Resumen
We present two-dimensional (2D) optical Thomson scattering measurements of electron density and temperature in laser-produced plasmas. The novel instrument directly measures ne(x,y)" role="presentation">????(??,??)ne(x,y)
n
e
(
x
,
y
)
and Te(x,y)" role="presentation">????(??,??)Te(x,y)
T
e
(
x
,
y
)
in two dimensions over large spatial regions (cm2" role="presentation">22
2
) with sub-mm spatial resolution, by automatically translating the scattering volume while the plasma is produced repeatedly by irradiating a solid target with a high-repetition-rate laser beam (10 J, ~1012" role="presentation">1212
12
W/cm2" role="presentation">22
2
, 1 Hz). In this paper, we describe the design and motorized auto-alignment of the instrument and the computerized algorithm that autonomously fits the spectral distribution function to the tens-of-thousands of measured scattering spectra, and captures the transition from the collective to the non-collective regime with distance from the target. As an example, we present the first 2D scattering measurements in laser-driven shock waves in ambient nitrogen gas at a pressure of 0.13 mbar.