Ion Acceleration: TNSA and Beyond

Abstract

This paper reviews experimental progress in laser-driven ion acceleration as well as discussing some of the current and foreseen applications employing laser-accelerated beams of ions. While sheath acceleration processes initiated by high-intensity irradiation of solid foils (the so-called target Normal Sheath Acceleration, TNSA) have now been studied for more than two decades, novel processes which can accelerate ions from the bulk of the irradiated target have emerged more recently. We will summarize the basic physics behind all these mechanisms, as well as briefly reporting current experimental evidence.

High-repetition-rate source of nanosecond duration kA-current pulses driven by relativistic laser pulses

“…7 (c) the proton cut-off energy in the spectrometer appears to be lower for tape Al-e-K than for aluminium tape. A tilt of the tape Al-e-K could have caused the proton cone to be not perfectly aligned towards the detector, resulting in a drop of detected maximum energy (as highest energies have smallest divergence in the TNSA scheme [9] ). Such tilt are readily explained by tensions in the multi-layer structure.…”

“…The continuous technical and scientific improvement of lasers [1,2] has led to stable short-pulse PW-class high repetition rate Ti:Sa systems [3,4] . If these lasers are tightly focused onto matter, the relativistic interaction yields forwardacceleration of electrons [5] that in turn can trigger pulsed bright ion beams by well known mechanisms such as Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) [6,7] , Radiation Pressure Acceleration (RPA) [8] and others [9] beneficial to isotope production [10] , positron emission tomography [11] , ion beam microscopy [12] , Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) [13] as well as inertial confinement fusion [14] . The mechanisms rely on the build up of large accelerating potentials which are also the source of ultra-strong electromagnetic pulses [15] .…”

Stability and debris-mitigation of a solid tape target delivery system for intense laser-matter interactions towards high-repetition-rate

“…Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. ion beams are generated from solid-density targets by well known mechanisms such as target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA), radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) and others [12]. Many applications in Science and Technology benefit from laser-driven ion beams such as isotope production [13], positron emission tomography [14], ion beam microscopy [15], particle-induced x-ray emission [16] as well as inertial confinement fusion [17].…”

Influence of the Experimental Setup on Electromagnetic Pulses in the VHF Band at Relativistic High-Power Laser Facilities

“…Advances in laser technology have led to the emergence of high-power Ti:Sa laser systems [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] that are able to deliver laser pulses up to several PW at a high-repetition rate of 0.05 Hz to 1 Hz. In principle, these systems allow for the generation of secondary sources that exist in a wide range, from ionizing radiation [10][11][12][13] to XUV-and THzpulses [14][15][16][17], as well as current pulses [18] when they are focused to relativistic intensities. Recent developments toward high-repetition-rate ion sources [19,20] have aimed at the generation of pulsed, bright ion beams by well-known mechanisms such as Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) [21,22], Radiation Pressure Acceleration [23], etc.…”

“…Recent developments toward high-repetition-rate ion sources [19,20] have aimed at the generation of pulsed, bright ion beams by well-known mechanisms such as Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) [21,22], Radiation Pressure Acceleration [23], etc. [11], which are beneficial to isotope production [24,25], positron emission tomography [26], ion beam microscopy [27], particle-induced X-ray emission [28], as well as inertial confinement fusion [29]. The mechanisms rely on the build up of large accelerating potentials, which are the consequence of electron dynamics that are also the source of ultra-strong electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) [30].…”