Investigation of ion acceleration mechanism through laser-matter interaction in femtosecond domain

An experimental campaign aiming to investigate the ion acceleration mechanisms through laser-matter interaction in the femtosecond domain has been carried out at the ILIL facility at a laser intensity of up to 2 x 1019 W/cm2. A Thomson Parabola Spectrometer was used to identify different ion species and measure the energy spectra and the corresponding temperature parameters. We discuss the dependence of the protons spectra upon the structural characteristics of the targets (thickness and atomic mass) and the role of surface versus target bulk during acceleration process. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.