Absolute spectral distribution of soft X-ray emission from laser produced gold plasma

Quantitative measurement of spectral distribution of soft X-ray emission from laser produced plasmas and estimation of X-ray conversion efficiency are reported. The X-ray emission from planar gold target irradiated by an Nd:glass laser was recorded using a high resolution transmission grating spectrograph. Spectral distribution of X-ray intensity was derived using calibrated film data and a deconvolution procedure to account for contribution of higher diffraction orders. Results of conversion efficiency per unit solid angle, at a laser intensity of ~4×10¹² W/cm² (λ_L = 1.054 μm), for 10< λ <80 Å and in the water window spectral region (23< λ< 44 Å) are presented. A three-fold increase in conversion efficiency was observed for second harmonic laser irradiation (λ_L = 0.527 μm) at an intensity of 8×10¹² W/cm²