Interaction of a 1 psec laser pulse with solid matter

Absorption and x-ray emission results obtained with a 1 psec pulse incident on solid targets with an intensity between 1011 and 1016 W/cm2 are presented and discussed. For I<5×1014 W/cm2, submicron density gradient scale lengths (L/λ≤0.2) are measured and the comparison of calculated and experimental values of absorption for aluminum indicates a relatively good agreement for p polarization and noticeable differences for s polarization. X-ray conversion efficiencies have been obtained in the sub-keV and keV range. At high intensities (I>1015 W/cm2) an evaluation of the plasma parameters is obtained from high resolution keV spectra. Finally, the results are discussed in the light of 1-D hydrodynamic simulations with time-dependent atomic physics.