A Langmuir probe diagnostic for time-of-flight measurements of transient plasmas produced by high-energy laser ablation

J R Patterson; J A Emig; K B Fournier; P P Jenkins; K M Trautz; S W Seiler; J F Davis

doi:10.1063/1.4739312

A Langmuir probe diagnostic for time-of-flight measurements of transient plasmas produced by high-energy laser ablation

Rev Sci Instrum. 2012 Oct;83(10):10D725. doi: 10.1063/1.4739312.

Authors

J R Patterson¹, J A Emig, K B Fournier, P P Jenkins, K M Trautz, S W Seiler, J F Davis

Affiliation

¹ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551, USA. patterson31@llnl.gov

PMID: 23126899
DOI: 10.1063/1.4739312

Abstract

We discuss here the development of a Langmuir probe (LP) diagnostic to examine high-density, high-temperature inhomogeneous plasmas such as those that can be created at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics OMEGA facility. We have configured our diagnostic to examine the velocity of the plasma expanding from the target. We observe velocities of approximately 16-17 cm/μs, with individual LP currents displaying complex structures, perhaps due to the multiple atomic species and ionization states that exist.