The time-of-flight technique coupled with semiconductor detectors is a powerful instrument to provide real-time characterization of ions accelerated because of laser–matter interactions. Nevertheless, the presence of strong electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) generated during the interactions can severely hinder its employment. For this reason, the diagnostic system must be designed to have high EMP shielding. Here we present a new advanced prototype of detector, developed at ENEA-Centro Ricerche Frascati (Italy), with a large-area (15 mm × 15 mm) polycrystalline diamond sensor having 150 μm thickness. The tailored detector design and testing ensure high sensitivity and, thanks to the fast temporal response, high-energy resolution of the reconstructed ion spectrum. The detector was offline calibrated and then successfully tested during an experimental campaign carried out at the PHELIX laser facility ( ${E}_L\sim$ 100 J, ${\tau}_L = 750$ fs, ${I}_L\sim \left(1{-}2.5\right)\times {10}^{19}$ W/cm2) at GSI (Germany). The high rejection to EMP fields was demonstrated and suitable calibrated spectra of the accelerated protons were obtained.

Generation of hot electrons at grazing incidence of a subpicosecond relativistic-intense laser pulse onto a plane solid target is analyzed for the parameters of petawatt class laser systems. We study preplasma formation on the surface of solid aluminum targets produced by laser prepulses with a different time structure. For modeling of the preplasma dynamics, we use a wide-range two-temperature hydrodynamic model. As a result of simulations, the preplasma expansion under the action of the laser prepulse and the plasma density profiles for different contrast ratios of the nanosecond pedestal are found. These density profiles are used as the initial density distributions in three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of electron acceleration by the main P-polarized laser pulse. Results of modeling demonstrate a substantial increase of the characteristic energy and number of accelerated electrons for the grazing incidence of a subpicosecond intense laser pulse in comparison with the ponderomotive scaling of laser–target interaction.

The transport of hot electrons in solid density plasma created by a high-intensity subpicosecond laser pulse and the resulting heating and ionization of the bulk of plasma are simulated with the electron kinetic code “FPI.” Both the hot and the thermal electrons are treated kinetically. An analysis of the results in terms of a two Maxwellians fit to the numerically obtained distribution function is made.