Table-top laser-based proton acceleration in nanostructured targets

Abstract

The interaction of ultrashort, high intensity laser pulses with thin foil targets leads to ion acceleration on the target rear surface. To make this ion source useful for applications, it is important to optimize the transfer of energy from the laser into the accelerated ions. One of the most promising ways to achieve this consists in engineering the target front by introducing periodic nanostructures. In this paper, the effect of these structures on ion acceleration is studied analytically and with multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We assessed the role of the structure shape, size, and the angle of laser incidence for obtaining the efficient energy transfer. Local control of electron trajectories is exploited to maximise the energy delivered into the target. Based on our numerical simulations, we propose a precise range of parameters for fabrication of nanostructured targets, which can increase the energy of the accelerated ions without requiring a higher laser intensity.

15 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Ion acceleration by superintense laser-plasma interaction
• Evidence of resonant surface wave excitation in the relativistic regime through measurements of proton acceleration from grating targets
• Laser ion acceleration using a solid target coupled with a low density layer
• Electron acceleration by relativistic surface plasmons in laser-grating interaction
• Enhanced Proton Acceleration by an Ultrashort Laser Interaction with Structured Dynamic Plasma Targets
• 5.5-7.5 MeV Proton generation by a moderate intensity ultra-short laser interaction with H2O nano-wire targets

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Surface plasmons in superintense laser-solid interactions
• Multidimensional effects on proton acceleration using high-power intense laser pulses
• Light Ion Accelerating Line (L3IA): Test Experiment at ILIL-PW
• Energy partitioning and electron momentum distributions in intense laser-solid interactions
• Prospects for laser-driven ion acceleration through controlled displacement of electrons by standing waves
• Observation of enhanced absorption of laser radiation by nano structured targets in PIC simulations
• Piecewise acceleration of electrons across a periodic solid-state structure irradiated by intense laser pulse
• Intensity and Dimensionality-Dependent Dynamics of Laser-Proton Acceleration in 1D, 2D, and 3D Particle-in-Cell Simulations
• Effects of simulation dimensionality on laser-driven electron acceleration and photon emission in hollow micro-channel targets
• Superintense Laser-driven Ion Beam Analysis
• Enhancement of laser-driven ion acceleration in non-periodic nanostructured targets