Amplitude division interferometer for the diagnostic of high-density plasmas with soft x-ray laser radiation
Abstract
Presently available compact soft x-ray lasers with spectral brightness that match or exceed that of their laboratory-size predecessors constitute unique tools for the diagnostics of dense plasmas. A novel interferometer designed to work with compact soft x-ray lasers at wavelengths of a 46.9 and 14.7 nm was implemented. The Interferometer design overcomes the limitation of the unavailability of beam splitters that work in this region of the spectrum by replacing them with diffraction gratings: using the zero and first diffracted orders to form the two arms in a skewed Mach-Zehnder configuration. By using this setup, a study of laser created plasmas, generated with line and point foci and exploding wires was performed. The results obtained unveiled new 2D plasma-phenomena that were unavailable to studies performed at longer wavelengths. This work was supported by the U.S Dept of Energy grant DE-FG03-02NA00062 and under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory through the Institute of Laser Science and Applications under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.
- Publication:
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APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003APS..DMP.D1080F