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Persistent URL http://purl.org/net/epubs/work/37287
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Record Id 37287
Title Plasma based x-ray lasers used for opacity and ablation rate measurements
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Abstract Utilizing thin targets, opacities of iron have been measured using x-ray lasers of photon energy 89 eV created by pumping with the VULCAN laser. The thin targets comprise a plastic substrate, a 50 nm thick iron layer and an overlay of 100 nm CH and are separately heated by spot focus laser pulses. We have demonstrated that X-ray laser brightness is sufficient to overcome the self-emission of hot plasma so that useful opacity measurements can be made. The transmission through the targets agrees generally with the calculated transmission from a fluid code simulation coupled to the TOPS plasma opacity data. The ablation of aluminum foil with a thin (50 nm) iron coating was also observed using a neon-like zinc x-ray laser of photon energy 58 eV at the PALS centre. The x-ray laser was used to probe sample targets as they were heated by a separate laser beam of 10 J, focused to a 100 micron diameter spot. A simple calculation of the rate of ablation of the iron gives x-ray laser transmission through the targets in agreement with experiment. We suggest that x-ray laser probing can be a useful diagnostic of ablation rates in laser-plasmas.
Organisation CCLRC , CLF
Keywords MODEL , ABSORPTION-MEASUREMENTS , IRON PLASMA , SATURATION , ABUNDANCE , NEON , CLF 2006-2007
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Language English (EN)
Type Details URI(s) Local file(s) Year
Journal Article Superstrong Fields in Plasmas 827 (2006): 353-364. 2006