Recent advances on laser technology have enabled the generation of ultrashort (fs) high power (PW) laser systems. For such large scale laser facilities there is an imperative demand for high repetition rate operation in symbiosis with beamlines or end-stations. In such extreme conditions the generation of electromagnetic pulses (EMP) during high intense laser target interaction experiments can tip the scale for the good outcome of the campaign. The EMP effects are several including interference with diagnostic devices and actuators as well as damage of electrical components. The EMP issue is quite known in the picosecond (ps) pulse laser experiments but no systematic study on EMP issues at multi-Joule fs-class lasers has been conducted thus far. In this paper we report the first experimental campaign for EMP-measurements performed at the 200 TW laser system (VEGA 2) at CLPU laser center. EMP pulse energy has been measured as a function of the laser intensity and energy together with other relevant quantities such as (i) the charge of the laser-driven protons and their maximum energy, as well as (ii) the X-ray Kα emission coming from electron interaction inside the target. Analysis of experimental results demonstrate (and confirm) a direct correlation between the measured EMP pulse energy and the laser parameters such as laser intensity and laser energy in the ultrashort pulse duration regime. Numerical FEM (Finite Element Method) simulations of the EMP generated by the target holder system have been performed and the simulations results are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental ones.

During high intense laser target interaction a strong electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is generated which can potentially disturb the well performing of the experiment. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) due to the EMP not only affects devices present in the vacuum chamber but also in the target area where it may compromise the performance or operation of electronics and device controllers.In this work we report the measurements of EMP inside the laser target area at Centro de Laseres Pulsados (CLPU) during high intense laser-target interaction experiments. The experimental results show how the amplitude and spectrum of the EMP in the target area is different from the one inside the target chamber (TC). At last Finite element method (FEM) simulation results are shown and compared with experimental results.