X-ray ultraviolet absorption measurements of laser-driven Au∕CH∕Al multilayers

Abstract

X-ray ultraviolet absorption measurements of aluminum plasma at high temperature and high density are reported. A sample plasma was created by direct laser irradiation of a multilayered foil consisting of Au, CH, and Al. Observations were made using the method of self-backlighting spectroscopy. Simulations were performed with one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics code to compute the backlight profile as well as the time history of the density and temperature in the sample. By comparing the measured absorption spectra with detailed-term-accounting calculations at Te=120eV and ρ=0.1g∕cm3, it is found that the major spectral features predicted by calculations have been observed. Even better agreement between the experiment and the simulated absorption spectra was obtained by temporally averaging the radiation-hydrodynamics result over the backlight profile. This experiment shows that it is possible to measure high density and high temperature opacity by a laser-driven multilayer experiment.