Experimental study of proton emission from 60-fs, 200-mJ high-repetition-rate tabletop-laser pulses interacting with solid targets

Spencer, I.; Ledingham, K. W. D.; McKenna, P.; McCanny, T.; Singhal, R.P.; Foster, P.; Neely, D.; Langley, A. J.; Divall, E. J.; Hooker, C. J.; Clarke, R.J.; Norreys, P.; Clark, Ε. L.; Krushelnick, K.; Davies, J. R.

doi:10.1103/physreve.67.046402

Cited by 91 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…As a result, Al target foils with thickness greater than a few microns are usually employed to ensure that the ASE-pedestal does not induce an expansion of the target rear surface (Roth et al 2002). Using laser pulses with contrast of approximately 10 6 , for example, Spencer and co-workers (McKenna et al 2002;Spencer et al 2003) observed the highest proton energies from Al target foils of thicknesses of approximately 12 mm, with a sharp cut-off with thinner foils. With pulses of contrast better than 2!10 7 , Kaluza et al (2004) have shown that the optimum target thickness for proton acceleration decreases with the duration of the ASE-pedestal-with a minimum pedestal duration of 0.5 ns an optimum Al thickness of 2 mm was observed to produce protons with energies up to w3.5 MeV.…”

Section: Effects Of Laser Pulse Contrast On Ion Accelerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

McKenna

Lindau²,

Lundh³

et al. 2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Proton acceleration from the interaction of ultra-short laser pulses with thin foil targets at intensities greater than 10 18 W cm −2 is discussed. An overview of the physical processes giving rise to the generation of protons with multi-MeV energies, in well defined beams with excellent spatial quality, is presented. Specifically, the discussion centres on the influence of laser pulse contrast on the spatial and energy distributions of accelerated proton beams. Results from an ongoing experimental investigation of proton acceleration using the 10 Hz multi-terawatt Ti : sapphire laser (35 fs, 35 TW) at the Lund Laser Centre are discussed. It is demonstrated that a window of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) conditions exist, for which the direction of proton emission is sensitive to the ASE-pedestal preceding the peak of the laser pulse, and that by significantly improving the temporal contrast, using plasma mirrors, efficient proton acceleration is observed from target foils with thickness less than 50 nm.

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Section: Effects Of Laser Pulse Contrast On Ion Accelerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

McKenna

Lindau²,

Lundh³

et al. 2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…Previous investigations using medium contrast Ti: sapphire laser systems, 4,10 have demonstrated a gradual increase in maximum proton energy observed E max as the target thickness was decreased. For example, Kaluza et al with a laser contrast of 10 7 demonstrate an increase in proton energy with decreasing target thickness down to 2 m. The increase was attributed to reduced transverse spreading of the hot electrons inside the target.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced proton beams from ultrathin targets driven by high contrast laser pulses

Neely

Foster

Robinson

et al. 2006

Applied Physics Letters

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231

154

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The generation of proton beams from ultrathin targets, down to 20 nm in thickness, driven with ultrahigh contrast laser pulses is explored. the conversion efficiency from laser energy into protons increases as the foil thickness is decreased, with good beam quality and high efficiencies of 1% being achieved, for protons with kinetic energy exceeding 0.9 MeV, for 100 nm thick aluminum foils at intensities of 10(19) W/cm(2) with 33 fs, 0.3 J pulses. To minimize amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) induced effects disrupting the acceleration mechanism, exceptional laser to ASE intensity contrasts of up to 1010 are achieved by introducing a plasma mirror to the high contrast 10 Hz multiterawatt laser at the Lund Laser Centre. It is shown that for a given laser energy on target, regimes of higher laser-to-proton energy conversion efficiency. can be accessed with increasing contrast. The increasing efficiency as the target thickness decreases is closely correlated to an increasing proton temperature. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics

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“…In the case of metal targets, Fuchs et al 34,35 have shown that in the intensity range of 10 18 -10 20 W / cm 2 , protons accelerated from the rear side of targets are dominant, which is well described by the isothermal plasma expansion model, 36 or target normal sheath acceleration ͑TNSA͒ model. Lee et al 37 have proposed a bulk acceleration model, or acceleration by a resistively induced electric field ͑ARIE͒ to account for more intense proton beams from plastic targets than those from metal targets [37][38][39] with a laser intensity lower than 10 19 W / cm 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different effects of a laser prepulse on the proton generation between plastic and metal targets irradiated by an ultraintense laser pulse

Lee

Cha

et al. 2009

Physics of Plasmas

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The effect of a laser prepulse on the generation of proton beams is compared between plastic and metal targets by irradiating a 30fs, 2.4×1018W∕cm2 Ti:sapphire laser pulse. Proton energies generated from both target materials increase as the pulse duration of the laser prepulse decreases. However, it was found that there are distinct differences with respect to target materials. In the case of aluminum targets, as target thickness decreases, proton energy gets higher, which is well described by an isothermal expansion model. However, in the case of Mylar® targets, no such dependence on target thickness could be observed, and the highest maximum proton energies are higher by factors of 1.5 to 3 than those from aluminum targets or those predicted by the isothermal expansion model. Such characteristics of the proton beams from Mylar® targets can be accounted for by a bulk acceleration model, or acceleration by a resistively induced electric field.

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Experimental study of proton emission from 60-fs, 200-mJ high-repetition-rate tabletop-laser pulses interacting with solid targets

Cited by 91 publications

References 29 publications

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration: influence of pulse contrast

Enhanced proton beams from ultrathin targets driven by high contrast laser pulses

Different effects of a laser prepulse on the proton generation between plastic and metal targets irradiated by an ultraintense laser pulse

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