High-Current Capillary Discharge With Prepulse Ablative Plasma

Generation of axisymmetric stable, long plasma channels with temperatures of 8 eV and electron densities similar to10(19) cm(-3) by a high-current evaporating-wall capillary discharge with prepulse ablative plasma is reported. Results of spectroscopic measurements of the temperature and electron density of plasma produced in a polyethylene capillary are presented. The discharge provides a convenient source of dense highly ionized plasmas for laser-plasma interaction studies. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.