Measurement of the degree of polarization of the spectra from laser produced recombining Al plasmas.

Using a polarization-resolved UV-visible spectrometer, the degree of polarization of the spectra from laser produced Al plasmas was measured. The polarization resolution was achieved by using either a dichroic polarizer or a calcite crystal. The degree of polarization of Al III 4s(2)S(1/2)-4p(2)P(o)(3/2) transition at 569.66 nm was measured at different positions from a target surface. The degree of polarization was observed to be 2.1+/-0.13% at a distance of 220 microm from the target and decreased as the distance from the target increased, vanishing at a distance of about 1.3 mm from the target. To avoid the possible error due to the shot-to-shot variation of the line intensity, a calcite crystal was used to simultaneously observe the two polarization components, obtaining a similar result. The electron temperature of about 3 eV and the density of 2 x 10(17) cm(-3) measured spectroscopically indicates that the plasma was in the recombining phase. This is a report on the observation of the polarization of a transition in a laser-produced recombining Al plasma.