Effects of plastic coating on Kα yield from ultra-short pulse laser irradiated Ti foils

A study of the Kα radiation emitted from Ti foils irradiated with intense, ~0.2 J, 67 fs, 800 nm laser pulses, scanning a range of intensities (~1015–1018 W cm−2), is reported. The brightness of single-shot Kα line emission from the front of the targets is recorded. The yield from bare titanium (Ti) is compared to that from plastic (parylene-E) coated Ti. It is demonstrated that, for a defocused beam, a thin layer of plastic increases the yield.