Two techniques for recording the absolute yield of continuous X rays in the spectral range > 1 keV and M-series line X rays from flat Au targets irradiated with one channel of the Iskra-5 facility are described. In the first and second methods, radiation is detected with a KAP-crystal-based spectrograph and an X-ray streak camera with a 50-ps time resolution, respectively. Both techniques allow obtainment of absolute values of the yields of continuous and line X-ray radiations from laser plasma that coincide within the measurement accuracy. The time-dependent plasma electron temperature is measured with an X-ray streak camera.

Three techniques for multiframe detection of X rays from laser targets of different types in experiments on the Iskra-5 facility are described. The frame duration is 100 ps, the number of frames is ten, and the spatial resolution is up to 10 μm. The developed techniques allow determination of the degree of uniformity of the emission from the end of a cylindrical target; the heating time of foils made from different materials; the collapse time of spherical glass targets filled with the DT gas; and the shape, size, and time of existence of a compressed core.

A technique for measuring the difference of times of arrival of laser beams at a spherically irradiated target in experiments on the 12-channel Iskra-5 facility is described. This technique is based on detection in test experiments of X rays from a specially designed target with a slit X-ray streak camera. The obtained information is used to perform time locking of laser pulses recorded at the output of the facility's amplifying stages with a multichannel photochronographic system. The results of recording laser pulses at the output of the amplifying stages obtained in working experiments allow determination of the difference of times of arrival of laser beams at a target with an accuracy no worse than 50 ps.

Results are presented from studies of the spectral characteristics of a glowing plasma object that forms behind a shock wave propagating in a background gas at a pressure of 1 Torr after laser irradiation of a spherical organic target in the MKV-4 device (a component of the Iskra-5 facility). The experimental data are compared to the results of calculations.

A novel method for studying the expansion of plasma clouds is developed. The method makes use of electron-optical cameras operating in the streak and frame-by-frame modes and provides a time resolution of 0.01–1 µs and spatial resolution of 1 mm. The experimental results obtained with this method are presented.

The methods are described that were devised for spatiotemporal measurements of line X radiation generated in Al and Fe plasmas inside a 2-mm-diameter hollow spherical target whose inner surface was coated with a thin layer of the material to be investigated and which was irradiated by the second harmonic of the laser radiation in the Iskra-5 laser facility. The results of measurements are presented.

A technique for measuring absolute fluxes of line X radiation from plasmas produced by a laser in the targets of the Iskra-5 facility is described. Spectrographs based on convex and concave quartz, mica, and KAP crystals have been developed for recording hydrogen-and helium-like X-ray lines of Al, Si, Ar, and Fe. The calibration methods used in the experiments and results from absolute calibrations of crystals, X-ray photographic films, and filters are presented. The technique has been tested at the Iskra-5 facility by exposing Al and Fe targets to second-harmonic laser radiation. Procedures for processing recorded spectrograms taking due account of the calibration data and the results of data processing are presented.

A technique for measuring the velocity of a shock wave arising in laser-irradiated samples in experiments involved in studies of the shock compressibility of substances is described. This method ensures a spatial resolution of 10 µm, an error in measuring the shock-wave delay in layers of 10 ps, an error in measuring the shock-wave velocity of 2.5%, and a dynamic range of recording of ∼200. The measurement results are presented.

The twelve-channel 'Iskra-5' iodine laser facility was updated to enable investigations in the regime of high-power two-pulse target irradiation, when the second pulse is delayed by a time of up to 10 μs relative to the first one and possesses an energy equal to or comparable with the energy of the first pulse.

The conversion of the 'Iskra-5' iodine laser to the regime of fusion target irradiation by second harmonic radiation at 657.5 nm is reported. The laser upgrading enabled obtaining from 12 channels a total second-harmonic energy yield of 2.5 kJ, which corresponds to an output power of 5 TW. The conversion efficiency was equal to ∼50% in experiments with DKDP crystals with an aperture of 35 cm. A series of 12-channel experiments was conducted involving second-harmonic irradiation of microtargets.

The amplification of weak 80-240-mJ, 4-ns laser pulses with a gain of 0.035-0.045 cm(-1) is studied. The maximum energy of 3.3 KJ is obtained for 4-ns pulses.

An adaptive system for the compensation of static and thermally induced wavefront aberrations of the amplification path of the 'Luch' laser facility is described. This system provided the reduction of the amplitude A of wavefront aberrations of high-power radiation and the standard deviation σ by a factor of ∼3: from A = 9.6 μm, σ = 2.4 μm to A = 3.2 μm, σ = 0.6 μm, which decreased the radiation divergence by half.

The instrument is designed on the basis of a fast scintillator and a high-speed image-converter tube for hard X and γ rays (≥10 keV). Using a scintillator, it is possible to obtain an almost constant spectral response over an energy range of 40–1000 keV. The time resolution of the camera is governed by the luminescence decay time in the scintillator and may go as high as 100–150 ps. The instrument is used at the ISKRA-5 facility to detect pulses of hard X rays.

The RFR-4 X-ray streak camera with a slit scan designed on the basis of an X-ray sensitive evacuated image tube is described. The obtained images are recorded using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The basic parameters of the X-ray streak camera are as follows: (1) the recorded spectral range starts at 0.1 keV; (2) the time resolution is as high as 30 ps; (3) the spatial resolution is five pairs of lines per millimeter (for a contrast ratio of 0.5); (4) the dynamic recording range is as high as 2000; and (5) the detectability is 2 × 105 quanta/(cm2ns) (for a quantum energy of ∼1.5 keV). The design of the device and the purpose and operation of its components are described. The streak camera is equipped with a gate-valve unit with an autonomous evacuation system; this allows one to use it in installations where the working-chamber pressure increases dynamically up to 0.1 Torr. The “sharp-focusing” operating mode, which allows one to increase the device's sensitivity by an order of magnitude without loss in the time resolution, is described. The streak camera was used to record the X radiation in experiments with various targets performed at the “ISKRA-4” and “ISKRA-5” laser installations and the “SIGNAL-2” Z-pinch installation.

The possibility of detecting fast ions (protons and α particles) using an X-ray-sensitive streak camera with a CsI photocathode is demonstrated. The spatial resolution of the instrument is 70 μm, and its physical time resolution is 7 ps. The yield of secondary electrons from the photocathode irradiated with α particles is 8 electrons/particle. The instrument is able to detect single α particles and protons. A technique for the spatial and spectral measuring of fast ions emitted from laser thermonuclear targets has been developed on the basis of this instrument. The technique is used at the ISKRA-5 facility to study the interaction between high-intensity laser radiation and thermonuclear targets.

The principle of a high-speed neutron monitor is based on neutron–proton conversion in a polyethylene converter. Protons thus produced are detected by an X-ray image-converter tube with a CsI photocathode. The monitor efficiency is 1.5 × 10 –3 , its time resolution is ∼30 ps, and its spatial resolution is ≥100 μm. The instrument is used to measure the time parameters of neutron fluxes in the ISKRA installations.

Setups developed for the calibration of X-ray streak cameras and of elements of X-ray measuring circuits are described. Calibration procedures are described and calibration results related to the absolute spectral sensitivity, spatial resolution, distortion, sensitivity nonuniformity over the screen, sweep speed and nonlinearity of an X-ray streak camera, as well as the results of the calibration of filters and mirrors used in recording laser-plasma X-rays are presented. The absolute-calibration error for the streak camera is within ±10%, and the calibration error for the filter and mirrors is within ±2%. Methods for processing photochronograms are described that, using the calibration data, allow the correction of distortions introduced by the streak camera.

This paper considers a 9-frame photorecorder that has been developed on the basis of an IR camera of ionization type with the use of an image converter. The photorecorder operates in the spectral range of 1-10 mum at a frame rate of 10-200 kHz and frame duration of 1-50 mus. It has the temperature detection threshold of 400degreesC and spatial resolution of >10(4) elem./frame. The photorecorder will find the use in recording the structure of thermal fields in fast processes (gas dynamics, ballistics, pulsed welding, and thermal treatment of surfaces).

We study the evolution of the ECR discharge sustained in a simple mirror magnetic trap by a powerful millimeter-wave radiation. Specific features of the discharge behavior are determined by the intense gassing of the vacuum chamber walls affected by a plasma that flows out of the trap. A model of the discharge dynamics is proposed. Solutions with explosive plasma-density increase were found and analyzed, and qualitative agreement between the model and experimental results was obtained.