Explosion of atomic clusters irradiated by high-intensity laser pulses: Scaling of ion energies with cluster and laser parameters

Experimental measurements of scaling with cluster and laser parameters of the energies of ions produced in the explosion of atomic clusters have been obtained, with a view to experimental optimization of the cluster explosion temperature. The noble-gas clusters were irradiated with high-intensity, 200-fs laser pulses. Ion energy scalings with cluster size (ranging from 10²--10⁵ atoms per cluster), laser intensity (10¹⁴--10¹⁶Wcm^-2), and laser wavelength (780 and 390 nm) are presented for both Xe and Kr clusters. Numerical calculations of the interaction, treating the cluster as a spherical nanoplasma, are also presented.