Measurements of ion energies from the explosion of large hydrogen iodide clusters irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

We present measurements of ion energies from the interaction of intense, femtosecond laser pulses with large mixed-species clusters. Multi-keV protons and {~}100-keV iodine ions are observed from the explosion of HI clusters produced in a gas jet operated at room temperature. Clusters formed from molecular gases such as HI are thus seen to extend the advantages of the laser-cluster interaction to elements that do not readily form single-species clusters. In the light of recently reported nuclear fusion in laser-heated clusters, we also examine the possibility of boosting the explosion energies of low-Z ions through the use of mixed species clusters.