XUV GENERATION FROM PLASMA PRODUCED BY A XECL EXCIMER-LASER ON A CU TARGET

We present a detailed study of XUV and soft X-ray emission from Cu pla sma produced by an excimer laser at intensities IL less-than-or-equal- to 8.10(11) W/cm2. The XeCl excimer laser (lambda almost-equal-to 308 nm) delivers pulses with energy E(L) almost-equal-to 2.3 J, temporal d uration t(L) almost-equal-to 100 ns and brightness B greater-than-or-e qual-to 10(14) W/cm2 sr. We recorded a spectral conversion efficiency eta = 0.5% eV-1 for I(L) = 4.10(11) W/cm2 in the aluminium window at 7 3 eV with a harder X-ray tail around almost-equal-to 400 eV. We also m easured the dependence of X-ray signal on laser intensity and viewing angle. Experimental results have been compared with some analytical la ser-plasma interaction models.