Effect of gold nano-particle layers on ablative acceleration of plastic foil targets

Abstract

Presence of nano-particles on target surface has been observed to lead to increased laser absorption of laser pulse in plasma. Therefore, a coating of nano-particles on foil targets could lead to an enhanced ablative acceleration. The work presented in this paper concerns this possibility. The results of experiments performed with PALS laser system (125 J, ∼250 ps at 1.3 μm) with a focused intensity of about 1014 W/cm2 are presented. 15 μm thick Polyethylene teraphthalate (C10 H 8 O4)n or PET foils show an almost 40% increase in target movement when coated with a layer of gold nano-particles. Comparison between targets with coating of bulk gold and nano-gold shows about 15% higher target movement in gold nano-particle coated PET targets as compared to bulk gold coating. This result is a clear indication of enhanced laser energy absorption in targets with nano-structured surface of gold. We also present evidence to show the effect of nano-particle coating on lateral thermal conduction. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.