Laser Interferometry of High Density Shocked Plasma

Laser plasma density measurements using interferometry

Fabrication of an interferometer is planned at the UCSD Laser Plasma and Laser-Matter Interactions Laboratory. The primary goal of this project is to measure the density at early times in the evolution of highly transient laser created plasmas. We describe the design concepts and details of different kinds of interferometer for measuring density evolution, especially during early time of plasma...

Electron Density Determination in an Are Plasma by Laser Interferometry

In collison dominated plasmas the electron density is the most important parameter. Therefore laser interferometry is very attractive because it allows a direct determination of this quantity without any rigid assumptions such as, e.g., local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE). For references see, e.g., Griem \ Alpher and White 2 or Kunze 3. In the experiment described in this paper we intended ...

Plasma interferometry at high pressures

A general formulation for the measurement of plasma density and effective collision frequency for lowly as well as highly, collisional plasmas using millimeter wave interferometry is presented. In the presence of high density and collisionality at high gas pressures where the collision frequency ~n! is of the order of both the plasma (vp) and the wave frequency of the millimeter wave ~v! (n ;v ...

Absorption of femtosecond laser pulses in high-density plasma.

Electron density measurement of a colliding plasma using soft-x-ray laser interferometry

We have used a soft-x-ray laser interferometer to study the collision and subsequent interaction of counterstreaming high-density plasmas. The measured density profiles show the evolution of the colliding plasmas from interpenetration, when the low-density edge of the plasmas first collide, to stagnation at the symmetry plane with density building at the symmetry plane. We compare the measured ...