Development and Calibration of a Thomson Scattering Diagnostic for Analyzing Plasmas Generated by the High Amperage Driver for Extreme States (HADES)

Probing dense plasmas to determine their properties is a difficult challenge in HEDP. Direct measurements of local quantities such as electron-ion drift velocity, bulk velocity, electron density, and plasma temperature are not possible. A Thomson scattering diagnostic, which involves scattering low energy photons (E_photon = ħ?? ≪ m_ec²) off of electrons in a plasma and capturing the spectrum of scattered light at a specific angle, allows for measuring these local quantities. The calibration of a Thomson scattering diagnostic is multi-faceted, involving not only the alignment of optics to send light through a target, but also the fine positioning of collection optics and the development of software to process Thomson spectra. We will discuss the steps being taken in order to develop a functioning Thomson scattering diagnostic for use on the HADES pulsed power driver.