Growth of deuterium clusters in a gas jet and ion energy spectrum of clusters in ultra-short laser field

Large deuterium clusters are generated using a cryogenic pulse valve with a cone nozzle (21 mm long, 4°open angle). Rayleigh scattering experiment is carried out to obtain the scaling relation between scattering signal S_R and backing pressure P₀. A method using the Coulomb explosion model is proposed to verify that the clusters continue to grow after their leaving the nozzle. Our experiments suggest a tentatively optimized position for laser cluster interaction.