Ion Velocity Measurements and Characterization of a Laser Induced Plasma

Ions emitted by a laser produced plasma were detected with a Faraday cup. It was determined that the majority of the ion velocities fell within the range of 50 to 250 km/s. A beam of ions was created by passing the plasma through a 2mm iris to create a beam with a width was about 1cm. To determine the ion species present in the plasma and the velocity distribution, the ions were passed through electric and magnetic fields then detected in a 2D plane by a Faraday cup. A rough Thomson parabola shape was detected, however, the field of view, resolution, and sensitivity of the detector were not sufficient enough to distinguish between the ion species. The strength of the fields as well as the sensitivity of the detector needs to be adjusted in order to draw conclusions about the ion composition of the laser produced plasma.