Calorimetric system for recording plasma blowoff and scattered light distributions from laser plasmas

摘要

A complete system is described for the measurement of the distribution of energy emanating from laser-produced plasmas in the form of (1) plasma blowoff (ions, electrons, neutral particles, and x rays), and (2) scattered laser light. The detectors consist of small modules containing two differential calorimeters in one package, one for each form of energy. Modular autozeroing amplifiers enable the slowly varying signals to be measured by computer with the aid of CAMAC analog to digital converters. The computer is also capable of absolutely calibrating the units in situ. The programs used to record and display the data, and to calculate the fraction of laser energy absorbed, are described.