Polarization dependent energy transfer in laser produced plasma experiments

Polarization dependent light absorption in laser produced plasmas of small focal diameters (28 μm full 1/e2 width) has been investigated simultaneously in five different channels of observation: specular reflection of the laser light, second harmonic (2 ω) generation, charge and velocity distribution of the emitted ions and ablation pressure to the target. The experiments have been performed using a Nd-YAG mode locking pulse (λ = 1.06 μm, λ = 45 ps) which has been focused onto plane, thick plexiglass (C8H5O2)sub(n) disks to intensities up to 1014W/cm2. As a result of the small focal spot size, a very small density scale length of 0.6 μm is derived from the resonance curves, consistently, for all channels of diagnostics. (author)