Postionisation of a spatially nonuniform plasma plume under high-intensity femtosecond laser irradiation

The plasma plume formed by a high-power nanosecond laser pulse on the surface of solid targets as well as the plume parameters after its irradiation by a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse are investigated by optical diagnostic techniques. Two-dimensional patterns of the electron plasma density are reconstructed from experimentally recorded interferograms at different stages of plasma evolution. It is shown that the interaction of the high-intensity femtosecond radiation with the plasma cloud is accompanied by the field ionisation of atoms and ions as well as by a significant increase in the electron density throughout the interaction volume.