Generation of fast ions in femto-and picosecond laser plasmas at low intensities of the heating radiation.

X-ray spectra from Teflon targets irradiated by laser pulses with a duration of 60 fs to 1 ps have been investigated experimentally. It is shown that, when the contrast of the laser pulse is sufficiently low, the effect of self-focusing of the main laser pulse in the plasma produced by the prepulse can significantly enhance the generation efficiency of fast particles. In this case, ions with energies as high as ∼1 MeV are observed at relatively low laser intensities, q las ≈ (4–6) × 1016 W/cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]