High contrast Kr gas jet K alpha x-ray source for high energy density physics experiments

N L Kugland; P Neumayer; T Döppner; H-K Chung; C G Constantin; F Girard; S H Glenzer; A Kemp; C Niemann

doi:10.1063/1.2955709

High contrast Kr gas jet K alpha x-ray source for high energy density physics experiments

Rev Sci Instrum. 2008 Oct;79(10):10E917. doi: 10.1063/1.2955709.

Authors

N L Kugland¹, P Neumayer, T Döppner, H-K Chung, C G Constantin, F Girard, S H Glenzer, A Kemp, C Niemann

Affiliation

¹ Physics Department, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951547, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

PMID: 19044572
DOI: 10.1063/1.2955709

Abstract

A high contrast 12.6 keV Kr K alpha source has been demonstrated on the petawatt-class Titan laser facility using strongly clustering Kr gas jet targets. The contrast ratio (K alpha to continuum) is 65, with a competitive ultrashort pulse laser to x-ray conversion efficiency of 10(-5). Filtered shadowgraphy indicates that the Kr K alpha and K beta x rays are emitted from a roughly 1x2 mm(2) emission volume, making this source suitable for area backlighting and scattering. Spectral calculations indicate a typical bulk electron temperature of 50-70 eV (i.e., mean ionization state 13-16), based on the observed ratio of K alpha to K beta. Kr gas jets provide a debris-free high energy K alpha source for time-resolved diagnosis of dense matter.