CHARGED SPECIES ANALYSIS AS A DIAGNOSTIC-TOOL FOR LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA CHARACTERIZATION

In this work we report on a study of the plasma produced by UV (lambda = 351 nm) laser ablation of an aluminum target. In particular, we hav e directly measured the flux velocity of ablated ions along the normal to the metal target, the corresponding ion temperature, and the avera ge kinetic energy by using an electrostatic energy analyzer. Moreover, by interpreting the measured ion energy distributions within the fram ework of the hydrodynamical model, we have also inferred an estimate o f plasma electron density and temperature, which provide significant i nformation on the laser plasma characterization in a number of applica tions.