[en] We are investigating a retropulse shutter to protect fusion lasers from target reflected light. It is required to project a plasma of 10²¹/cm³ across a vacuum spatial filter pinhole with a velocity of at least 2 cm/μs. The plasma is produced from a foil which is resistively heated to sublimation, superheated, and magnetically driven across the optical beam path. This paper describes these plasma production processes. A technique has been developed to couple the drive circuit to the foil to enhance the plasma velocity. A nozzle controls the solid angle into which the plasma is projected. Using diagnostics of circuit monitors, witness plates, Faraday cups, streak camera, and probe lasers, we determine the space-time evolution of the plasma. Using a self consistent numerical model, we analyze the plasma behavior. With these methods, we correlate and contrast data and numerical results for two specific cases in which the foil sublimes at or well before the current maximum