Multiple pulse sheath acceleration : an optical approach to spectral control

Robinson, A.P.L. and Neely, D. and McKenna, P. and Evans, R.G.; (2007) Multiple pulse sheath acceleration : an optical approach to spectral control. In: 34th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics 2007, EPS 2007 - Europhysics Conference Abstracts. European Physical Society (EPS), POL. ISBN 9788392629009

[thumbnail of Robinson-etal-CPP-2007-Multiple-pulse-sheath-acceleration-an-optical-approach-to-spectral-control]
Preview
Text. Filename: Robinson_etal_CPP_2007_Multiple_pulse_sheath_acceleration_an_optical_approach_to_spectral_control.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 logo

Download (211kB)| Preview

Abstract

Recent experimental results have shown that it is possible to produce laser-accelerated proton and ion beams with distinct quasi-monoenergetic features in the energy spectrum [1, 2]. As short-pulse ultraintense laser intensities exceed 1021Wcm−2, it may be possible to produce quasi-monoenergetic proton bunches with energies in the range of 100-200 MeV. This opens up the prospect of a new route to developing medical ion accelerators for oncology. In this paper we will briefly report on some of our recent work [3]. This showed that it is theoretically possible to produce laser-accelerated proton/ion beams with distinct spectral peaks by irradiating a solid target with two laser pulses that arrive in rapid succession. No special target composition or structure is required, unlike the other schemes that have been proposed [1, 2]. This may be advantageous for certain applications.