Fast ion imaging with a pinhole camera in laser-produced plasmas

Fast ion imaging with a pinhole camera is shown to be quite reliable provided the camera parameters are correctly chosen. Space-charge expansion of the ion beam beyond the pinhole can be minimized by adjusting the ion energy filtration, the camera magnification, and the target-to-pinhole distance. Scaling of space-charge effects with the camera dimensions is discussed. Two experimental technqiues are also demonstrated to verify in situ the spatial resolution at the image plane