Simultaneous imaging electron- and ion-feature Thomson scattering measurements of radiatively heated Xe

Uniform density and temperature Xe plasmas have been produced over >4 mm scale-lengths using x-rays generated in a cylindrical Pb cavity. The cavity is 750 mu m in depth and diameter, and is heated by a 300 J, 2 ns square, 1054 nm laser pulse focused to a spot size of 200 mu m at the cavity entrance. The plasma is characterized by simultaneous imaging Thomson scattering measurements from both the electron and ion scattering features. The electron feature measurement determines the spatial electron density and temperature profile, and using these parameters as constraints in the ion feature analysis allows an accurate determination of the charge state of the Xe ions. The Thomson scattering probe beam is 40 J, 200 ps, and 527 nm, and is focused to a 100 mu m spot size at the entrance of the Pb cavity. Each system has a spatial resolution of 25 mu m, a temporal resolution of 200 ps (as determined by the probe duration), and a spectral resolution of 2 nm for the electron feature system and 0.025 nm for the ion feature system. The experiment is performed in a Xe filled target chamber at a neutral pressure of 3-10 Torr, and the x-rays produced in the Pb ionize and heat the Xe to a charge state of 20 +/- 4 at up to 200 eV electron temperatures. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4740526]