Direct observation of prompt pre-thermal laser ion sheath acceleration.

ABSTRACT: High-intensity laser plasma-based ion accelerators provide unsurpassed field gradients in the megavolt-per-micrometer range. They represent promising candidates for next-generation applications such as ion beam cancer therapy in compact facilities. The weak scaling of maximum ion energies with the square-root of the laser intensity, established for large sub-picosecond class laser systems, motivates the search for more efficient acceleration processes. Here we demonstrate that for ultrashort (pulse duration ~30 fs) highly relativistic (intensity ~10(21) W cm(-2)) laser pulses, the intra-pulse phase of the proton acceleration process becomes relevant, yielding maximum energies of around 20 MeV. Prominent non-target-normal emission of energetic protons, reflecting an engineered asymmetry in

SUBMITTER: Zeil K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3621399 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature