Reduction of angular divergence of laser-driven ion beams during their acceleration and transport

M. Zakova; Jan Pšikal; Daniele Margarone; Mario Maggiore; G. Korn

doi:10.1117/12.2179118

1 May 2015 Reduction of angular divergence of laser-driven ion beams during their acceleration and transport

M. Zakova, Jan Pšikal, Daniele Margarone, Mario Maggiore, G. Korn

Proceedings Volume 9515, Research Using Extreme Light: Entering New Frontiers with Petawatt-Class Lasers II; 95151F (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2179118
Event: SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics, 2015, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

Laser plasma physics is a field of big interest because of its implications in basic science, fast ignition, medicine (i.e. hadrontherapy), astrophysics, material science, particle acceleration etc. 100-MeV class protons accelerated from the interaction of a short laser pulse with a thin target have been demonstrated. With continuing development of laser technology, greater and greater energies are expected, therefore projects focusing on various applications are being formed, e.g. ELIMAIA (ELI Multidisciplinary Applications of laser-Ion Acceleration). One of the main characteristic and crucial disadvantage of ion beams accelerated by ultra-short intense laser pulses is their large divergence, not suitable for the most of applications. In this paper two ways how to decrease beam divergence are proposed. Firstly, impact of different design of targets on beam divergence is studied by using 2D Particlein-cell simulations (PIC). Namely, various types of targets include at foils, curved foil and foils with diverse microstructures. Obtained results show that well-designed microstructures, i.e. a hole in the center of the target, can produce proton beam with the lowest divergence. Moreover, the particle beam accelerated from a curved foil has lower divergence compared to the beam from a flat foil. Secondly, another proposed method for the divergence reduction is using of a magnetic solenoid. The trajectories of the laser accelerated particles passing through the solenoid are modeled in a simple Matlab program. Results from PIC simulations are used as input in the program. The divergence is controlled by optimizing the magnetic field inside the solenoid and installing an aperture in front of the device.

Citation Download Citation

M. Zakova, Jan Pšikal, Daniele Margarone, Mario Maggiore, and G. Korn "Reduction of angular divergence of laser-driven ion beams during their acceleration and transport", Proc. SPIE 9515, Research Using Extreme Light: Entering New Frontiers with Petawatt-Class Lasers II, 95151F (1 May 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2179118

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available