Reflection measurements in CO2 laser solid deuterium target interaction

Using a 60 nsec, 300 MW CO₂ TEA laser reflection measurements from solid deuterium targets have been investigated. Energy, reflected and scattered pulse shape are recorded at various angles: 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°. Reflection, X-ray measurements and ion mean kinetic energy are correlated at the focussing lens position with respect to the target position. The maximum plasma temperature varies from 20 to 35 eV for incident laser fluxes ranging from 5 × 10¹⁰ up to 5 × 10¹¹ W/cm². The cut-off density inside the deuterium ice has been observed and located. In each case reflection has been found to be weak less than 5% for each direction. For the maximum fluxes X-ray energies greater than 0.5 keV have been observed.