Recombination processes during laser-plasma expansion of metal targets

This work has the purpose to characterize the plasma produced by solid target ablation. The experiment was performed by using a KrF laser with an irradiance of 108 W/cm2 and different solid targets, i. e., Si, Ge, Pd, and Pb. A very suitable Faraday cup has been utilized to study the angular distribution of the plasma plume as well as to perform measurements of the ion charge carried by the plasma during its free expansion into the vacuum. Particular attention was done to estimate the charge losses ascribed to the recombination processes during the plasma expansion.