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Two Nd-glass laser systems have been assembled for producing high-temperature plasmas. The smaller laser, which gives subnanosecond pulses of about 5 J, has been used primarily for x-ray studies. The spectrum above 2 keV is being explored using Bragg reflection from a cylindrically curved graphite crystal. Line radiation appears to be present in the spectra measured for laser-produced plasmas of lead and gold. Plasma temperatures implied by x-ray transmission measurements are found to vary with absorber thickness. Temperatures of a few tens of keV, inferred from thick-absorber measurements of low-Z plasmas, suggest the operation of anomalous heating mechanisms. A second glass laser system, involving face-pumped disks 14 cm in diameter, is also in use for plasma-heating experiments and has led to the production of D-D neutrons. This system has been used to produce pulses of several tens of joules in a few nanoseconds for recent experiments. A calibrated plastic scin tillator with two photomultipliers is used for neutron detection. Targets of CD2 have produced total yields of more than 104 neutrons. Effective neutron production appears to require laser pulses longer than 2 nsec and to be accompanied by a large reflected pulse.
© 1972 Optical Society of America
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