Hydrodynamics of microplasmas from thin foils exploded by picosecond laser pulses

Thin plastic foils have been exploded by 30 ps laser pulses at an intensity ranging from 1014 to 1015 W/cm2. The hydrodynamic evolution of the plasma has been studied by interferometry for two different foil thicknesses, 300 and 900 nm, respectively. The plasma produced beyond the foil systematically shows a different dynamics in the two cases. In the case of 300 nm foil, such a dynamics appears to be driven by the radiation pressure of the laser pulse. This explanation is supported by two-dimensional simulation.