Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities

R. Wilson; M. King; R. J. Gray; D. C. Carroll; R. J. Dance; C. Armstrong; S. J. Hawkes; R. J. Clarke; D. J. Robertson; D. Neely; P. Mckenna

doi:10.1063/1.4943200

Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities

R. Wilson, M. King, R. J. Gray, D. C. Carroll, R. J. Dance, C. Armstrong, S. J. Hawkes, R. J. Clarke, D. J. Robertson, D. Neely, P. Mckenna

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Abstract

The design and development of an ellipsoidal F/1 focusing plasma mirror capable of increasing the peak intensity achievable on petawatt level laser systems to > 10 22 Wcm-2 is presented. A factor of 2.5 reduction in the focal spot size is achieved when compared to F/3 focusing with a conventional (solid state) optic. We find a factor 3.6 enhancement in peak intensity, taking into account changes in plasma mirror reflectivity and focal spot quality. The sensitivity of the focusing plasma optic to misalignment is also investigated. It is demonstrated that an increase in peak laser intensity from 3 x 10 20 Wcm-2 to 10 21 Wcm-3 results in a factor of two increase in the maximum energy of sheath-accelerated protons from a thin foil positioned at the focus of the intense laser light.

Original language	English
Article number	033106
Number of pages	8
Journal	Physics of Plasmas
Volume	23
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943200
Publication status	Published - 7 Mar 2016

Keywords

ellipsoidal focusing plasma mirror
focal spot
plasma mirror

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10.1063/1.4943200

Wilson-etal-POP-2016-Ellipsoidal-plasma-mirror-focusing-of-high-power-laser-pulsesAccepted author manuscript, 1.2 MB

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title = "Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities",

abstract = "The design and development of an ellipsoidal F/1 focusing plasma mirror capable of increasing the peak intensity achievable on petawatt level laser systems to > 10 22 Wcm-2 is presented. A factor of 2.5 reduction in the focal spot size is achieved when compared to F/3 focusing with a conventional (solid state) optic. We find a factor 3.6 enhancement in peak intensity, taking into account changes in plasma mirror reflectivity and focal spot quality. The sensitivity of the focusing plasma optic to misalignment is also investigated. It is demonstrated that an increase in peak laser intensity from 3 x 10 20 Wcm-2 to 10 21 Wcm-3 results in a factor of two increase in the maximum energy of sheath-accelerated protons from a thin foil positioned at the focus of the intense laser light.",

keywords = "ellipsoidal focusing plasma mirror, focal spot, plasma mirror",

author = "R. Wilson and M. King and Gray, {R. J.} and Carroll, {D. C.} and Dance, {R. J.} and C. Armstrong and Hawkes, {S. J.} and Clarke, {R. J.} and Robertson, {D. J.} and D. Neely and P. Mckenna",

note = "Copyright 2016 AIP Publishing. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. The following article has been accepted by Physics of Plasmas. After it is published, it will be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4943200",

year = "2016",

month = mar,

day = "7",

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language = "English",

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T1 - Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities

AU - Wilson, R.

AU - King, M.

AU - Gray, R. J.

AU - Carroll, D. C.

AU - Dance, R. J.

AU - Armstrong, C.

AU - Hawkes, S. J.

AU - Clarke, R. J.

AU - Robertson, D. J.

AU - Neely, D.

AU - Mckenna, P.

N1 - Copyright 2016 AIP Publishing. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. The following article has been accepted by Physics of Plasmas. After it is published, it will be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4943200

PY - 2016/3/7

Y1 - 2016/3/7

N2 - The design and development of an ellipsoidal F/1 focusing plasma mirror capable of increasing the peak intensity achievable on petawatt level laser systems to > 10 22 Wcm-2 is presented. A factor of 2.5 reduction in the focal spot size is achieved when compared to F/3 focusing with a conventional (solid state) optic. We find a factor 3.6 enhancement in peak intensity, taking into account changes in plasma mirror reflectivity and focal spot quality. The sensitivity of the focusing plasma optic to misalignment is also investigated. It is demonstrated that an increase in peak laser intensity from 3 x 10 20 Wcm-2 to 10 21 Wcm-3 results in a factor of two increase in the maximum energy of sheath-accelerated protons from a thin foil positioned at the focus of the intense laser light.

AB - The design and development of an ellipsoidal F/1 focusing plasma mirror capable of increasing the peak intensity achievable on petawatt level laser systems to > 10 22 Wcm-2 is presented. A factor of 2.5 reduction in the focal spot size is achieved when compared to F/3 focusing with a conventional (solid state) optic. We find a factor 3.6 enhancement in peak intensity, taking into account changes in plasma mirror reflectivity and focal spot quality. The sensitivity of the focusing plasma optic to misalignment is also investigated. It is demonstrated that an increase in peak laser intensity from 3 x 10 20 Wcm-2 to 10 21 Wcm-3 results in a factor of two increase in the maximum energy of sheath-accelerated protons from a thin foil positioned at the focus of the intense laser light.

KW - ellipsoidal focusing plasma mirror

KW - focal spot

KW - plasma mirror

UR - http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/pop

U2 - 10.1063/1.4943200

DO - 10.1063/1.4943200

M3 - Article

SN - 1070-664X

VL - 23

JO - Physics of Plasmas

JF - Physics of Plasmas

IS - 3

M1 - 033106

ER -

Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities

Abstract

Keywords

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