Proton- and x-ray beams generated by ultra-fast CO(2) lasers for medical applications
Recent progress in using picosecond CO{sub 2} lasers for Thomson scattering and ion-acceleration experiments underlines their potentials for enabling secondary radiation- and particle-sources. These experiments capitalize on certain advantages of long-wavelength CO{sub 2} lasers, such as higher number of photons per energy unit, and favorable scaling of the electrons ponderomotive energy and critical plasma density. The high-flux x-ray bursts produced by Thomson scattering of the CO{sub 2} laser off a counter-propagating electron beam enabled high-contrast, time-resolved imaging of biological objects in the picosecond time frame. In different experiments, the laser, focused on a hydrogen jet, generated monoenergetic proton beams via the radiation-pressure mechanism. The strong power-scaling of this regime promises realization of proton beams suitable for laser-driven proton cancer therapy after upgrading the CO{sub 2} laser to sub-PW peak power. This planned improvement includes optimizing the 10-{mu}m ultra-short pulse generation, assuring higher amplification in the CO{sub 2} gas under combined isotopic- and power-broadening effects, and shortening the postamplification pulse to a few laser cycles (150-200 fs) via chirping and compression. These developments will move us closer to practical applications of ultra-fast CO{sub 2} lasers in medicine and other areas.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Accelerator Test Facility
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - OFFICE OF SCIENCE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 1034037
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-96225-2011-JA; PSISDG; TRN: US1200703
- Journal Information:
- Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, Vol. 8079; Conference: SPIE Conference - Optics and Optoelectronics 2011; Prague, Czech Republic; 20110418 through 20110421; ISSN 0277-786X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
AMPLIFICATION
COMPRESSION
ELECTRON BEAMS
ELECTRONS
HYDROGEN
LASERS
MEDICINE
NEOPLASMS
OPTICS
PARTICLE SOURCES
PEAK LOAD
PHOTONS
PLASMA DENSITY
PROTON BEAMS
PROTONS
RADIATION PRESSURE
THERAPY
THOMSON SCATTERING
CO(2) lasers
ion acceleration
Thomson scattering
electron beams
cancer therapy
x-ray imaging
accelerator test facility