Absolute, time-resolved emission of non-LTE L-shell spectra from Ti-doped aerogels

Outstanding discrepancies between data and calculations of laser-produced plasmas in recombination have been observed since the 1980s. Although improvements in hydrodynamic modeling may reduce the discrepancies, there are indications that non-LTE atomic kinetics may be the dominant cause. Experiments to investigate non-LTE effects were recently performed at the NIKE KrF laser on low-density Ti-doped aerogels. The laser irradiated a 2 mm diameter, cylindrical sample of various lengths with a 4-ns square pulse to create a volumetrically heated plasma. Ti L-shell spectra spanning a range of 0.47-3 keV were obtained with a transmission grating coupled to Si photodiodes. The diagnostic can be configured to provide 1-dimensional spatial resolution at a single photon energy, or 18 discrete energies with a resolving power, λ/δλ of 3-20. The data are examined and compared to calculations to develop absolute emission measurements that can provide new tests of the non-LTE physics.