Soft x-ray laser interferometry of colliding Al plasmas in a semi-cylindrical cavity

Soft x-ray laser interferometry was used to study the evolution of dense colliding plasmas produced by laser irradiation of semi-cylindrical targets. We present a series of interferograms that map the evolution of 1 mm long Aluminum plasmas created by irradiating 500 gin diameter semi-cylindrical targets with an intensity of similar to 1.1x10(12) Wcm(-2) from 120 ps duration laser pulses of 800 nm wavelength. The interferograms were obtained combining a 46.9 mn tabletop capillary discharge soft x-ray laser with a high throughput amplitude division interferometer based on diffraction gratings. The interferograms show that the plasma expands converging on the axis of the semi-cylindrical cavity where it reaches electron densities above 1 x 10(20) cm(-3). The code HYDRA was used to simulate the plasmas expansion and give insight on the plasma dynamics.