Plasma enhancement of femtosecond laser-induced electromagnetic pulses at metal and dielectric surfaces

Abstract

In a previous report, we have shown that the long wavelength, electromagnetic-pulsed (EMP) energy generated by ultrashort (38 fs) laser pulse ablation of a metal target is enhanced by an order of magnitude due to a preplasma generated by a different, 14-ns-long laser pulse. Here, we further investigate this EMP enhancement effect in a 2-to 16-GHz microwave region with different target materials and laser parameters. Specifically, we show a greater than two orders of magnitude enhancement to the EMP energy when the nanosecond and ultrashort laser pulses are coincident on a glass target, and greater than one order of magnitude enhancement when the pulses are coincident on a copper target.