Generation of X rays and energetic ions from superintense laser irradiation of micron-sized Ar clusters

High-resolution K-shell spectra of a plasma created by superintense laser irradiation of micron-sized At clusters have been measured with an intensity above 10(19) W/cm(2) and a pulse duration of 30 fs. The total photon flux of 2 X 10(8) photons/pulse was achieved for He-alpha1 resonant line of Ar (lambda = 3.9491 Angstrom, 3.14 keV). In parallel with X-ray measurements, energy distributions of emitted ions have been measured. The multiply charged ions with kinetic energies up to 800 keV were observed. It is found that hot electrons produced by high contrast laser pulses allow the isochoric heating of clusters and shift the ion balance toward the higher charge states, which enhances both the X-ray line yield of the He-like argon ion and the ion kinetic energy.