A high performance, fully controlled picosecond
laser system has been designed and built with the aid of
a numerical code capable of simulating the temporal behavior
of the laser system, including each active and passive
component. The laser performance was characterized with
an optical streak camera, equivalent plane monitor, and
calorimeter measurements. The laser pulse was focused on
150-nm thick foils to investigate plasma formation and
the related transmittivity of the laser light. The experimental
data are in very good agreement with the predictions of
a simple, 2D analytical model that takes into account the
actual shot-to-shot features of the laser pulse. The temporal
profile of the pulse and the intensity distribution in
the focal spot were found to play a key role in determining
the transmission properties of the laser-irradiated foil.
This work may be relevant to a wide class of laser exploded
foil plasma experiments