Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications 2005
J.-C. Gauthier, et al.
J. Phys. IV France 133 (2006) 511-514
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:2006133105

Anomalous transmission of high contrast relativistically intense short pulses through thin metal foils

T. Matsuoka¹, A. Maksimchuk¹, T. Lin¹, O.V. Batishchev², A.A. Batishcheva³ and V.Yu. Bychenkov<sup>4

1</sup>  FOCUS Center and Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, 2200 Bonisteel blvd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
²  MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
³  Delta Search Labs, 400 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁴  P. N. Lebedev Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 53 Leninskii Prospect, Moscow 119991, Russia

Abstract
The frequency doubled laser pulses from the T3 laser system at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science of the University Michigan¹ (with energy up to 1 J, a pulse duration of 400 fs, the wavelength is 0.53 m and the maximum intensity is W/cm²) has been used to measure the light transmitted through thin metal targets. The intensity contrast ratio of the laser pulse was better than 10 ^{- 9} which is low enough to suggest the interaction with solid density plasma without preplasma. We observed the transmittance of the laser pulse through the aluminum foil with thickness up to 4 m and found that this radiation is polarized and centered at 0.53 m. We found that for 0.8 m thick foils the transmission was anomalously high ( %) and can't be explained by the skin effect for relativistic pulse.

© EDP Sciences 2006