Thermal energy transport in laser-driven high x-ray conversion efficiency metallic silver nanowire foams.

Abstract

We report on record brightness from Ag x-ray emission obtained using a novel laser-produced plasma source. The reported K-shell conversion efficiency of nearly 1% with a radiant energy of ≈0.6 kJ/sr from Ag ions is the highest presently recorded and is about twofold greater than more conventional metal-lined cavity targets. He-like Ag ions are the dominant radiators at ≈22.7 keV, which contrast the x-ray sources from other pulse power facilities that produce K-shell x-rays from Auger processes in near-neutral ions driven by the nonthermal hot electrons produced in the Z-pinch implosion. The reported x-ray emission was produced from a 4-mm-diameter, 4-mm-long underdense silver nanowire target at 10mg/cm^{3}. The National Ignition Facility laser beams deposited ≈1000 kJ of 3ω light into the target with a ≈400 TW, 2.5 ns square pulse. Finally, we show via comparisons of data with radiation-hydrodynamics simulations that flux-limited classical thermal energy transport models are inadequate in correctly modeling the behavior of these non-local thermodynamic equilibrium plasmas.