A deconvolution of time-resolved ion collector signals was used to determine the temperature and the centre-of-mass (COM) velocity of H+ and Cq+ (1 ≤ q ≤ 6) ions emitted from a polyethylene target irradiated by the 3rd harmonics (λ = 438 nm) of an iodine laser up to the laser-beam intensity value of about 2 × 1016 W cm−2. The intensity dependence of the COM energy for single charge-states is shown. A plasma block, which precedes the main ion group, is characterized. The properties of the main ion group are compared with those of fast ions produced by a CO2 laser [1]. It is shown that the separation of peaks, i.e. their visualization in the time-resolved ion collector signal, can be characterized by the ratio of thermal velocity to COM velocity. The charge-state dependence of the COM velocity is discussed.
Low- and medium-mass ion acceleration driven by petawatt laser plasma interactions