Physics Commons^™

Spark Discharge Coupled Laser Multicharged Ion Source, Md. Haider A. Shaim, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A spark discharge is coupled to a laser multicharged ion source to enhance ion generation. The laser plasma triggers a spark discharge with electrodes located in front of the ablated target. For an aluminum target, the spark discharge results in significant enhancement in the generation of multicharged ions along with higher charge states than observed with the laser source alone. When a Nd:YAG laser pulse (wavelength 1064 nm, pulse width 7.4 ns, pulse energy 72 mJ, laser spot area on target 0.0024 cm²) is used, the total multicharged ions detected by a Faraday cup is 1.0 nC with …