Resolving the positive, negative, and neutral fluxes of an expanding, laser-produced plasma

The space-charge separation seen in an expanding, laser-produced plasma is a remnant of energetic electrons produced in anomalous laser absorption. In order to better understand this phenomenon, a Faraday cup collector has been devised which simultaneously records positive, negative, and neutral components of such an expanding plasma. The response of this detector to a laser-produced plasma is measured and compared to magnetically filtered ion collectors. This detector proves superior to the magnetic collector for energetic ions, but is limited to low plasma densities by collective effects