K-shell spectra from Ag, Sn, Sm, Ta, and Au generated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

K-shell X-ray spectra were recorded by the Dual Crystal Spectrometer (DCS) from Ag, Sn, Sm, Ta, and Au planar foil targets irradiated by single intense femtosecond pulses from the Titan laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. DCS implements two quartz crystals in transmission (Laué) geometry covering the X-ray energy range 10–50 keV and 20–120 keV. The spectral images were recorded on photo-stimulable phosphor image plates and on film/phosphor cassettes. The Kα and Kβ spectral lines of Ag with energies 22 keV and 25 keV, Sn at 25 keV and 28 keV, Sm at 40 keV and 46 keV, Ta at 57 keV and 66 keV, and Au at 67 keV and 79 keV were clearly resolved. The observation of these spectral lines, resulting from 1s electron vacancies created by electrons with energies up to at least 80 keV, enables the implementation of K-shell spectroscopy diagnostic techniques for understanding the laser energy deposition, energetic electron generation, ionization distribution, and X-ray conversion efficiency in plasmas produced by an intense femtosecond laser pulse. Based on the measured energies of the Au K-shell transitions, we conclude that the observed Au K-shell transitions are from ionization stages lower than Au+44, and are most likely from neutral Au atoms, that the Titan plasmas and the hard X-ray emissions are dominated by electrons with energies exceeding 80 keV, and that thermal processes play a minor role.