Study of The Anisotropy of Electron Energy Distribution of Optical-Field Ionized Oxygen Plasma by Using Polarization Spectroscopy

The anisotropy of electron energy distribution in oxygen plasmas produced by a high intensity laser was investigated by using polarization spectroscopy. An ultra-short pulsed laser with a pulse duration of 66.5 fs and a power density of $1 {\times} 10^17/ W/$\textrm{cm}^2$$ was used. At this power density and pulse duration, the plasma was generated predominantly by optical field ionization. The degree of polarization of OVI 1s$^2$2p$^2$p2- 1s$^2$4d$^2$D$^{0}$ (J = 1/2-3/2 and 3/2-5/2) transition line at 129.92 $\AA$ was measured. O VI 1s$^2$2p$^2$P$^2$ -1s$^2$4s$^2$S$^2$ (J = 1/2-1/2 and 3/2-1/2) transition line at 132.26 $\AA$ was used to calibrate the sensitivity of the optical system. The dependencies of the degree of polarization on the initial gas density and on the laser polarization were investigated. When the laser polarization was changed from a linear to a circular polarization, the degree of polarization was decreased. When the initial gas density was increased, the degree of polarization was decreased.