Patrick Poole, C. David Andereck, and Douglass Schumacher file provisional patent 62/001,698, "HIGH-REPETITION RATE, LIQUID CRYSTAL THIN-FILM LASER TARGET INSERTER"

The provisional patent describes a number of devices that form thin liquid membranes to be used as targets in intense laser-matter experiments. The devices are designed to operate at high repetition rate--in excess of 1 Hz--and insert membrane targets in the same location every time so that no alignment must be done between shots. A major benefit of these target inserters is the use of liquid crystal as the target material, which allows for precise target thickness control by varying the parameters of membrane formation (temperature, volume, and others). Both the high repetition rate and variable membrane thickness features of these target inserters unlock a variety of laser experiments that are not otherwise possible.