Cavitation can be defined as the breakdown of a liquid (either static or in motion) medium under very low pressure. The hydrodynamic happened in high-speed flow, where local pressure in liquid falls under the saturating pressure thus the liquid vaporizes to form the cavity. During the evolution and collapsing of cavitation bubbles, extreme physical conditions like high-temperature, high-pressure, shock-wave, and high-speed micro-jets can be generated. Such a phenomenon shall be prevented in hydraulic or astronautical machinery due to the induced erosion and noise, while it can be utilized to intensify some treatment processes of chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, to shorten sterilization times and lower energy consumption. Advances in the understanding of the physical processes of cavitating flows are challenging, mainly due to the lack of quantitative experimental data on the two-phase structures and dynamics inside the opaque cavitation areas. This dissertation is aimed at finding out the physical mechanisms governing the cavitation instabilities and making contributions in controlling hydraulic cavitation for engineering applications. In this thesis, cavitation developed in various convergent-divergent (Venturi) channels was studied experimentally using the ultra-fast synchrotron X-ray imaging, LIF Particle Image Velocimetry, and high-speed photography techniques, to (1) investigate the internal structures and evolution of bubble dynamics in cavitating flows, with velocity information obtained for two phases; (2) measure the slip velocity between the liquid and the vapor to provide the validation data for the numerical cavitation models; (3) consider the thermodynamic effects of cavitation to establish the relation between the cavitation extent and the fluid temperature, then and optimize the cavitation working condition in water; (4) seek the coherent structures of the complicated high-turbulent cavitating flow to reduce its randomness using data-driven methods. / Doctor of Philosophy / When the pressure of a liquid is below its saturation pressure, the liquid will be vaporized into vapor bubbles which can be called cavitation. In many hydraulic machines like pumps, propulsion systems, internal combustion engines, and rocket engines, this phenomenon is quite common and could induce damages to the mechanical systems. To understand the mechanisms and further control cavitation, investigation of the bubble inception, deformation, collapse, and flow regime change is mandatory. Here, we performed the fluid mechanics experiment to study the unsteady cavitating flow underlying physics as it occurs past the throat of a Venturi nozzle. Due to the opaqueness of this two-phase flow, an X-ray imaging technique is applied to visualize the internal flow structures in micrometer scales with minor beam scattering. Finally, we provided the latest physical model to explain the different regimes that appear in cavitation. The relationship between the cavitation length and its shedding regimes, and the dominant mechanism governing the transition of regimes are described. A combined suppression parameter is developed and can be used to enhance or suppress the cavitation intensity considering the influence of temperature.

The aim of this work is to produce X-ray laser source from a plasma produced by focusing a pulsed laser beam on a solid target. Preformed Molybdenum plasma is created by using Nd:YAG laser pulses with a pulse duration 6 ns and pulse intensity 5.09x1011 W/cm2. Detailed simulations of Ni-like Mo X-ray laser media are undertaken using the EHYBRID code which is a hydrodynamic code. X-ray resonance lines between 25 &Aring / and 40 &Aring / emitted from the molybdenum plasma have been obtained and analysed. EHYBRID code also gives an information about the electron temperature, electron density, efficient ionization degree and plasma expansion distance of the Ni-like Mo X-ray laser media. An experimental set-up to produce preformed Mo plasma for x-ray laser has been designed for a future work.

In this thesis, theoretical investigation of nickel-like tin plasma is presented. X-ray production in a plasma medium produced by a laser beam is reviewed. Applications mostly, lithography are discussed. Two different schemes for x-ray lasing, namely, quasi-steady state and transient collisional excitation are explained and compared. The computer codes that are used for plasma, especially for laser produced plasma and x-ray laser including hydrodynamic codes, ray-trace codes and collisional radiative codes are discussed. The code used in this work, EHYBRID, is considered in more detail. An experimental setup which can allow x-ray lasing is designed for different plasma and laser parameters are analyzed by means of EHYBRID code. Results are briefly discussed and as a future work the realization of the related experiment is mentioned.

The recent development of free-electron lasers operating at XUV and X-ray wavelengths are proving vital for the exploration of matter in extreme conditions. The ultra-short pulse length and high peak brightness these light sources provide, combined with a tunable X-ray wavelength range, makes them ideally suited both for creating high energy density samples and for their subsequent study. In this thesis I describe the work done on the XUV free-electron laser FLASH in Hamburg, aimed at creating homogeneous samples of warm dense matter through the process of volumetric XUV photo-absorption, and the theoretical work undertaken to understand the process of high-intensity laser-matter interactions. As a first step, we have successfully demonstrated intensities above 10¹⁷ Wcm-2 at a wavelength of 13.5 nm, by focusing the FEL beam to micron and sub-micron spot sizes by means of a multilayer-coated off-axis parabolic mirror. Using these record high intensities, we have demonstrated for the first time saturable absorption in the XUV. The effect was observed in aluminium and magnesium samples and is due to the bleaching of a core-state absorption channel by the intense radiation field. This result has major implications for the creation of homogeneous high energy density systems, as a saturable absorption channel allows for a more homogeneous heating mechanism than previously thought possible. Further, we have conducted soft X-ray emission spectroscopy measurements which have delivered a wealth of information on the highly photo-excited system under irradiation, immediately after the excitation pulse, yet before the system evolves into the warm dense matter state. Such strongly photo-excited samples have also been studied theoretically, by means of density functional theory coupled to molecular dynamics calculations, yielding detailed electronic structure information. The use of emission spectroscopy as a probe for solid-density and finite-temperature systems is discussed in light of these results. Theoretical efforts have further been made in the study of the free-free absorption of aluminium as the system evolves from the solid state to warm dense matter. We predict an absorption peak in temperature as the system heats and forms a dense plasma. The physical significance of this effect is discussed in terms of intense light-matter interactions on both femtosecond and picosecond time-scales.

La présente thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre du développement des lasers X-UV générés en régime collisionnel transitoire et a pour objet principal d’étudier l’influence de la mise en forme temporelle des impulsions laser de haute puissance sur l’efficacité de génération de ces sources. Mon travail essentiellement expérimental a consisté à étudier de nouveaux schémas de pompage mettant en oeuvre différents dispositifs permettant de produire des préimpulsions et/ou un piédestal d’ASE au sein de la chaîne laser pilote. Dans ce manuscrit, je présente ces dispositifs et montre l’influence des différents paramètres laser sur l’efficacité de production du laser X-UV. L’étude expérimentale met tout d’abord en évidence une augmentation significative de l’énergie et de la durée de vie dela source laser X-UV en présence d’une préimpulsion.Dans ce contexte, un dispositif a été expérimenté permettant de générer au sein d’un unique faisceau laser, les deux principales impulsions précédées de la pré-impulsion, tout en gardant un contrôle sur leurs caractéristiques spectro-temporelles.Une approche alternative a été expérimentée dans laquelle un laser annexe « Q-switch » à bas coût est utilisé pour générer un plasma peu dense avecde faibles gradients de densité. Ce dernier dispositif a montré d’excellentes performances sur une large plage de longueur d’onde, et a été utilisé pour réaliser une expérience d’injection d’harmoniques d’ordre élevé, générées sur la voies econdaire à partir d’une cellule de gaz d’Argon.Une amélioration notable des caractéristiques spatiales et de la cohérence temporelle du laserX-UV a pu être observée. / The thesis fits within the framework ofsoft x-ray lasers (SXRL) development and has formain objective to study the influence of the temporal shaping of ultra-intense laser pulses, on the efficiency of SXRL generation. My thesiswork consisted in studying, designing and calibrating new pumping schemes through various devices based on the prepulse generation and/or an amount of ASE within the laser driver.In this manuscript, I study their influence on the SXRL generation efficiency by highlighting the optimization parameters such as the delay and the energy ratio between pulses, or the duration of each of them. The experimental study highlights first of all the influence of a prepulse on the SXRL generation efficiency. In the same framework, a device was experimented, allowing to generate within a single laser beam two mainpulses preceded by a prepulse, while maintaining a control over their spectro-temporalcharacteristics.An alternative approach was experimented in which an additional low cost « Q-Switch » lase rwas used to produce a under dense plasma presenting smooth electronic density gradients.This last device has showed excellent performances on a wide wavelength range andhas been used to perfom an experiment of highorder harmonic seeding generated from an Argongas cell on the secondary LASERIX beamline. A noteworthy improvement of the spatial characteristics and the temporal coherence of theSXRL have been observed.

Les impulsions ultra-brèves de rayonnement ultraviolet extrême (UVX) ont un grand champ d’application dans les domaines tels que le diagnostic de plasmas, la spectroscopie ou l’étude de la dynamique ultrarapide dans les atomes et les molécules.Aujourd’hui, il existe trois sources délivrant ce genre d’impulsions. Les harmoniques d’ordre élevé (HHG, en anglais) générés dans les gaz rares ou sur les solides peuvent fournir des impulsions attosecondes. Cependant, leur énergie, le plus souvent de l’ordre du nanojoule, limite les applications. L’amplification des impulsions harmoniques dans les plasmas créés par laser (SXRL, en anglais) a démontré pouvoir fournir des énergies de plusieurs dizaines de microjoules. Des énergies plus élevées peuvent être obtenues avec les lasers à électrons libres (LEL) UVX injectés, mais ce sont des Très Grandes Infrastructures ayant un accès limité.Ces dernières années, des progrès significatifs ont été réalisé avec chacune des ces sources, avec pour objectif la génération d’impulsions plus brèves. Il est devenu nécessaire de développer des nouvelles techniques de métrologie temporelle des impulsions UVX ultra-brèves. De plus, beaucoup d’expériences, comme ceux impliquant des phénomènes non-linéaires, nécessitent de hautes intensités UVX. La focalisation efficace des impulsions de faibles énergies peut significativement augmenter le domaine d’application. De bons fronts d’onde sont nécessaires pour focaliser les impulsions UVX à haute intensité, et les optiques doivent aussi être de bonne qualité et alignées avec précision.Dans cette thèse, les propriétés spatiales des harmoniques d’ordre élevé ont été extensivement étudiées grâce à un senseur de front d’onde UVX. Cet appareil couplé à une source HHG a démontré être utile pour la caractérisation de table et à la longueur d’onde ainsi que pour l’optimisation de systèmes optiques UVX.Le problème de la mise en place de la complète caractérisation temporelle d’impulsions UVX est aussi discuté en détail, et deux nouveaux schémas pour la reconstruction d’impulsions de LEL injectés et de lasers X à plasma sont présentés. Finalement, la première implantation d’un système d’amplification à dérive de fréquence (CPA, en anglais) sur un LEL UVX est présentée et son implantation pour les lasers X à plasmas est aussi discutée. / Ultrashort pulses of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation have a wide range of applications in fields such as plasma probing, spectroscopy, or the study of ultrafast dynamics in atoms and molecules.Nowadays, there are three main sources of such pulses. High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in rare gases or solid surfaces is able to provide attosecond pulses. However, their limited energy, of the order of nanojoules, limits its number of applications. The amplification of high-harmonic pulses in laser-driven plasmas (SXRL) has been demonstrated to provide energies of tens of microjules. Higher pulse energies can be obtained from seeded XUV free-electron lasers (FELs), large-scale facilities with more limited accessibility.In recent years, significant progress has been made with each of these sources towards the generation of shorter pulses. It is thus necessary to develop new techniques for full temporal metrology of ultrashort XUV pulses. Additionally, many experiments, such as those involving nonlinear phenomena, require high XUV intensities. Efficient focusing of low-energy pulses can significantly increase their range of application. Good wavefronts are required in order to focus XUV pulses to high intensities, and the optics must be of high quality and precisely aligned.In this thesis, the spatial properties of high-harmonic pulses are extensively explored thanks to the use of an XUV Hartmann wavefront sensor. This device is also proven here to be useful for tabletop, at-wavelength characterization and optimization of XUV optical systems with HHG sources.The problem of performing full temporal characterization of XUV pulses is also discussed in detail, and two new schemes for complete pulse reconstruction for seeded XUV FELs and seeded SXRLs are presented. Finally, the first implementation of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) in a seeded XUV FEL is reported, and its implementation in seeded SXRLs is discussed as well.