Application of snow nanograin targets for the generation of fast ions in femtosecond laser plasma.

We have measured the energy of the directed motion of multiply charged ions produced when solid targets are exposed to low-contrast (10−3–10−2) femtosecond laser pulses with intensities 1015–1016 W cm−2. The measurements are based on the recording of spatially resolved X-ray spectra for H-and He-like oxygen ions in the target plane. Analysis of the Heβ and Lyα line profiles has revealed fractions of accelerated ions in plasma with energies from several to several tens of kiloelectronvolts. We show that using a layer of frozen nanometer-size water droplets as the targets leads to an effective absorption of laser pulses and a twofold rise in the energy (to 0.1 MeV) of He-like oxygen ions compared to the use of solid targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]