CHARACTERIZATION OF TITANIUM LASER-PRODUCED PLASMAS

The development of a plasma environment that is appropriate for the study of laser-plasma processes in laser-fusion plasma is reported. A material (titanium) with medium atomic number (Z) was used to provide x-ray measurements of radial and axial plasma symmetry as well as electron temperature. The electron density evolution was measured using stimulated scattering processes and odd half-harmonic generation from probe lasers of different wavelengths. The plasmas were created by two-sided irradiation of thin foils with 24 kJ of 351 nm laser light. When the peak electron density had decayed to about 4X10(20)cm(-3), the density profile was estimated to have a full width at half-maximum of 2 mm and the electron temperature was measured to be about 3 keV using K-shell spectroscopy. Two-dimensional computer simulations were found to reproduce some features of both electron density and temperature evolution. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.