High efficiency proton beam generation through target thickness control in femtosecond laser-plasma interactions

J. S. Green; A. P. L. Robinson; N. Booth; D. C. Carroll; R. J. Dance; R. J. Gray; D. A. MacLellan; P. McKenna; C. D. Murphy; D. Rusby; L. Wilson

doi:10.1063/1.4879641

High efficiency proton beam generation through target thickness control in femtosecond laser-plasma interactions

J. S. Green, A. P. L. Robinson, N. Booth, D. C. Carroll, R. J. Dance, R. J. Gray, D. A. MacLellan, P. McKenna, C. D. Murphy, D. Rusby, L. Wilson

Physics

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Abstract

Bright proton beams with maximum energies of up to 30MeV have been observed in an experiment investigating ion sheath acceleration driven by a short pulse (<50 fs) laser. The scaling of maximum proton energy and total beam energy content at ultra-high intensities of ∼10<sup>21</sup> W cm<sup>-2</sup> was investigated, with the interplay between target thickness and laser pre-pulse found to be a key factor. While the maximum proton energies observed were maximised for lm-thick targets, the total proton energy content was seen to peak for thinner, 500 nm, foils. The total proton beam energy reached up to 440 mJ (a conversion efficiency of 4%), marking a significant step forward for many laser-driven ion applications. The experimental results are supported by hydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations.

Original language	English
Article number	214101
Number of pages	5
Journal	Applied Physics Letters
Volume	104
Issue number	21
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4879641
Publication status	Published - 26 May 2014

Keywords

protons
aluminium
proton beam generation
laser plasma

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10.1063/1.4879641

Green-etal-AIP-APL-2014-High-efficiency-proton-beam-generation-through-thickness-controlFinal published version, 619 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

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title = "High efficiency proton beam generation through target thickness control in femtosecond laser-plasma interactions",

abstract = "Bright proton beams with maximum energies of up to 30MeV have been observed in an experiment investigating ion sheath acceleration driven by a short pulse (<50 fs) laser. The scaling of maximum proton energy and total beam energy content at ultra-high intensities of ∼1021 W cm-2 was investigated, with the interplay between target thickness and laser pre-pulse found to be a key factor. While the maximum proton energies observed were maximised for lm-thick targets, the total proton energy content was seen to peak for thinner, 500 nm, foils. The total proton beam energy reached up to 440 mJ (a conversion efficiency of 4%), marking a significant step forward for many laser-driven ion applications. The experimental results are supported by hydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations.",

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AU - Green, J. S.

AU - Robinson, A. P. L.

AU - Booth, N.

AU - Carroll, D. C.

AU - Dance, R. J.

AU - Gray, R. J.

AU - MacLellan, D. A.

AU - McKenna, P.

AU - Murphy, C. D.

AU - Rusby, D.

AU - Wilson, L.

PY - 2014/5/26

Y1 - 2014/5/26

N2 - Bright proton beams with maximum energies of up to 30MeV have been observed in an experiment investigating ion sheath acceleration driven by a short pulse (<50 fs) laser. The scaling of maximum proton energy and total beam energy content at ultra-high intensities of ∼1021 W cm-2 was investigated, with the interplay between target thickness and laser pre-pulse found to be a key factor. While the maximum proton energies observed were maximised for lm-thick targets, the total proton energy content was seen to peak for thinner, 500 nm, foils. The total proton beam energy reached up to 440 mJ (a conversion efficiency of 4%), marking a significant step forward for many laser-driven ion applications. The experimental results are supported by hydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations.

AB - Bright proton beams with maximum energies of up to 30MeV have been observed in an experiment investigating ion sheath acceleration driven by a short pulse (<50 fs) laser. The scaling of maximum proton energy and total beam energy content at ultra-high intensities of ∼1021 W cm-2 was investigated, with the interplay between target thickness and laser pre-pulse found to be a key factor. While the maximum proton energies observed were maximised for lm-thick targets, the total proton energy content was seen to peak for thinner, 500 nm, foils. The total proton beam energy reached up to 440 mJ (a conversion efficiency of 4%), marking a significant step forward for many laser-driven ion applications. The experimental results are supported by hydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations.

KW - protons

KW - aluminium

KW - proton beam generation

KW - laser plasma

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High efficiency proton beam generation through target thickness control in femtosecond laser-plasma interactions

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