INTERACTION OF A 1 PSEC LASER-PULSE WITH SOLID MATTER

Absorption and x-ray emission results obtained with a 1 psec pulse incident on solid targets with an intensity between 10(11) and 10(16) W/cm2 are presented and discussed. For I < 5 X 10(14) W/cm2, submicron density gradient scale lengths (L/lambda-less-than-or-equal-to 0.2) are measured and the comparison of calculated and experimental values of absorption for aluminum indicates a relatively good agreement for p polarization and noticeable differences for s polarization. X-ray conversion efficiencies have been obtained in the sub-keV range and keV range. At high intensities (I > 10(15) W/cm2) and evaluation of the plasma parameters is obtained from high resolution keV spectra. Finally, the results are discussed in the light of 1-D hydrodynamic simulations with time-dependent atomic physics.