Picosecond 14.7 nm interferometry of high intensity laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

We have developed a compact, 14.7 nm, sub-5 ps X-ray laser source at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) together with a Mach-Zehnder type diffraction grating interferometer built at Colorado State University for probing dense, high intensity laser-produced plasmas. The short wavelength and pulse length of the probe reduces refraction, absorption effects within the plasma and minimizes plasma motion blurring. This unique diagnostic capability gives precise two-dimensional (2D) density profile snapshots and is generating new data for rapidly evolving laser-heated plasmas. A review of the results from dense, mm-scale line focus plasma experiments will be described with detailed comparisons to hydrodynamic simulations.