Monoenergetic and GeV ion acceleration from the laser breakout afterburner using ultrathin targets

Journal Article · Tue May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2436857· OSTI ID:20975085

Yin, L; Albright, B J; Hegelich, B M; Bowers, K J; Flippo, K A; Kwan, T J. T.; Fernandez, J C ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

A new laser-driven ion acceleration mechanism using ultrathin targets has been identified from particle-in-cell simulations. After a brief period of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) [S. P. Hatchett et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 2076 (2000)], two distinct stages follow: first, a period of enhanced TNSA during which the cold electron background converts entirely to hot electrons, and second, the ''laser breakout afterburner'' (BOA) when the laser penetrates to the rear of the target where a localized longitudinal electric field is generated with the location of the peak field co-moving with the ions. During this process, a relativistic electron beam is produced by the ponderomotive drive of the laser. This beam is unstable to a relativistic Buneman instability, which rapidly converts the electron energy into ion energy. This mechanism accelerates ions to much higher energies using laser intensities comparable to earlier TNSA experiments. At a laser intensity of 10{sup 21} W/cm{sup 2}, the carbon ions accelerate as a quasimonoenergetic bunch to 100 s of MeV in the early stages of the BOA with conversion efficiency of order a few percent. Both are an order of magnitude higher than those realized from TNSA in recent experiments [Hegelich et al., Nature 441, 439 (2006)]. The laser-plasma interaction then evolves to produce a quasithermal energy distribution with maximum energy of {approx}2 GeV.

• OSTI ID: 20975085
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 14; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ACCELERATION
AFTERBURNERS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON BEAMS
ELECTRONS
GEV RANGE
LASERS
PONDEROMOTIVE FORCE
RELATIVISTIC RANGE