Opacity studies of silicon in radiatively heated plasma

Measurements of the opacity of silicon at high temperature and high density are reported. A silicon dioxide foam was heated by eight nanosecond laser beams while a backlighter X-ray source was produced with a picosecond laser. Absorptions of the 1-2 transitions of Si XII through Si VI were observed in the wavelength range from 6.6 to 7.1 Å. The experimental results are simulated with theoretical calculations under local thermodynamic equilibrium using a detailed level accounting model and can be reproduced in general when the effects of the oxygen in the SiO₂ are taken into account.