Browsing by Author "Mitchell, Ian"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Comparison between laser initiated hollow gas embedded z-pinches with different initial radius
    (2006) Veloso Espinosa, Felipe; Chuaqui, Herman; Aliaga-Rossel, Raul; Favre, Mario; Mitchell, Ian; Wyndham, Edmund; HerreraVelazquez, JJE
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Refractive optical measurements on the Llampudken generator
    (AMER INST PHYSICS, 2006) Suzuki, Francisco; Veloso, Felipe; Molina, Francisco; Mitchell, Ian; Chuaqui, Hernan; Aliaga Rossel, Raul; Favre, Mario; Wyndham, Edmund; HerreraVelazquez, JJE
    Experiments with two different configurations of dense z-pinches have been carried out on the Llampudken generator with the objective of investigating the time evolution of the discharges. These configurations were studied with refractive optical measurements using the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (10 ns FVVM lambda=532 run). The Llampudken generator delivered a pulse current of 450 kA with a 260 ns rise time. Refractive optical measurements with schlieren diagnostics were made using an optical system which provided two frames per discharge. The original beam was split into two separate beams with perpendicular polarizations using a polarizer beam splitter and an extra path length was introduced into one of the beams delaying it with respect to the other. The path through the discharge chamber was equal for both beams therefore providing identical views of the plasma at two different times. The images were recorded on 35mm cameras using suitably orientated polarizers to select the corresponding beam. As a complementary diagnostic technique, MCP cameras with exposure time of 2 ns were used to obtain VUV images of the loads. Preliminary results of these experiments will be presented and discussed.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The formation of ring shaped laser plasmas on a metal surface
    (AMER INST PHYSICS, 2006) Veloso, Felipe; Chuaqui, Hernan; Aliaga Rossel, Raul; Favre, Mario; Mitchell, Ian; Wyndham, Edmund; HerreraVelazquez, JJE
    A method to produce ring plasmas on a metal surface is presented. The ring plasma is produced by focusing a laser pulse into an annular shape. This is achieved by using a combination of a converging lens and an axicon. The axicon is a rotationally symmetric prism. The radius of the focused ring is determined by the base angle of the axicon, and the focal length of the converging lens. The experiments are performed on a titanium surface, using a 0.18 J, 10 ns, 1064 nm pulsed, from a Nd:YAG laser. The background gas is hydrogen, at pressures in the atmospheric range. The ring structure was measured using schlieren imaging and Mach Zehnder interferometry. The expansion velocities of the laser-produced plasma in the background gas were measured in two directions; parallel and perpendicular to the metallic surface. Characteristic values are 5-9(.)10(3) m/s, for the ring radius expansion, parallel to the surface, and 1.0-1.7(.)10(4) m/s, perpendicular to the surface. Characteristic electron densities of the order of 10(18) cm(-3) were measured, with hollow radial profiles. The temperature of the plasma was estimated to be between 0.1 and 0.4 eV. This ring plasma is used as precursor plasma to achieve a hollow gas embedded z-pinch.