Large-area suspended graphene as a laser target to produce an energetic ion beam

Abstract

Proton radiography is a key diagnostics to measure and image the electric/magnetic field in laser-produced plasmas. A thin solid target is irradiated with an intense laser pulse to produce a proton beam. The accelerated proton can achieve higher energy with thinner target. In order to produce an extremely thin target, we have developed a large-area suspended graphene as a laser target for energetic ion sources. We describe the manufacturing process of the suspended graphene, and show the results of quality evaluations.

Graphene under extreme electromagnetic field: energetic ion acceleration by direct irradiation of ultra intense laser on few layer suspended graphene

“…We place the convex and concave side to the laser and detector, respectively, for the better beam collimation. Note that the ideal LSG is 0.34 nm, while the obtained transferring graphene is close to 1 nm due to molecular adsorption on the surface [22]. By transferring graphene layer by layer, we control the target thickness at 1 nm accuracy [22].…”

“…Here we show another direct solution using graphene as the thinnest and strongest target ever made. We develop a facile transfer method to fabricate large-area suspended graphene (LSG) as target for laser ion acceleration with precision down to a single atomic layer [22]. Direct irradiation of the LSG targets with an ultra intense laser generates energetic carbons and protons evidently showing the durability of graphene without plasma mirror.…”

Review of HPLSE special issue on target fabrication

“…Submissions for the special issue covered the invited topics and also branched out into broader areas and capabilities. Papers described research on: techniques for the production of targets for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) [1–8] , micro-assembly [3, 8, 9] , liquid targets [10] , systems for delivery of targets at high repetition rates [5, 11, 12] , fundamental target fabrication processes [2, 4, 13–16] , low density materials [15, 17, 18] and metrology methods [7, 18, 19] . In addition, there were three important review papers [1, 5, 12] that give an excellent snapshot of the current capabilities across the world.…”

“…A large number of papers cover fundamental techniques in target manufacture including fill-tube design [2] , ultra-thin foils of plastic [13] , graphene [16] and microstructures on silicon for ion sources [14] . Other research published includes beryllium-based ablator materials [4] , low density aerogels, foams, and assemblies (using low density materials) for radiation transport experiments [15] .…”

“…Special issue content Development of target fabrication for laser-driven inertial confinement fusion at research center of laser fusion [1] Permeation fill-tube design for inertial confinement fusion target capsules [2] Fluid sample injectors for X-ray free electron laser at SACLA [10] Efficient offline production of freestanding thin plastic foils for laser-driven ion sources [13] A new spatial angle assembly method of the ICF target [3] An investigation progress toward Be-based ablator materials for the inertial confinement fusion [4] Review on high repetition rate and mass production of the cryogenic targets for laser IFE [5] An automated, 0.5 Hz nano-foil target positioning system for intense laser plasma experiments [11] Laser-induced microstructures on silicon for laser-driven acceleration experiments [14] Developing targets for radiation transport experiments at the Omega laser facility [15] Targets for high repetition rate laser facilities: needs, challenges and perspectives [12] Large-area suspended graphene as a laser target to produce an energetic ion beam [16] Importance of limiting hohlraum leaks at cryogenic temperatures on NIF targets [6] Surface characterization of ICF capsule by AFM-based profilometer [7] Design and fabrication of gas cell targets for laboratory astrophysics experiments on the Orion high-power laser facility [9] REACH compliant epoxides used in the synthesis of Fe(III)-based aerogel monoliths for target fabrication [17] Assembly and metrology of NIF target subassemblies using robotic systems [8] Modeling the mechanical properties of ultra-thin polymer films [19] X-ray computed tomography of adhesive wicking into carbon foam [18] …”