Numerical evaluation of Kα X-ray yield from shocked multi-layer targets irradiated by ultra-short pulsed laser beam

Abstract

In this paper Kα X-ray generation from laser-irradiated multi-layer target is evaluated numerically. In multi-layer targets, the passage of hot electrons as well as the produced Kα emission is within different layers. Therefore different materials can affect both hot electrons distribution and Kα X-ray yield inside the target. The attenuation of Kα in different materials of target layers was considered in these calculations. The model is restricted for femtosecond laser pulses with intensities up to 1019Wcm−2. As a typical application of the model, it was used to estimate numerically the Kα yield from shocked multi-layer target induced by high power pulsed laser. The numerical results were in good agreement with those of an experiment. The calculations in this paper are performed for three-layer target, however the presented method is applicable for any multi-layer target with more layers.