Study of a fast ablative capillary discharge dedicated to soft x-ray production

A capillary discharge has been developed to produce pulses of intense soft x-ray radiation of tens of nanoseconds duration. The soft x-ray photons were emitted in a plasma column resulting from polyethylene in capillary wall ablation. The spectrum was dominated by the C IV, C V, and C VI emission lines in the soft x-ray spectral range. The experimental value of the electrical circuit inductance has been measured and compared to the calculated one. The electron temperature was estimated to be higher than 50 eV from the plasma resistivity measurement. The time dependence of the electron density outside the capillary channel has been determined using spectroscopic measurement in the visible range. The time dependence of the electron temperature has been determined from the intensity ratio of C V and C VI emission lines, using a collisional radiative equilibrium code. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)03201-9].