We analyzed the formation of the aluminum (Al) nanoparticles (NPs) with triangular shape obtained by ablating Al bulk in liquid using pulses with different durations (5 ns, 200 ps, and 30 fs) and wavelengths (355 nm, 800 nm, and 1064 nm). We report three stages of synthesis and aging of Al NPs: Formation, transformation, and stable stage. The NPs prepared by different pulses are almost identical at the initial stage. The effects of duration and wavelength of the ablation pulses on the aging of NPs are revealed. Pulse duration is determined to be essential for morphological transformation of NPs, while pulse wavelength strongly influences particle sizes. NPs produced by ultra-short pulses have smaller sizes and narrow size distribution. We demonstrate that oxidation and hydrolysis of Al in water are the results of ablation for all pulse durations and wavelengths, which also strongly modify the preferable reaction path of NPs in water, thus affecting the composition and morphology of triangle NPs. The results of modeling of the NPs generation in water due to a 50 ps laser pulse interacting with a thick Al target are presented. Water-based effects in the formation of NPs, their evolution, and solidification are considered from the mechanical and thermophysical points of view. The detailed analysis of the modeling results allowed for determination of the main mechanism responsible for the ablation process followed by the NPs formation.

The mock circulatory loop (MCL) is an in vitro experimental system that can provide continuous pulsatile flows and simulate different physiological or pathological parameters of the human circulation system. It is of great significance for testing cardiovascular assist device (CAD), which is a type of clinical instrument used to treat cardiovascular disease and alleviate the dilemma of insufficient donor hearts. The MCL installed with different types of CADs can simulate specific conditions of clinical surgery for evaluating the effectiveness and reliability of those CADs under the repeated performance tests and reliability tests. Also, patient-specific cardiovascular models can be employed in the circulation of MCL for targeted pathological study associated with hemodynamics. Therefore, The MCL system has various combinations of different functional units according to its richful applications, which are comprehensively reviewed in the current work. Four types of CADs including prosthetic heart valve (PHV), ventricular assist device (VAD), total artificial heart (TAH) and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) applied in MCL experiments are documented and compared in detail. Moreover, MCLs with more complicated structures for achieving advanced functions are further introduced, such as MCL for the pediatric application, MCL with anatomical phantoms and MCL synchronizing multiple circulation systems. By reviewing the constructions and functions of available MCLs, the features of MCLs for different applications are summarized, and directions of developing the MCLs are suggested.

The enhancement of high-order harmonics of ultrashort pulses is crucial for application of coherent extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulses in optoelectronics. Strong resonances of ionic species are useful for enhancement of the yield of single harmonic in EUV region. Another attractive concept is the quasi-phase matching (QPM) allowing the growth of conversion efficiency of the groups of harmonics in different ranges of EUV. Here we demonstrate simultaneous enhancement of 9th, 13th and 17th harmonics of 800 nm, 30 fs pulses in laser-produced plasmas (LPP) created on the surfaces of Zn, In and Sn targets. The enhancement of harmonics is attributed to the resonance transitions of singly charged particles of those materials. Strong 9th harmonic is generated in Zn plasma in a broad range of the delays between heating and probe laser pulses. We analyze strong even harmonics enhanced in Zn + In and Sn + In LPP at the conditions of two-color pump. We also show the concurrence of micro- and macroscopic processes in indium plasma by analyzing the resonance conditions for 13th harmonic and QPM for 21st and 31st harmonic using different configurations of LPP. We find the phase differences of harmonics generated in indium and zinc plasma, and show the pronounced effect of the resonances on the attosecond timing of the harmonic emission.

Analysis and characterization of laser-produced plasmas (LPPs) require the advanced methods for determination of different multiparticle component formation and spreading. Time-resolved high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in spreading LPPs allows determining optimal conditions for this process. One of the most important parameters of HHG in LPP is the delay between the heating and driving pulses. We demonstrate that the optimization of delays allows achieving the maximal harmonic yields in LPP created on the surfaces of the solid targets possessing different molar masses (m). The optimal delays (t) for B₄C, ZnO, GaP, GaAs, and Ag₂S plasmas were determined to be approximately 200, 300, 350, 500, and 700 ns, respectively. These variations of delays correspond to the t∞(m)^0.5 dependence for different materials. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method for analysis of the resonance-enhanced harmonics in atomic and molecular plasmas (Mo and MoS₂) and for studies of large perovskite aggregates as potential emitters of harmonics. This diagnostic technique can also be applied to the analysis of the presence of different nanostructures in LPPs through HHG with a high spatiotemporal resolution.