Abstract
A pulsed, channelled vacuum arc is described which produces reproducible carbon plasmas with Ne approximately 1.5*1018 cm-3 and Te approximately 4.5 eV. Spectroscopic measurements in the VUV and visible regions have been used to determine accurately the distributions of Ne and Te in time and space. The absorption of CO2 laser pulses at irradiances up to 2*109 W cm-2 by the plasma has been measured and for small absorbed energies is in good agreement with the predictions of inverse bremsstrahlung theory. The electron temperature in the plasma rose by over 5 eV when strong absorption occurred, resulting in a smaller absorption for the later part of the laser pulse and a delay in the peak of the transmitted pulse. A weak cylindrical blast wave was generated whose propagation was followed spectroscopically.
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