Soft X Rays from a Laser-Heated Dense Plasma Focus

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Abstract
A design analysis of a pulsed CO2 laser‐assisted plasma focus has been undertaken for the purpose of enhancing the flash intensity of cold x rays when the device is operated in the x‐ray generator mode. By deliberately injecting high Z ions into the plasma the intensity of the soft x‐ray component (approximately 1 keV energy) can be increased by many orders of magnitude; to compensate for the radiation loss, plasma heating by laser pulse is employed. Because the laser frequency is close to the plasma‐electron Langmuir frequency, nearly all of the laser pulse energy is absorbed in a single pass. Calculation of a typical design configuration consisting of small dense plasma focus and a 200‐J electrical‐discharge CO2 laser yields laser to soft x‐ray conversion efficiency of over 70%.