Energy Transport through High- Z Metal Foil in a Laser-Produced Plasma

Double-layer thin films of high-Z metal and low-Z polyethylene and each single-layer film were irradiated with a 1.06-{μ}m, 200-psec laser pulse at intensities from 10¹⁴ to 7 ×{} 10¹⁴ W/cm². From the measurements of the transmittance of the laser through these films, the spatial distributions of the transmitted light, expanding ion currents, and x rays, the energy transport is found to be due not only to superthermal electrons but also to x-ray radiation in a high-Z material.