Postionisation of a spatially nonuniform plasma plume under high-intensity femtosecond laser irradiation

The plasma plume formed by a high-power nanosecond laser pulse on the surface of solid targets as well as the plume parameters after its irradiation by a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse are investigated by optical diagnostic techniques. Twodimensional patterns of the electron plasma density are reconstructed from experimentally recorded interferograms at different stages of plasma evolution. It is shown that the interaction of the high-intensity femtosecond radiation with the plasma cloud is accompanied by the field ionisation of atoms and ions as well as by a significant increase in the electron density throughout the interaction volume.