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Published on: August 25, 2016
High contrast Kr gas jet K alpha x-ray source for high energy density physics experiments
N L Kugland1, P Neumayer, T Döppner
1Physics Department, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951547, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|December 3, 2008
Summary
Researchers developed a high-contrast krypton (Kr) K alpha X-ray source using the Titan laser and gas jets. This debris-free source offers a high contrast ratio for advanced diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- High-energy laser-matter interactions
- X-ray source development
- Plasma physics
Background:
- Development of high-brightness, high-contrast X-ray sources is crucial for advanced scientific diagnostics.
- Existing sources often suffer from low contrast or debris, limiting their application in time-resolved studies of dense matter.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a high-contrast 12.6 keV Kr K alpha X-ray source.
- To evaluate its suitability for applications like area backlighting and scattering.
- To characterize the source parameters for dense matter diagnostics.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the petawatt-class Titan laser facility.
- Employed strongly clustering krypton (Kr) gas jet targets.
- Performed filtered shadowgraphy and spectral calculations for characterization.
Main Results:
- Achieved a high contrast ratio of 65 (K alpha to continuum).
- Obtained a competitive ultrashort pulse laser to X-ray conversion efficiency of 10^-5.
- Determined an emission volume of approximately 1x2 mm^2.
- Estimated bulk electron temperature of 50-70 eV, corresponding to a mean ionization state of 13-16.
Conclusions:
- The demonstrated Kr K alpha source is highly suitable for area backlighting and scattering applications.
- Kr gas jets provide a debris-free, high-energy K alpha source.
- This source is advantageous for time-resolved diagnosis of dense matter.
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