Investigations of ion emission from plasma produced by high-power 1-ps laser pulse

Abstract

The main goal of the studies presented is to investigate properties of the ion emission from the plasma produced with the use of high-intensity (up to 8×1016 W cm−2) 1-ps laser. The terawatt Nd : glass CPA laser system delivering up to 1 J energy in 1.2 ps pulse at the wavelength of 1.053 μm irradiated solid targets. The parameters of ion streams emitted from the plasma were measured with the use of an electrostatic ion-energy analyser and ion collectors. The charge state, the ion energy, the ion current density together with its angular distribution were the basic parameters of our interest. The results obtained demonstrate that the interaction of the 1-ps laser pulses with different targets provides favourable conditions for the generation of a large amount of highly charged (e.g. Ta38+, Au33+) fast ions (energy about 1 MeV for Au ions) driven by hot electrons.