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Advancement of ion acceleration by intense laser pulses is studied with ultra-thin nanometer-thick diamond like carbon and micrometer-thick Titanium target foils. Both investigations aim at optimizing the electron density distribution which is the key for efficient laser driven ion acceleration. While recently found maximum ion energies achieved with ultra-thin foils mark record values micrometer thick foils are flexible in terms of atomic constituents. Electron recirculation is one prerequisite for the validity of a very simple model that can approximate the dependence of ion energies of nanometer-thick targets when all electrons of the irradiated target area interact coherently with the laser pulse and Coherent Acceleration of Ions by Laser pulses (CAIL) becomes dominant. Complementary experiments, an analytical model and particle in cell computer simulations show, that with regard to ultra-short laser pulses (duration ~45 fs at intensities up to 5 × 1019 W/cm2) and a micrometer-thick target foil with higher atomic number a close to linear increase of ion energies manifests in a certain range of laser intensities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The results of experimental measurement and analytical estimation of the coefficient of backward reflection from targets made of various materials upon their irradiation by a picosecond laser pulse having the intensity of (0.8–4) × 1018 W/cm2 are presented. It is shown that the induced surface instability leads to the formation of a profile backscattering the incident radiation. The coefficient of backward reflection achieves a few percent and has an intensity optimum depending on the target material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invention of high-power, ultra-short-pulse lasers has opened the way to investigations aimed at the creation of a new type of bright X-ray source for various uses including material science applications and time-resolved X-ray diffraction for biology. The efficiency with which laser energy incident on a solid target is converted into an X-ray emission depends on many factors, including the temporal profile of the laser pulse. Here we report the results of our theoretical and experimental investigations of the line X-ray emission from layered solid targets irradiated by ultra-short laser pulses. The laser prepulse parameters and target thickness are optimized to convert the maximum laser energy into an emission in the selected X-ray line. Multilayer foils are proposed to increase the energy of the Kα-line emission from laser plasma while simultaneously keeping the X-ray pulse duration at a hundred femtoseconds. The emission is studied both experimentally and theoretically by means of an analytical model and numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]