Density measurement of dense capillary discharge plasma using soft X-ray backlighting

The application of the soft X-ray backlighting technique to measure the density of a dense plasma produced in a capillary discharge is demonstrated. A laser produced tellurium plasma was used as the X-ray source and a two-dimensional flash image with a 140 mu m resolution was obtained. From the X-ray absorption along lines of sight and using the Abel transform, assuming a cylindrical symmetry, the radial density profile was deduced. The maximum plasma density measured was 6×10¹⁹ions/cm³.