Charge-State And Energy Enhancement Of Laser-Produced Ions Due To Nonlinear Processes In Preformed Plasma

At laser intensities above I-L similar to 1 x 10(14) W/cm(2)(I-L lambda(2)similar to 1 x 10(14) W mu m(2)/cm(2)), nonlinear processes in preformed plasma, such as self-focusing, influence ion generation significantly and ions with higher charge states and energies can be produced than without interaction with preformed plasma. The step (spread) in plots of experimental data of ion energy per nucleon versus I-L lambda(2) reported by other researchers most likely reflects high-intensity laser interactions with and without preformed plasma. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.