Measurement of debris and shrapnel plumes from cylindrical metal targets used in high power laser systems

All laser targets subjected to heating by focused energetic lasers for the study of high temperature plasmas produce shrapnel, debris or radiation directly or indirectly that impact and coat the optics, instruments and surfaces used in the vacuum chambers employed for such studies. We describe the spatial distributions of the target ejecta arising from various configurations of thin walled metal cylinder targets and their mechanical mounting systems that have been deployed on the Helen and ZBeamlet lasers. We also demonstrate how this data can be used to evaluate threats to optical surfaces and ancillary instruments in high energy, high power laser systems. The methods used for characterizing and quantifying material plumes will also be described.