High-resolution x-ray imaging of planar foils irradiated by the Nike KrF laser

Abstract

Thin plastic (CH) foils were irradiated by the Naval Research Laboratory Nike [Obenschain et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 2098 (1996)] KrF laser and were imaged in the x-ray and extreme ultraviolet regions with two-dimensional spatial resolution in the 3–10 μm range. The CH foils were backlit by a silicon plasma. A spherically curved quartz crystal produced monochromatic images of the Si+12 resonance line radiation with energy 1865 eV that was transmitted by the CH foils. Instabilities that were seeded by linear ripple patterns on the irradiated sides of CH foils were observed. The ripple patterns had periods in the 31–125 μm range and amplitudes in the 0.25–5.0 μm range. The silicon backlighter emission was recorded by an x-ray spectrometer, and the 1865 eV resonance line emission was recorded by a fast x-ray diode. The multilayer mirror telescope recorded images of the C+3 1550 Å emission (energy 8.0 eV) from the backside of the CH foils.