Electromagnetic pulses produced by picosecond laser interacting with solid targets

Abstract High-power laser ablating solid targets induces giant electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), which are intimately pertinent to laser parameters such as energy and pulse width. In this study, we reveal the features of EMPs generated from picosecond (ps) laser irradiating solid targets at SG-II picosecond petewatt (PSPW) laser facility. The laser energy and pulse as well as target material and thickness show determinative effects on EMPs’ amplitude. More intense EMPs are detected behind targets compared to those at other three positions, and the EMP amplitude decreases from 90.09 kV/m to 17.8 kV/m with the gold target thickness increasing from 10 μm to 20 μm, which is suppressed when the laser pulse width is enlarged. The resulting conclusions are expected to gain more insight into EMPs produced by ps laser coupling with targets and lay foundation for effective EMPs shielding design in high-power laser infrastructures.