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Avaria G, Grisham M, Li J, Tomasel FG, Shlyaptsev VN, Busquet M, Woolston M, Rocca JJ. Extreme degree of ionization in homogenous micro-capillary plasma columns heated by ultrafast current pulses. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2015; 114:095001. [PMID: 25793819 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.114.095001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Homogeneous plasma columns with ionization levels typical of megaampere discharges are created by rapidly heating gas-filled 520-μm-diameter channels with nanosecond rise time current pulses of 40 kA. Current densities of up to 0.3 GA cm^{-2} greatly increase Joule heating with respect to conventional capillary discharge Z pinches, reaching unprecedented degrees of ionization for a high-Z plasma column heated by a current pulse of remarkably low amplitude. Dense xenon plasmas are ionized to Xe^{28+}, while xenon impurities in hydrogen discharges reach Xe^{30+}. The unique characteristics of these hot, ∼300:1 length-to-diameter aspect ratio plasmas allow the observation of unexpected spectroscopic phenomena. Axial spectra show the unusual dominance of the intercombination line over the resonance line of He-like Al by nearly an order of magnitude, caused by differences in opacities in the axial and radial directions. These plasma columns could enable the development of sub-10-nm x-ray lasers.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Avaria
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
- Comisión Chilena de Energía Nuclear, Santiago, Chile and Center for Research and Applications in Plasma Physics and Pulsed Power, P4, Casilla 188-D, Santiago, Chile
| | - M Grisham
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - J Li
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - F G Tomasel
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
- Advanced Energy Industries, Fort Collins, Colorado 80525, USA
| | - V N Shlyaptsev
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - M Busquet
- ARTEP Inc., Ellicott City, Maryland 21042, USA
| | - M Woolston
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - J J Rocca
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
- Department of Physics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
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Nilsen J, Bajt S, Chapman HN, Staub F, Balmer J. Mo:Y multilayer mirror technology utilized to image the near-field output of a Ni-like Sn laser at 11.9 nm. OPTICS LETTERS 2003; 28:2249-2251. [PMID: 14649957 DOI: 10.1364/ol.28.002249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Although bright x-ray sources exist at shorter wavelengths, the development of sophisticated diagnostics with x-ray laser sources has been restricted to wavelengths longer than 12.5 nm because of the limitations of the widely used Mo:Si multilayer mirrors. With the novel Mo:Y multilayer mirrors that we present, many x-ray laser applications can be extended to the 7-12-nm range. We demonstrate this new capability by imaging the near-field output of the Ni-like Sn laser at 11.9 nm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Nilsen
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
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