Abstract

We summarize the results obtained to date on laser-plasma interaction experiments conducted at the multikilojoule 0.53-μm Novette laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The large laser output power (Pl ^2ω0 < 5 TW/beam) allows wavelength scaling to be extended to significantly larger volume plasmas (with coronal temperatures exceeding 1 keV) than has previously been possible. A wide variety of x-ray and optical diagnostics has enabled us to study many aspects of the laser-plasma coupling physics in coronas having radial and axial dimensions exceeding 500 μm. Targets have included Be and Au disks with peak intensities ranging from 10¹⁴ W/cm² to >5 × 10¹⁵ W/cm² in primarily 1 nsec (FWHM) near Gaussian pulses. Experiments utilizing exploding foils of both CH (with sulfur and silicon tracer dots for x-ray spectroscopy) and Au have also been performed in an attempt to generate extremely flat axial gradients to further explore laser-plasma coupling that will occur with facilities such as Nova.

© 1984 Optical Society of America