Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities
Wilson, R. and King, M. and Gray, R. J. and Carroll, D. C. and Dance, R. J. and Armstrong, C. and Hawkes, S. J. and Clarke, R. J. and Robertson, D. J. and Neely, D. and Mckenna, P. (2016) Ellipsoidal plasma mirror focusing of high power laser pulses to ultra-high intensities. Physics of Plasmas, 23 (3). 033106. ISSN 1070-664X (https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943200)
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Abstract
The design and development of an ellipsoidal F/1 focusing plasma mirror capable of increasing the peak intensity achievable on petawatt level laser systems to > 10 22 Wcm-2 is presented. A factor of 2.5 reduction in the focal spot size is achieved when compared to F/3 focusing with a conventional (solid state) optic. We find a factor 3.6 enhancement in peak intensity, taking into account changes in plasma mirror reflectivity and focal spot quality. The sensitivity of the focusing plasma optic to misalignment is also investigated. It is demonstrated that an increase in peak laser intensity from 3 x 10 20 Wcm-2 to 10 21 Wcm-3 results in a factor of two increase in the maximum energy of sheath-accelerated protons from a thin foil positioned at the focus of the intense laser light.
ORCID iDs
Wilson, R., King, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3370-6141, Gray, R. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0610-9595, Carroll, D. C., Dance, R. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8252-5342, Armstrong, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2083-8487, Hawkes, S. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6057-7448, Clarke, R. J., Robertson, D. J., Neely, D. and Mckenna, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8061-7091;-
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Item type: Article ID code: 55745 Dates: DateEvent7 March 2016Published22 February 2016AcceptedNotes: Copyright 2016 AIP Publishing. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. The following article has been accepted by Physics of Plasmas. After it is published, it will be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4943200 Subjects: Science > Physics > Optics. Light Department: Faculty of Science > Physics Depositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 03 Mar 2016 12:19 Last modified: 23 Oct 2024 00:23 Related URLs: URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/55745