High intensity x-ray line emission from aluminum plasmas generated by a 120TW, 30fs laser pulse

Abstract

The K-shell x-ray spectra from the aluminum plasmas generated by the interaction of the 120TW, 30fs laser with aluminum targets have been measured by defocusing the laser beam. Laser energy-normalized intensity of the He-a line increases with the laser intensity approximately as a power law ε∝ILγ with the much smaller exponent of γ=0.062 compared to γ=0.2∼0.5 in the previous experiments, which is caused by the stronger radial thermal diffusivity in the target for the smaller laser spot. Laser-to-He-a line conversion efficiency of up to 1.9×10−3 and as high as about 3×1013 photons/2π Sr aluminum He-a line x-ray source have been achieved for a single shot due to the preplasma effect and relatively large laser spot and energy for the single shot. The x-ray spectra as a function of the laser intensity are also analyzed to get the electron temperature and density.