INVESTIGATION OF X-RAY EMISSION FROM LASER PRODUCED ALUMINIUM ANTIMONIDE PLASMA

Lasers are integral to numerous applications in our daily lives, with one of their notable uses being the ablation of materials to generate plasma, which in turn produces X-rays with a variety of applications. This study investigates the generation of hard X-rays from Aluminum Antimonide (AlSb) plasma, induced by a Q-switched Nd: YAG laser operating at 1064[Formula: see text]nm with a pulse duration of 9–14[Formula: see text]ns and a peak power of 1.1[Formula: see text]MW. The AlSb target was selected due to its unique electronic structure and high atomic number, which are advantageous for efficient X-ray generation. At a tight focus, the laser produced a spot size of 11.8 micrometers, achieving an intensity of 10 12 W/cm[Formula: see text], to study the transmission of hard X-rays both in a vacuum environment with a pressure of 10[Formula: see text] torr and in air at atmospheric pressure. A Photo Multiplier Tube (PMT) was employed to detect the transmitted hard X-rays, which were filtered using a 10 [Formula: see text]m-thick Al filter. The fundamental mechanisms behind the emission of hard X-rays from laser-induced AlSb plasma were explored. Plasma plume expansion and the energy of the emitted radiation were found to depend on the number of laser pulses and the ambient pressure. The intensity of the plasma plume was observed to be inversely proportional to the ambient pressure and directly proportional to the number of laser pulses fired. Plasma confinement under high pressures was also examined. Time-resolved studies of the hard X-ray emission contributed to the analysis. The relationship between different laser shots and the current, voltage, and energy of the hard X-rays, as well as their inverse proportionality to ambient pressure, was quantified. At an ambient pressure of 10[Formula: see text] torr, the dynamics of the AlSb plasma plume were observed. The surface morphology of the laser-irradiated AlSb target was also analyzed, revealing unique properties pertinent to X-ray emission.