The interaction of a plasma produced by irradiation of perforated foils with laser pulses was studied. The laser beam of the first harmonics of the iodine laser (λ = 1.315 μm) system PERUN was focused by anf/2 optics (f = 20 cm) on a hole in the foil target of high-Z material. The laser energy and the temporal shape of the pulses were monitored both before and behind the hole. Foils of two different materials (Pb, Cu) were used, and a series of hole diameters 2rH ranging from 100 μm to 500 μm were tested. The diameter of the laser focal spot 2r0 was about 150 μm. For hole diameters smaller than 300 μm, a shortening of the laser pulse was observed, demonstrating the effect of plasma shutter. The pulse shortening, which depends on the hole diameter, corresponds to the reduction in the pulse energy passing through the hole. An analysis of the experimental data is based on hydrodynamic computations, and the physics of the process is illustrated by a simple analytical model.
Passage of laser light through a hole-plasma shutter
