Two-Dimensional Thomson Scattering in Laser-Produced Plasmas

Haiping Zhang; Jessica J. Pilgram; Carmen G. Constantin; Lucas Rovige; Peter V. Heuer; Sofiya Ghazaryan; Marietta Kaloyan; Robert S. Dorst; Derek B. Schaeffer; Christoph Niemann

doi:10.3390/instruments7030025

Instruments (Sep 2023)

Two-Dimensional Thomson Scattering in Laser-Produced Plasmas

Haiping Zhang,
Jessica J. Pilgram,
Carmen G. Constantin,
Lucas Rovige,
Peter V. Heuer,
Sofiya Ghazaryan,
Marietta Kaloyan,
Robert S. Dorst,
Derek B. Schaeffer,
Christoph Niemann

Affiliations

Haiping Zhang: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Jessica J. Pilgram: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Carmen G. Constantin: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Lucas Rovige: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Peter V. Heuer: Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
Sofiya Ghazaryan: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Marietta Kaloyan: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Robert S. Dorst: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Derek B. Schaeffer: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Christoph Niemann: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/instruments7030025
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7, no. 3
p. 25

Abstract

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We present two-dimensional (2D) optical Thomson scattering measurements of electron density and temperature in laser-produced plasmas. The novel instrument directly measures ne(x,y) and Te(x,y) in two dimensions over large spatial regions (cm2) with sub-mm spatial resolution, by automatically translating the scattering volume while the plasma is produced repeatedly by irradiating a solid target with a high-repetition-rate laser beam (10 J, ∼1012 W/cm2, 1 Hz). In this paper, we describe the design and motorized auto-alignment of the instrument and the computerized algorithm that autonomously fits the spectral distribution function to the tens-of-thousands of measured scattering spectra, and captures the transition from the collective to the non-collective regime with distance from the target. As an example, we present the first 2D scattering measurements in laser-driven shock waves in ambient nitrogen gas at a pressure of 0.13 mbar.

Published in Instruments

ISSN: 2410-390X (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Physics: Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/instruments

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