Study of x-rays produced from debris-free sources with Ar, Kr and Kr/ Ar mixture linear gas jets irradiated by UNR Leopard laser beam with fs and ns pulse duration

Experiments of x-ray emission from Ar, Kr, and Ar/Kr gas jet mixture were performed at the UNR Leopard Laser Facility operated with 350 fs pulses at laser intensity of 2 × 1019 W/cm2 and 0.8 ns pulses at an intensity of 1016 W/cm2. Debris free x-ray source with supersonic linear nozzle generated clusters/ monomer jet with an average density of ≥1019 cm−3 was compared to cylindrical tube subsonic nozzle, which produced only monomer jet with average density 1.5–2 times higher. The linear (elongated) cluster/ gas jet provides the capability to study x-ray yield anisotropy and laser beam self-focusing with plasma channel formation that are interconnecting with efficient x-ray generation. Diagnostics include x-ray diodes, pinhole cameras and spectrometers. It was observed that the emission in the 1–9 keV spectral region was strongly anisotropic depending on the directions of laser beam polarization for sub-ps laser pulse and supersonic linear jet. The energy yield in the 1–3 keV region produced by a linear nozzle was an order of magnitude higher than from a tube nozzle. Non-LTE models and 3D molecular dynamic simulations of Ar and Kr clusters irradiated by sub-ps laser pulses have been implemented to analyze obtained data. A potential evidence of electron beam generation in jets’ plasma was discussed. Note that the described debris-free gas-puff x-ray source can generate x-ray pulses in a high repetition regime. This is a great advantage compared to solid laser targets. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.