Microwave experimental studies of laser fusion. Final report, August 1, 1983-July 31, 1984

We have continued to model the physics of laser-plasma interactions via the use of high power (0.1 - 10 MW) microwave (lambda0 = 1 - 10 cm) sources and well-diagnosed low density (n/sub e/ approx. = 1010-1012cm-3) plasma devices. During the past year and a half we have developed nonperturbing diagnostic measurements which allow us to probe the interaction region during the microwave pulse without problems with spurious signals such as the sheath resonances associated with conventional Langmuir probe techniques. Particularly successful has been our construction and installation of three separate near-millimeter wave collective Thomson scattering systems (92, 94 and 185 GHz) which permit the measurement of wave dispersion as well as the absolute level of the associated density fluctuations and their evolution in time