The production of a long scale-length plasma of electron density 1020–1021 cm-3, measuring 10 X 0.5 mm using a laser-heated capillary discharge is reported. X-ray spectroscopic measurements have been performed which show that the plasma constituents can be varied by changing the material that lines the exit slit of the device. The capillary thus provides a useful source of large underdense plasmas created from solid materials suitable for laser-plasma interaction studies. Numerical simulations consistent with spectroscopic studies suggest that temperatures up to about 700 eV were achieved following irradiation of these plasmas by high-power laser light.
Laser-heated capillary discharge plasma waveguides for electron acceleration to 8 GeV