Diagnostics of fast plasmas produced by intense laser pulses

Plasma has been generated in high vacuum by high intensity laser roughly 1016 W/cm2 irradiating polymeric and metallic targets with micrometric thickness. Plasma generated in forward directions, with Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) approach, produces non equilibrium phenomena with photons, electrons and ions emission. The involved dynamics, developing charge state separation, have been investigated by using a Thomson Parabola Spectrometer coupled to multi-channel plates (MCP). Measurements, employed in time of flight configuration, have been compared with others detectors, such as SiC semiconductors, that have been fixed in forward and in backward directions with respect to the normal to the target surface. Radiation detection has been employed in order to investigate on the dynamic behaviour, composition and distribution of the non equilibrium plasma. The results, demonstrated that high electric fields, generated along the normal to the target surface, drive the ion acceleration. Protons are accelerated above 3 MeV and ions above 500 keV/charge state. The experiments have been performed at PALS laboratory in Prague with the ASTERIX IV laser system. Introduction Plasma