The generation of terahertz radiation in a BNA crystal pumped by 1.24-µm femtosecond laser radiation from a Cr:forsterite laser system with a pulse duration of 100 and 35 fs and a pump density of 10 mJ/cm 2 has been realized. The achieved generation efficiency is 0.1%. It is found that a decrease in the pump pulse duration from 100 to 35 fs leads to the generation of high-frequency components in the ranges of 2.5–6.5 THz and 9‒10.5 THz in the generated radiation spectrum. Simulation of the terahertz radiation generation based on the solution of Maxwell’s equations by the finite-difference time-domain method has made it possible to adequately describe the measured spectra. The generation of broadband high-frequency terahertz radiation in the BNA crystal pumped by the Cr:forsterite laser system allows one to consider this schematic as an alternative to sources based on the BNA crystal pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser system.

A method for measuring the bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra of electrons accelerated in a laser plasma using Medipix matrices has been developed. The application of the matrix provides the spectrum accumulation in a much shorter time, as compared to detectors based on a scintillator and a photomultiplier commonly used for such measurements. This ensures dynamic monitoring of the X-ray characteristics and prompt adjustment of the laser source parameters to obtain the maximum X-ray yield and energy. The results of measurements of the X-ray spectra at the ILC MSU terawatt femtosecond-laser complex for various laser-plasma interaction regimes are presented.

Photonuclear methods used earlier in experiments at electron accelerators have been adapted for femtosecond pulsed lasers. In particular, the problem of measuring wide electron spectra under conditions of a high counting rate and, hence, a high probability of pulse pileup has been solved. To provide long-term stability of electron beams from plasma, a magnetic spectrometer combined with a magnetic-induction sensor has been developed. This spectrometer is capable of measuring the electron-beam characteristics in each ultrashort laser pulse. The results of the experiments carried out with the femtosecond laser system at the International Laser Center of the Moscow State University are presented.

We report the results of studies on the possibilities of controlling laser ablation by changing the polarisation state and the intensity distribution in the focal plane of the beams of high-power femtosecond radiation by means of beam diaphragming and controllable phase modulation using binary-phase plates. The latter provides the adjustment of correlation between the electric field components in the focus area. Based on the results of numerical modelling of the distribution of the electric field components in the focus area, an explanation of the mechanism of formation of the unusually shaped craters is given.