The effects of plasma physics target shrapnel and debris plumes arising from early operations of the Orion laser

Abstract

When lasers are used to produce high temperature, high density plasmas from solid targets it is inevitable that the targets are turned into a variety of products [gas, liquid, solid, sub-atomic particles and electromagnetic radiation] that are distributed around the surfaces of the vacuum chamber used to field such experiments. These by products are produced in plumes of debris and shrapnel that depend on the irradiation conditions, target materials and target geometry. We have monitored the distribution of such plumes by witness plates and used microscopy, photography and spectrophotometry to determine the physical state of material in the plumes and the spatial distribution from various target geometries. The impact of this material on the operations of laser optics and plasma physics diagnostics is discussed.