Wavenumber calibration for an imaging refractometer

Abstract

An imaging refractometer can be used to describe the properties of a high-energy density plasma by analyzing the transverse intensity distribution of a laser beam that has passed through the plasma. The output of the refractometer can be directly calibrated in terms of beam deflection angles using ray transfer matrix analysis. This paper describes a novel way to calibrate the refractometer output in terms of the spatial wavenumbers of the transverse intensity distribution of the laser beam. This is accomplished by replacing the plasma with a gridded structure that modulates the transverse intensity of the beam, producing an intensity distribution with a known Fourier Transform. This calibration technique will generate a one-to-one mapping of deflection angle to wavenumber and will enable measurement of the size of Fourier space available to the system. The spectrum of wavenumbers generated when the laser beam passes through a high-energy density plasma may contain information about the types of density fluctuation that are present in the plasma.