Soft X-ray emission of continua from laser produced plasmas

Plasmas produced irradiating plane targets of low Z elements with moderate energy (3–10 J) lasers emit considerable amounts of free-free and free-bound continua in the soft X-ray region (10–100 Å) of the spectrum. With intensity calibrated grazing incidence spectrographs an intensity of the order of 10⁸ W sr^–1 Å^–1 cm^–2 emitted by the densest portion of the plasma inside the crater formed at the interaction was determined. This is in good agreement with theoretical predictions for a plasma of predetermined parameters. In case of high Z elements the continuum emitted has a very smooth wavelength dependence.     

Spatial resolution of laser produced plasmas with X-ray crystals

X-ray spectra taken with good quality flat crystals can yield spatial resolution of small plasma sources at the expense of spectral resolution. 40 μm spatial resolution of a laser-produced aluminum plasma was obtained using lines of wavelength ～6 Å.     

激光等离子体软X射线辐射能谱时间分辨测量研究

利用(国内最近研制成功的)带聚酰亚胺膜底衬的金透射光栅与软X射线条纹相机相配合,(在LF11~#激光装置上)使用波长为0.53μm的激光打靶,测量了平面Au靶软X射线时间分辨能谱。测量结果观察到了金等离子体的O带辐射强度随时间增加的现象。文章计算了光栅的衍射效率,并讨论了影响测量谱的几个关键因素。     

X-ray temperature measurements of laser produced plasmas in large radiation fields

The modification to the emitted X-ray signal from a laser produced plasma due to the change in the electron collisional behaviour resulting from the classical electron oscillation is calculated. It is shown that although the total emitted flux may be substantially increased, two foil measurements of temperature should not be greatly in error.     

X-ray spectra from highly ionized dense plasmas produced by ultrashort laser pulses

Hydrogen-like and helium-like X-ray spectra (between 7.1 and 8.2 , i.e., 1500 to 17.50 eV, respectively) from solid aluminium targets irradiated with high intensity (up to 10¹⁷ W/cm²) subpicosecond (0.7 ps) laser pulses have been measured. The spectra show that the resonance lines are very broad and very asymmetric. Evidence for a Doppler-shifted reabsorption of the resonance line emission has been found. The spectra have been simulated by a computer code for the calculation of spectral-line intensities and linewidths. Electron densities exceeding the critical density have been estimated for different laser intensities by comparing the observed and simulated intensity ratio of different dielectronic satellite lines. From the X-ray spectra generated byp- ands-polarized radiation fat different laser intensities, the thresholds for the formation of hydrogen-like and helium-like ions have been determined.     

X-ray spectrometry of laser-produced aluminum plasmas

X-ray lines and continuum emission from a laser-produced aluminum plasma have been studied. The electron temperature variations during the laser pulse (30 ns) were deduced from time-dependent measurements of intensities of resonance lines (2.5 ns time-resolution). Comparison is made with electron temperature values deduced from ion emission measurements.     

X-ray emission from short-pulse laser plasmas

Highly intense picosecond and subpicosecond laser pulses interacting with solids can create hot and dense plasmas which emit x-ray pulses in a broad spectral range from 100 eV up to MeV. The duration of these x-ray pulses depends on the transient behaviour of the relaxation and recombination mechanisms, as well as on the lifetime of energetic electrons produced via nonlinear processes in the plasma. This paper reports experiments using a 1.5-ps laser pulse with high constrast ratio (up to 10¹⁰) and intensities up to 10¹⁸ W cm^-2 irradiating solid targets. Both the line spectrum characteristics of a magnesium plasma, recorded using crystal spectrometers with high spectral resolution, and kinetic calculations have allowed the deduction of plasma parameters in the process of plasma evolution. In addition, hard x-ray pulses from a tantalum plasma were measured and their scaling was explained as bremsstrahlung emission from energetic electrons. Absolute dose values of x-ray pulses are given.     

Refractive fringe diagnostics of laser produced plasmas

A simple formula which enables one to determine the electron densities of laser produced plasmas using refractive fringes in shadowgrams and Schlieren images is deduced and applied to experimental data. The results agree well with those obtained by conventional interferometry.     

Transmission grating spectrograph with on-line recording of XUV soft X-ray spectra from laser produced plasmas

The setting up and on-line operation of a transmission grating spectrograph in the XUV soft X-ray region is described. The detector was a microchannel plate–image intensifier combination, and the output of the image intensifier was coupled to a CCD camera–frame grabber system through an imaging lens. The spectrograph could be operated in the 5–20 Å range with 0.6 Å spectral resolution and in the 5–50 Å range with 1 Å resolution, respectively. The high sensitivity of the detector enables single shot operation, which is useful for several laser plasma interaction studies.     

X-ray spectroscopy of multiply-charged ions from laser plasmas

Original results are reported on the observation and identification of spectra of multiply-charged ions in the range of λ ≈ 1.5–15 Å, which corresponds to transitions with a range of principal quantum number n. The main part of the review consists of tables with about a thousand spectral lines, which have been mainly observed in laser-plasma radiation, as well as in the solar corona and other laboratory sources at an electron temperature T_e≈10⁷°K. The accuracy for the wavelengths (Δλ) is the following: Δλ is equal to ≈ 0.0005 Å for λ ≈ 2.5 Å and it is equal to ≈ 0.003 Å for λ ≈ 15 Å. The spectral lines are considered for the following transitions: 1-n type for [H]-like ions (Z = 11–16)and [He]-like ions (Z = 11–26); 2-n type for [Li]-like ions (Z = 19–26), [Be]-like ions (Z = 22–34) and [Ne]-like ions (Z = 26–42); 3-n type [Co]- and [Ni]-like ions (Z = 73). The line-list contains about four hundred wavelengths for multiply-charged iron L-ions (Fe(XVII)-Fe(XXIV)) and is presented with identification of some of the transitions. The wavelengths and intensities of satellites of the [H]-like ions and [He]-like ions, which are caused by transitions from the doubly-excited autoionization states 2l2l′ and 1s2l2L′ of [He]-like ions (Z = 11–16) and [Li]-like ions (Z = 11–26), respectively, are also considered.     

Interpretational problems of interferograms of asymmetric laser produced plasmas

Computer simulations have been made of interferograms produced in typical short pulse laser produced plasma experiments. It is shown that for certain plasma profiles and values of scale length the reconstructed profile is an inaccurate representation of the original profile. It is also shown that the interferometer focussing accuracy affects the maximum measurable electron density and the implied plasma scale length.     

Time resolved X-ray photography of the expansion of nanosecond CO2 laser produced plasmas

Time resolved X-ray photography of intense nanosecond CO₂ laser interaction with a number of different targets illustrates the complex expansion of the critical density region from the target, and the strong influence that superthermal electrons have on the plasma dynamics and the radial expansion of the superthermal coronal about the target.     

Optimization of laser propagation in optical-field-ionization plasmas for X-ray laser generation

Optical-field-ionization X-ray lasers are investigated numerically with a three-dimensional wave propagation code considering the effects of photoionization, energy depletion due to ionization, and refraction on pump laser pulses in spatially and temporally varied plasmas. By focusing the pump laser with small f-number optics at the optimal position, simulations show that diffraction and ionization-induced refraction in plasmas are compensated to keep the pump beam propagating at the optimal size for a longer distance. An amplification length as long as 5 mm can be achieved in Pd-like xenon and Ni-like krypton X-ray lasers at a pump energy of 160 mJ in 50-fs and 30-fs pulses, respectively. The significant reduction of the pump energy is a desirable step toward low-threshold and practical high-repetition-rate operations. PACS 42.55.Vc; 52.50.Jm     

Structure of magnetic fields generated in laser produced plasmas

A numerical model is used to interpret recent results on magnetic fields generated in laser plasma experiments. Satisfactory agreement is found between model predictions and experimental observations of the morphology of the field. The principal features of the measured density profile are also reproduced.     

Holographic interferometry of laser produced plasmas using picosecond pulses

Interferograms have been obtained using a holographic system illuminated by picosecond pulses. The technique has been applied to a picosecond laser produced plasma, and the total number of electrons present in the plasma has been measured to be at least 5 × 10¹⁴for a laser energy of 0.1 joule.     

UV laser photofragment GaCH3 detected by far UV laser mass spectrometry

The GaCH₃ radical has been directly detected by far UV laser mass spectrometry for the first time, as a UV laser photofragment from gaseous trimethylgallium Ga(CH₃)₃, but not from triethylgallium, Ga(C₂H₅)₃. The relative yield Y() of GaCH₃ was measured, at various UV photolysis laser wavelengths =193, 210 and 245 nm, and follows the absorption spectrum of the Ga(CH₃)₃ precursor molecules.     

Time-resolved analysis of the X-ray emission of femtosecond-laser-produced plasmas in the 1.5-keV range

Recent experimental results on ion beams produced in high-intensity laser–solid interactions indicate the presence of very intense electric fields in the target. This suggests the possibility of efficiently heating a solid material by means of the fast electrons created during the laser–solid interactions and trapped in the target, rather than by the laser photons themselves. We tested this mechanism by irradiating very small cubic aluminum targets with the LULI 100-TW, 300-fs laser at 1.06-m wavelength. X-ray spectra were measured with an ultra-fast streak camera, coupled to a conical Bragg crystal, providing spectra in the 1.5-keV range with high temporal and spectral resolution. The results indicate the creation of a hot plasma, but a very low coupling between the rapid electrons and the solid. A tentative explanation, in agreement with other experimental results and with preliminary particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, points out the fatal role of the laser prepulse. PACS 52.50.Jm; 52.38.Ph; 52.38.Kd