Ionic and atomic characterization of laser-generated plasmas at 5 × 109 W/cm2 pulse intensity

► A non-equilibrium plasma was produced by ablating several different targets (silicon, titanium, copper and germanium) at 5 × 109 W/cm2 laser pulse intensity. ► The ion emission from the plasma was monitored through time-of-flight (TOF) measurements, performed by using an ion collector (IC) placed along the normal to the target surface. ► A classical mass quadrupole spectrometer (MQS) was employed to detect ion charge states and plasma neutrals at various detection angles. ► The plasma fractional ionization, the ions and neutrals angular distribution and the ablation yield, as estimated through a MQS calibration process, were also evaluated.