Investigation of soft X-ray emission from a gas puff target irradiated with a Nd:YAG laser

Experiments investigating soft X-ray emission in the 1-22 nm wavelength range from plasmas produced using a gas puff target irradiated with a Nd:YAG laser are described. Gas puff targets were created by pulsed injection of high-density gas through a nozzle. The use of the gas puff targets eliminates the production of debris associated with solid targets. Laser pulses of either 0.9 ns or 10 ns time duration with energies up to 0.7 J were used to produce plasmas. X-ray emissions from laser-produced gas puff plasmas were characterized for various gases. The spectral measurements of the soft X-ray emission were performed with the use of grating spectrographs equipped with the back-illuminated CCD camera. The source size was measured using the Fresnel zone plate imaging system and the grating spectrograph equipped with a slit placed perpendicularly to the dispersion direction. The obtained results would allow to develop an efficient and debrisless laser-produced X-ray source to be useful for applications in various fields. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.