Abstract

The physics of laser heating of dense plasmas produced by irradiation of solid targets, and of underdense (N_e < critical density) plasmas has attracted considerable interest in recent years. Experiments at MIT¹ and at MSNW have recently demonstrated radial magnetic confinement of a solid target plasma plume produced by radiation from a 10.6μ CO₂ laser. Presently generated plumes of moderate Z ions are at 100 eV temperatures, 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ densities, and last about 100 nsec. The addition of a simple z-pinch could compress the plume to 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ densities and 600 eV temperatures where it would be an extremely efficient generator of K or L-shell x-rays in the 1-2 keV range. The efficiency and simplicity of such a device, plus the proven physics of the laser plume generation hold great promise for commercial microlithography applications.

© 1982 Optical Society of America