The application of extreme ultra-violet lasers in plasma heating and diagnosis

Laser-plasma studies have been undertaken for 50 years using infra-red to ultra-violet lasers. We show that a new regime of laser-produced plasmas can be created with capillary discharge and free electron lasers operating in the extreme ultra-violet (EUV). For example, EUV radiation (wavelength <50 nm) has a critical electron density above electron densities formed by ionization at solid material density and so potentially can penetrate to large depth into a solid density plasma. We explore here the importance of this penetration in ablating solid targets, in creating novel warm dense matter and in the diagnosis of plasmas.