Enhanced x-ray emissions from low-density high-Z mixture plasmas generated with intense nanosecond laser

Abstract Enhancement of x-ray emissions from laser-produced plasmas is imperative for various applications. Low-density Au–Gd mixture was proposed to enhance the x-ray emissions. X-ray emissions were simulated for the laser-irradiated gold and Au–Gd mixtures with different initial densities. It was shown that 1.34 times conversion efficiency has been achieved for the 0.05 g / cm 3 Au–Gd ( 6 / 4 ) mixture comparing with the 10 g / cm 3 gold. The enhancement is attributed to higher Rosseland mean opacities of the mixture and reduction of the ion kinetic energy caused by the lower initial density.