|
Abstract:
|
A high density, low temperature plasma source has been designed and built for COp laser propagation and plasma heating studies. The plasma is produced in a hydrogen filled Pyrex tube by a high current linear discharge in a strong axial magnetic field. A density minimum on the axis is produced by using ring-shaped discharge electrodes. The discharge current is crowbarred at the first current zero to improve the plasma stability. The major plasma parameters are measured using image converter camera photography,spectroscopy, and interferometry. An unfocused CO^ laser beam is sent through the plasma to illustrate a simple laser-plasma interaction. |