Abstract
Recent experimental results on ion beams produced in high-intensity laser–solid interactions indicate the presence of very intense electric fields in the target. This suggests the possibility of efficiently heating a solid material by means of the fast electrons created during the laser–solid interactions and trapped in the target, rather than by the laser photons themselves. We tested this mechanism by irradiating very small cubic aluminum targets with the LULI 100-TW, 300-fs laser at 1.06-μm wavelength. X-ray spectra were measured with an ultra-fast streak camera, coupled to a conical Bragg crystal, providing spectra in the 1.5-keV range with high temporal and spectral resolution. The results indicate the creation of a hot plasma, but a very low coupling between the rapid electrons and the solid. A tentative explanation, in agreement with other experimental results and with preliminary particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, points out the fatal role of the laser prepulse.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
E.L. Clark, K. Krushelnick, J.R. Davies, M. Zepf, M. Tatarakis, F.N. Beg, A. Machacek, P.A. Norreys, M.I.K. Santala, I. Watts, A.E. Dangor: Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 670 (2000)
M. Hegelich, S. Karsch, G. Pretzler, D. Habs, K. Witte, W. Guenther, M. Allen, A. Blazevic, J. Fuchs, J.C. Gauthier, M. Geissel, P. Audebert, T. Cowan, M. Roth: Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 085002 (2002)
M. Borghesi, S. Bulanov, D.H. Campbell, R.J. Clarke, T.Zh. Esirkepov, M. Galimberti, L.A. Gizzi, A.J. MacKinnon, N.M. Naumova, F. Pegoraro, H. Ruhl, A. Schiavi, O. Willi: Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 135002 (2002)
M.I.K. Santala, M. Zepf, F.N. Beg, E.L. Clark, A.E. Dangor, K. Krushelnick, M. Tatarakis, I. Watts, K.W.D. Ledingham, T. McCanny, I. Spencer, A.C. Machacek, R. Allott, R.J. Clarke, P.A. Norreys: Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 19 (2001)
P. McKenna, K.W.D. Ledingham, T. McCanny, R.P. Singhal, I. Spencer, M.I.K. Santala, F.N. Beg, K. Krushelnick, M. Tatarakis, M.S. Wei, E.L. Clark, R.J. Clarke, K.L. Lancaster, P.A. Norreys, K. Spohr, R. Chapman, M. Zepf: Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 075006 (2003)
S.P. Hatchett, C.G. Brown, T.E. Cowan, E.A. Henry, J.S. Johnson, M.H. Key, J.A. Koch, A.B. Langdon, B.F. Lasinski, R.W. Lee, A.J. MacKinnon, D.M. Pennington, M.D. Perry, T.W. Phillips, M. Roth, T.C. Sangster, M.S. Singh, R.A. Snavely, M.A. Stoyer, S.C. Wilks, K. Yasuike: Phys. Plasmas 7, 2076 (2000)
S.C. Wilks, A.B. Langdon, T.E. Cowan, M. Roth, M. Singh, S. Hatchett, M.H. Key, D. Pennington, A. MacKinnon, R.A. Snavely: Phys. Plasmas 8, 542 (2001)
A.J. MacKinnon, Y. Sentoku, P.K. Patel, D.W. Price, S. Hatchett, M.H. Key, C. Andersen, R. Snavely, R.R. Freeman: Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 215006 (2002)
M. Allen, Y. Sentoku, P. Audebert, A. Blazevic, T. Cowan, J. Fuchs, J.C. Gauthier, M. Geissel, M. Hegelich, S. Karsch, E. Morse, P.K. Patel, M. Roth: Phys. Plasmas 10, 3283 (2003)
T.A. Hall: J. Phys. E 17, 110 (1984)
C. Chenais-Popovics, F. Dorchies, P. Audebert, V. Nagels, J.P. Geindre, J.C. Gauthier, O. Peyrusse, S. Gary, F. Girard: J. Phys. IV Fr. 108, 137 (2003)
J.A. Koch, M.H. Key, R.R. Freeman, S.P. Hatchett, R.W. Lee, D. Pennington, R.B. Stephens, M. Tabak: Phys. Rev. E 65, 016410 (2003)
K. Eidmann, U. Andiel, F. Pisani, P. Hakel, R.C. Mancini, G.C. Junkel-Vives, J. Abdallah, K. Witte: J. Quantum Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 81, 133 (2003)
K. Eidmann, A. Maaswinkel, R. Sigel, S. Witkowski, F. Amiranoff, R. Fabbro, J.D. Hares, J.D. Kilkenny: Appl. Phys. Lett. 43, 440 (1983)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
PACS
52.50.Jm; 52.38.Ph; 52.38.Kd
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bastiani-Ceccotti, S., Audebert, P., Nagels-Silvert, V. et al. Time-resolved analysis of the X-ray emission of femtosecond-laser-produced plasmas in the 1.5-keV range. Appl Phys B 78, 905–909 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-004-1440-7
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-004-1440-7