so far. Such light pulses can accelerate ions to high energies and produce collimated ion beams with unique features that have the potential to be applied in various fields of scientific research, as well as in technological and medical developments. In this paper, the results of numerical studies on the acceleration of heavy (thorium) ions driven by a femtosecond multi-PW laser pulse of ultrarelativistic intensity, performed with the use of a multi-dimensional (2D3V) particle-in cell code, are presented. It is shown that ultra-intense sub-picosecond multi-GeV heavy ion beams with a beam intensity much higher (by a factor of ~ 10² ) and with ion pulse durations much shorter (by a factor of ~ 10⁴ ) than presently achievable in conventional RFdriven accelerators can be produced at laser intensities of 10²³ W/cm² predicted for the ELI lasers. Such ion beams can open the door to new areas of research in nuclear and high energy-density physics, and possibly in other scientific domains.

This paper presents an investigation of CCD camera photo-response nonuniformity (PRNU) with a laser-plasma soft X-ray (SXR) source operating at the “water window” (WW) region (2.3 - 4.4 nm). We have investigated a scientific X-ray CCD camera including a high quantum efficiency back-illuminated CCD sensor. As a radiation source, a compact, nitrogen laser-plasma SXR source based on a double stream gas puff target was employed. A Ti filter is used to enable a single line of the radiation at 2.88 nm in the WW spectral range. PRNU and other CCD camera noise characteristics are estimated on the basis of experimental data. The image subtraction method is applied for noise components estimation. The obtained test results are widely presented and discussed.

Low temperature plasmas induced by irradiation of molecular gases with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulses were studied. The EUV pulsed beams of high intensity, were formed using laser-produced plasma (LPP) sources, based on Nd:YAG laser systems and a double-stream Xe/He gas-puff target. The EUV beams were used for irradiation of small portions of gases, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the radiation pulses. Low temperature plasmas produced this way in oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur hexafluoride gas emitted radiation in a wide spectral range. The corresponding EUV spectra were dominated by emission lines originating from singly charged, atomic ions. In case of spectra recorded in an optical range, emission lines, corresponding to radiative transitions in atomic or molecular species, were detected. Taking into account a Stark broadening of F I emission lines an electron density was estimated. Its value exceeded 10¹⁷cm^-3, which is a few orders of magnitude higher comparing to plasmas produced in standard generators. Employing the SF₆ – based plasmas an experiment concerning plasma treatment of a silicon surface was performed. A possibility to create different kinds of nanostructures was demonstrated.

In this work, a near edge X-ray fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) based on a laser-plasma compact soft X-ray (SXR) source is presented. The NEXAFS spectrum was acquired simultaneously for all energies near the absorption edge, using a broadband emission from krypton plasma, in contrary to the existing, synchrotron-based spectroscopic systems. In such SXR source, a plasma is produced by an interaction of a laser beam with a double stream gas puff target. The plasma efficiently emits SXR radiation from 2-5 nm wavelength (250-620 eV photon energy). Such broadband emission allows acquiring simultaneously a sample and a reference spectra, to obtain optical density spectrum of the sample near C-Kα absorption edge, due to a special construction of the SXR spectrometer. The NEXAFS spectra were obtained using PET polymer test sample, from both, the large area and spatially localized to ~30×30 μm² area. The spatially localized spectra were used to construct 2-D spectromicroscopic maps of sample constituents. Single-shot spectra were also acquired with laser pulse energies of ~10 times larger than in the case of multiple exposures. A short overview of those NEXAFS experiments will be presented.

In this work, we present two experimental devices dedicated to double stream gas cluster target and aerosol target in a vacuum, dedicated to laser-matter experiments. The first device is based on a specially developed double gas electromagnetic valve system, thermoelectric cooler baser on two Peltier modules and copper water chiller and an electronic controller. This device can produce gas cluster target from selected atomic and molecular gases, i.e. xenon, sulfur hexafluoride. The second device is developed for production aerosol injected into a vacuum region. The aerosol is produced inside a specially developed electromagnetic valve by an ultrasonic transducer and after that, the aerosol is impulsively injected into a vacuum chamber. Details about those two devices will be presented and discussed. Presented experimental devices, in comparison to actually used devices in many laboratories in the world, do not require a cryogenic cooler and supersonic nozzle.