DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERIZATION OF LASER-IRRADIATED DOT TARGETS

We have conducted a series of experiments at the KMS CHROMA facility using dot spectroscopy techniques to characterize uncertainties associated with spectral line ratio models commonly applied in determining electron temperatures and densities. Temperatures determined from the slope of the H-like free-bound continuum and densities via holographic interferometry, are compared to line ratio methods. Dot targets of (typically 100 μmD Mg or Al) are irradiated with 2 to 40 x 1013 W/cm2 of 0.53 μm light. Time and spatial gradients are resolved using 4 diagnostics: a 4-frame holographic interferometer, an x-ray streak crystal spectrograph with a spatial imaging slit, a framing crystal x-ray spectrometer, and a conventional space-resolved time-integrating crystal spectrograph used for survey and calibration purposes. Preliminary results indicate the ionization distribution of these laser produced plasmas is not steady-state which plays an important role in measuring the temperature and and density. Electron temperatures derived from line-ratio techniques, assuming steady state conditions, disagree dramatically from simultaneous measurements using the slope of the H-like continuum. Electron densities using He-like triplet to singlet line ratios also differ from densities measured interferometrically

Spectroscopic investigations of hard x-ray emission from 120 ps laser-produced plasmas at intensities near 10{sup 17} W cm{sup {minus}2}

Spectroscopic investigations of the x-ray emission of plasmas heated by 120 ps, frequency doubled pulses from the JANUS Nd: glass laser are presented. High Z K-shell spectra emitted from slab targets heated to near 10{sup 17} W cm{sup {minus}2} intensity are investigated. High resolution ({gamma}/{Delta}{gamma}>5000) x-ray spectra of multicharged ions of H-like Ti, Co, Ni, Cu, and also H-like Sc in the spectral range 1.5--3.0 {angstrom} are obtained in single laser shots using a spherically bent Mica crystal spectrograph with a 186 mm radius of curvature. The spectra- have one dimensional spatial resolution of about 25{mu}m and indicate that the size of the emission zone of the resonance, transitions is 2 keV and density{approximately}10{sup 22} cm{sup {minus}3}. These experiments demonstrate that with modest laser energy, plasmas heated by high-intensity 120 ps lasers provide a very bright source of hard {approximately}8 keV x-ray emission

Analysis of time- and space-resolved Na-, Ne-, and F-like emission from a laser-produced bromine plasma

Advances in the efficiency and accuracy of computational atomic physics and collisional radiative modeling promise to place the analysis and diagnostic application of L-shell emission on a par with the simpler K-shell regime. Coincident improvements in spectroscopic plasma measurements yield optically thin emission spectra from small, homogeneous regions of plasma, localized both in space and time. Together, these developments can severely test models for high-density, high-temperature plasma formation and evolution, and non-LTE atomic kinetics. In this paper we present highly resolved measurements of n=3 to n=2 X-ray line emission from a laser-produced bromine micro-dot plasma. The emission is both space- and time-resolved, allowing us to apply simple, steady-state, 0-dimensional spectroscopic models to the analysis. These relativistic, multi-configurational, distorted wave collisional-radiative models were created using the HULLAC atomic physics package. Using these models, we have analyzed the F-like, Ne-like and Na-like (satellite) spectra with respect to temperature, density and charge-state distribution. This procedure leads to a full characterization of the plasma conditions. 9 refs., 3 figs

Hydrogen-like recombination x-ray laser experiments using a 20 picosecond laser pulse at the Nova facility

Hydrogen-like recombination X-ray lasers are currently under investigation as an alternative candidate to collisional pumped soft X-ray amplifiers. Efforts are being concentrated on the n = 3 to n = 2 transitions in H-like Mg and NaF. 5 refs., 1 fig