Abstract

The interest towards plasma generated by high-power femtosecond laser pulses on a solid target surface (femtosecond near-surface high-temperature plasma - FNHP), is related with its unique properties (including high optical nonlinearity) as well as with the possibility of high-power x-ray generation. In this paper we consider the conditions of surface electromagnetic waves (SEW) excitation in FNHP. There are several reasons for this research: i) It is rather promising to use resonance SEW excitation in order to modify FNHP parameters: to increase plasma absorption, x-ray yield and harmonic generation efficiency. Up to now it is well known that the resonance SEW excitation on a metal surface can cause a decrease in the specular reflectivity and a large increase in the surface effective optical nonlinearity; ii) Little is known about plasma waves in FNHP. The study of SEW can provide information about collective excitations in FNHP in general. iii) SEW are known to be a sensitive tool for investigation of surface characteristics.

© 1996 Optical Society of America