Proton extraction from transition metals using PLATONE

In this work we present a study on proton beams extraction from a plasma generated by pulsed laser ablation of titanium and tantalum disks. The device used was the PLATONE laser ion source operating at the LEAS Laboratory in Lecce, Italy. It is based on a KrF laser operating at low irradiance (10(9)-10(10) W/cm(2)) and ns pulse duration. The proton and ions emission was analyzed by the time-of-flight technique using a Faraday cup as ion collector and an electrostatic barrier to identify the particles. Studies on the produced protons and ions at different laser irradiance values were performed. The extracted beams showed high proton flux up to 10(10) protons/cm(2). (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved,