Optical Probe Observations of Non-Uniformities in Laser Produced Plasmas

摘要

Due to its high spatial and temporal resolution optical probing is a very powerful technique for investigating the corona plasma of laser heated targets. The basic requirements of optical probing systems are discussed and a short description of a system presently in use is given. Various experimental observations made with this system on ablatively irradiated targets are presented. These show the presence of small scale density and magnetic field nonuniformities in the plasma corona.