Sn ion energy distributions of ns- and ps-laser produced plasmas

TL;DR

This study measures and analyzes the ion energy distributions from laser-produced tin plasmas across various laser parameters, comparing results with hydrodynamic models to understand plasma expansion dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of experimental ion energy distributions with hydrodynamic models for different target types and laser pulse durations.

Findings

Good agreement with hydrodynamic models for ps-long pulses on planar and droplet targets.

Solid Sn exposed to ns-pulses matches a limited-mass Gaussian density model.

Ion energy distributions depend on target type and laser pulse duration.

Abstract

Ion energy distributions arising from laser-produced plasmas of Sn are measured over a wide laser parameter space. Planar-solid as well as liquid-droplet targets are exposed to infrared laser pulses with energy densities between 1J/cm$^2$ and 4kJ/cm$^2$ and durations spanning 0.5ps to 6ns. The measured ion energy distributions are compared to two self-similar solutions of a hydrodynamic approach assuming isothermal expansion of the plasma plume into vacuum. For planar and droplet targets exposed to ps-long pulses we find a good agreement between the experimental results and the self-similar solution of a semi-infinite simple planar plasma configuration with an exponential density profile. The ion energy distributions resulting from solid Sn exposed to ns-pulses agrees with solutions of a limited-mass model that assumes a Gaussian-shaped initial density profile.