Retracting Pedestal Apparatus that Presents a Single Solid Target to a Focused Q-Switched Laser Beam

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Abstract
An electromechanically operated retracting pedestal system has been developed for injection of a single solid target as small as a few tens of microns in radius into a vacuum system. After the pedestal has withdrawn completely from the system, the falling target, which originally was positioned on top of the pedestal, is ionized by a focused, high power, Q‐switched laser beam. Since the plasma is produced in a relatively large volume free of mechanical obstructions, it can be easily studied or used as a source of ions. The pedestal is withdrawn with a velocity in excess of 10 m‐sec−1, whereas the target falls with a velocity given solely by the acceleration due to gravity. The laser beam which ionizes the target is triggered by an optical tracking system, consisting principally of an He–Ne laser whose beam is collinear with that of the pulsed laser. The device can be loaded rapidly in vacuum from a reservior with a capacity of hundreds of targets, and fired every few minutes. Application to experiments on laser created plasmas is discussed.