Abstract

The interaction of a single picosecond, high power KrF laser pulse with solid targets has been studied using time integrated and time resolved x-ray spectroscopy. Fully ionised aluminium plasmas with temperatures of about 400 eV and densities well above 10²³ cm⁻³ were observed when the ASE prepulse energy was less than 10⁻⁵ of the short pulse. About 20% of the incident laser energy was deposited in suprathermal electrons. This value was inferred from titanium K_α emission measurements. The experimental observations were modelled with a 1-D Lagrangian hydrodynamics code.

© 1989 Optical Society of America