Determination of suprathermal electron distributions in laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

A K‐edge filter technique was used to measure absolutely the x‐ray emission from laser‐heated CD₂ plasmas from 1 keV to above 100 keV. A Nd : glass laser system supplied a focused pulse of about 25 J in 4 nsec. The measurements clearly differentiate the suprathermal from the thermal portion of the x‐ray spectrum. Thus, for the first time, we can determine the relative intensity of the high‐energy x rays. The results are compared with two‐dimensional energy‐transport hydrodynamic code calculations.