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In this work, the time development of plasmas produced by interaction of laser pulses, with a nitrogen gas, was investigated. The interaction took place inside a small portion of dense nitrogen gas injected temporarily into a chamber filled with the gas under low pressure. High-temperature plasmas produced directly by the laser pulse were a source of soft x rays and charged particles, ionizing and exciting the surrounding gas. In this way, low-temperature plasmas were produced. The formation of high-temperature plasmas was studied using soft x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray streak imaging. Low-temperature plasmas formed at various distances from the laser focus were investigated using an optical streak camera. Interpretation of the experimental data was supported by numerical modeling of the laser-produced plasma hydrodynamics. It was concluded that depending on the distance from the focal spot, the formation of the low-temperature plasmas was dominated by ion streams or by soft x-ray radiation.

Irradiation of any gas with an intense EUV (extreme ultraviolet) radiation beam can result in creation of photoionized plasmas. The parameters of such plasmas can be significantly different when compared with those of the laser produced plasmas (LPP) or discharge plasmas. In this work, the photoionized plasmas were created in a krypton gas irradiated using an LPP EUV source operating at a 10 Hz repetition rate. The Kr gas was injected into the vacuum chamber synchronously with the EUV radiation pulses. The EUV beam was focused onto a Kr gas stream using an axisymmetrical ellipsoidal collector. The resulting low temperature Kr plasmas emitted electromagnetic radiation in the wide spectral range. The emission spectra were measured either in the EUV or an optical range. The EUV spectrum was dominated by emission lines originating from Kr III and Kr IV ions, and the UV/VIS spectra were composed from Kr II and Kr I lines. The spectral lines recorded in EUV, UV, and VIS ranges were used for the construction of ...

A comparative study of photoionized plasmas created by two soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (SXR/EUV) laser plasma sources with different parameters is presented. The two sources are based on double-stream Xe/He gas-puff targets irradiated with high (500 J/0.3 ns) and low energy (10 J/1 ns) laser pulses. In both cases, the SXR/EUV beam irradiated the gas stream, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the radiation pulse. Irradiation of gases resulted in formation of photoionized plasmas emitting radiation in the SXR/EUV range. The measured Ne plasma radiation spectra are dominated by emission lines corresponding to radiative transitions in singly charged ions. A significant difference concerns origin of the lines: K-shell or L-shell emissions occur in case of the high and low energy irradiating system, respectively. In high energy system, the electron density measurements were also performed by laser interferometry, employing a femtosecond laser system. A maximum electron density for Ne plasm...

We present our recent results of a formation and characterization of plasma channels in elongated krypton and xenon gas puff targets. The study of their formation and temporal expansion was carried out using a combination of a soft X-ray radiography (shadowgraphy) and pinhole camera imaging. Two high-energy short laser pulses were used to produce the channels. When a pumping laser pulse was shaped into a line focus, using cylindrical and spherical lenses, the channels were not produced because much smaller energy density was deposited in the gas puff target. However, when a point focus was obtained, using just a spherical lens, the plasma channels appeared. The channels were up to 9 mm in length, had a quite uniform density profile, and expanded in time with velocities of about 2 cm/μs.

In this paper, results of spectral investigations of low temperature photoionized plasmas, created by irradiation of gases with intense pulses of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation from a laser-produced plasma (LPP) source, are presented. The LPP source was based on a double-stream KrXe/He gas-puff target irradiated with 4 ns/0.8 J/10 Hz Nd:YAG laser pulses. The most intense emission from the source spanned a relatively narrow spectral region λ ≈ 10–12 nm; however, spectrally integrated intensity at longer wavelengths was also significant. The EUV beam was focused on a gas stream, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the EUV pulses. Irradiation of gases resulted in formation of photoionized plasmas emitting radiation in the EUV range. Radiation spectra, measured for plasmas produced in various gases, are dominated by emission lines, originating from single charged ions. Significant differences in spectral intensities and distributions between plasmas created in neon and molecular gases were observed.

In this work, spectral investigations of photoionized He plasmas were performed. The photoionized plasmas were created by irradiation of helium stream, with intense pulses from laser-plasma extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source. The EUV source was based on a double-stream Xe/Ne gas-puff target irradiated with 10 ns/10 J Nd:YAG laser pulses. The most intense emission from the source spanned a relatively narrow spectral region below 20 nm, however, spectrally integrated intensity at longer wavelengths was also significant. The EUV radiation was focused onto a gas stream, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the EUV pulse. The long-wavelength part of the EUV radiation was used for backlighting of the photoionized plasmas to obtain absorption spectra. Both emission and absorption spectra in the EUV range were investigated. Significant differences between absorption spectra acquired for neutral helium and low temperature photoionized plasmas were demonstrated for the first time. Strong increase of intensities and spectral widths of absorption lines, together with a red shift of the K-edge, was shown.