Heavy ion sources for the big accelerators, for example, the LHC, require considerably more ions per pulse during a short time than the best developed classical ion source, the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) provides; thus an alternative ion source is needed. This can be expected from laser-produced plasmas, where dramatically new types of ion generation have been observed. Experiments with rather modest lasers have confirmed operation with one million pulses of 1 Hz, and 1011 C4+ ions per pulse reached 2 GeV/u in the Dubna synchrotron. We review here the complexities of laser-plasma interactions to underline the unique and extraordinary possibilities that the laser ion source offers. The complexities are elaborated with respect to keV and MeV ion generation, nonlinear (ponderomotive) forces, self-focusing, resonances and “hot” electrons, parametric instabilities, double-layer effects, and the few ps stochastic pulsation (stuttering). Recent experiments with the laser ion source have been analyzed to distinguish between the ps and ns interaction, and it was discovered that one mechanism of highly charged ion generation is the electron impact ionization (EII) mechanism, similar to the ECR, but with so much higher plasma densities that the required very large number of ions per pulse are produced.

High-power pulsed lasers are used widely nowadays as shock generators. They settle as a complementary technique to the conventional shock generators by the high peak pressure and short duration shocks they deliver. They are used to investigate the feasibility of new industrial processes and to get information on the behavior of matter in specific conditions of extremely high strain rate. In this paper, some studies about typical applications of laser shocks are presented: surface densification of porous materials, spallation in ductile and brittle materials, α-ε phase change in iron, and an estimate of the relaxation time for this transition. Laser shock experiments provide additional data on the dynamic behavior of materials at the nanosecond time scale.

The stopping power of dense nonideal plasmas is calculated in different many-body approximations. The T-matrix approximation of binary collisions is compared with the random phase approximation (RPA) approximation of dielectric fluctuations. It is found that RPA contributions are more important for dense plasmas at low temperatures. Within a microscopic model, the dynamical evolution of the velocity of the projectile is calculated. It reproduces experimental values well for the stopping of fast heavy ions at times after a pinch discharge. Further improvements due to memory effects and relaxation fields are discussed. A renormalization of the effective energy transfer by memory effects is presented.

Since 1976, the laser ion source (LIS) has been operated at the Laboratory of High Energies. At present, the LIS is used to perform experiments on relativistic beams of Li, B, C, N, O, F, Mg, and Si nuclei

A study is presented to find a compact X-ray laser in the spectral range of the water window. A double laser pulse method that requires a minimum energy with an optimal timing is proposed. The precreated plasma with an optimal ion distribution is heated by a short second pulse creating the required population inversion. In particular, the Ni-like 4d→4p transitions in tantalum, tungsten, and cesium are calculated.

This paper presents a comparison of Haan's mode coupling model with two-dimensional hydrocode simulations. In the light of these results, a new saturation criterion is developed that is used in a new, extended mode coupling model. The new extended model accurately follows the mode development to amplitudes 2 to 3 times larger than Haan's model.

A numerical model for opacity calculations by using a family of analytical potentials for each configuration in the plasma is presented. The obtained numerical opacity results with this model are compared with those obtained by using a self-consistent potential model.

Extensive studies of ion implantation into near surface areas of materials have demonstrated astonishing changes of such properties as surface tension, friction, and durability. The cost of implanted ions is currently rather high due to the limited ion current density of the usual ion sources, especially if ions from sources other than gaseous plasma must be used. The advent of the laser ion source, which offers many orders of magnitude higher current densities than classical ion sources, may change the scenario for a wide range of applications, making ion implantation as crucial a manufacturing technology in the future for other industries as it is today for microelectronics.

We report the first studies on the formation of an elongated plasma column suitable for X-ray laser experiments, using a gas puff target irradiated with a high-power laser. The gas puff targets, produced by pulsed injection of a small amount of gas from a high-pressure solenoid valve through a nozzle in the form of a slit, have been characterized by optical interferometry and X-ray backlighting. The formation of a hot plasma column up to 30-mm-long is demonstrated. The spatial uniformity of the column was monitored by means of an X-ray pinhole camera. XUV spectra measurements for SF6 gas puff targets show predominant 3–2 line of hydrogenic fluorine (λ = 8.1 nm), however, only linear increasing of its intensity with the target length was observed.

The dense Z-pinch project at Imperial College is aimed at achieving radiative collapse to high density in a hydrogen plasma, and also to study plasmas close to controlled fusion conditions. To this end, the MAGPIE generator (2.4 MV, 1.25, and 200 ns) has been built and tested, and is now giving preliminary experimental data at 60% of full voltage for carbon and CD2 fibers. These discharges are characterized by an initial radial expansion followed by the occurrence of m = 0 structures with transient X-ray emission from bright spots. Late in the discharge a disruption can occur, accompanied by hard X-ray emission from the anode due to an energetic electron beam and, in the case of CD2 fibers, a neutron burst. Concomitant theoretical studies have solved the linear stability problem for a Z-pinch with large ion Larmor radii, showing that a reduction in growth rate of m = 0 and m = 1 modes to about 20% of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) value can occur for a parabolic density profile when the Larmor radius is optimally 20% of the pinch radius. Two dimensional MHD simulations of Z-pinches in two extremes of focussed short-pulse laserplasma interactions and of galactic jets reveal a nonlinear stabilizing effect in the presence of sheared flow. One-dimensional simulations show that at low line density the lower hybrid drift instability can lead to coronal radial expansion of a Z-pinch plasma.

A modelization of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, in the context of inertial confinement fusion, is made by means of a planar slab model whose main features are a sharp ablation front separating the slab and the expanding corona, absorption of constant intensity laser light at a critical surface, profiles for background flow variables consistent with hydrodynamic equations, and heat conduction present in the expanding corona. A sharp ablation front assumption (density at the critical surface is much less than the slab density, ρc/ρs ≪ 1) supposes that the ablated mass is small, so the model is valid for thick targets. Two main regimes are modelized, subsonic and sonic absorption. The growth rate of the instability is obtained, and its variation with kD and kxc is studied (k = perturbation wavenumber; D = slab thickness; xc = ablation to critical surfaces distance). The model shows stabilization over the classical Rayleigh–Taylor growth rate (γ = √kg). The stabilization mechanism is based on heat conduction near the ablation front.

Intense ion beams can be used to generate ultrahigh pressures in condensed matter. Lightion beams generated at the Karlsruhe Light Ion Facility (KALIF) typically have a focus of less than 1-cm diameter. The maximum power density at KALIF achieved so far is of the order of 1 TW/cm2. In the energy deposition zone of the targets, the 1.5-MeV protons of the KALIF beam deposit energy of the order of 100 TW/g or 5 MJ/g. A strongly coupled, hot, dense plasma is thus created by the action of a light ion beam on matter. The high pressure generated in this region has been used to accelerate thin foils to velocities up to 12.5 km/s. A successful interpretation of these experiments can serve as a check of theoretical models and of the equation of state (EOS) data. The present paper contains an investigation of the hydrodynamics of thin aluminum foil accelerated by light ion beams at KALIF using Bθ0-diode. The peak power density in these experiments was 0.15 ± 0.05 TW/cm2. The results of simulations depend mainly on two factors: power density evolution at the target and the EOS for the strongly coupled dense and hot plasma. The beam power density evolution has been carefully remeasured recently. It turned out that the available EOS data do not reproduce experimental results satisfactorily. We have formulated a simple EOS formula in a modified Mie-Grüneisen form. We assume the Grüneisen parameter to be a function of temperature and density. The parameters of this EOS have been adjusted to reproduce experiments at KALIF. In the present paper analysis of beam-target interaction experiments at KALIF is presented using our analytic EOS. We show that such experiments can give information on EOS data in the region of strongly coupled plasma.

In this paper we compare the requirements for a light ion beam driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor with the present achievements in pulsed power technology, ion diode performance, beam transport, and target physics. The largest gap exists in beam quality and repetition rate capability of high-power ion diodes. Beam quality can very likely be improved to a level sufficient for driving a single-shot ignition facility, if the potential of two-stage acceleration is used. Present schemes for repetition rate ion diodes allow either too low power densities or create too large beam divergence. On the other hand, repetitively operating pulsed-power generators meeting the requirements for an ICF reactor driver can be built with present technology. Also, a rather mature target concept has been developed for indirect drive with light ion beams.

Three gas lenses appear promising for fusion and other applications. We review progress of the understanding and scaling of two of these lenses and discuss their potential for industry, advanced research, and fusion.

Conical microducts and minithrottles can be used to accelerate micropellets of fusionable fuel up to very high speeds (∼108 cm/s). The central collision of two pellets flying in opposite directions can produce a hot plasma where fusion reactions are triggered. The main drawback of this scheme is the short confinement time provided by the external guide tube (throttle). To obtain high yield, an extra force of confinement is advisable. In this paper, the performance of fuel implosions within conical targets and the effect of ultrashort magnetic fields and pinch forces are analyzed. Although very high currents are needed to stretch the confinement time, modern technologies based on pulse-power machines and fast discharges induced by ultrashort lasers can provide a solution to this problem.

Spherical gold Hohlraums were heated by the iodine laser ASTERIX IV (200 J/0.4 ns at 440 nm) and were used to investigate radiative heating of low-Z plastic foils at temperatures up to 100 eV by time-resolved XUV emission and absorption spectroscopy. Spectra of the reemitted radiation (the albedo) for different C-, O-, F-, or Cl-containing plastic materials are presented. Depending on the material, the typical total (frequency-integrated) reemission is in the range of ≈10% of the gold reemission. By measuring the absorption spectra it was possible to follow the burnthrough in carbon from the initial solid degenerate state up to a high ionization state with absorption lines due to hydrogen-like carbon corresponding to a temperature of about 100 eV. The propagation of the heat wave into the material also has been studied by observing the emission from boron tracer layers embedded at different depths in the plastic foil. The experimental observations are compared with MULTI simulations.