Ion source development and radiobiology applications within the LIBRA project

In view of their properties, laser-driven ion beams have the potential to be employed in innovative applications in the scientific, technological and medical areas. Among these, a particularly high-profile application is particle therapy for cancer treatment, which however requires significant improvements from current performances of laser-driven accelerators. The focus of current research in this field is on developing suitable strategies enabling laser-accelerated ions to match these requirements, while exploiting some of the unique features of a laser-driven process. LIBRA is a UK-wide consortium, aiming to address these issues, and develop laser-driven ion sources suitable for applicative purposes, with a particular focus on biomedical applications. We will report on the activities of the consortium aimed to optimizing the properties of the beams, by developing and employing advanced targetry and by exploring novel acceleration regimes enabling production of beams with reduced energy spread. Employing the TARANIS Terawatt laser at Queen's University, we have initiated a campaign investigating the effects of proton irradiation of biological samples at extreme dose rates (> 10⁹ Gy/s).