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Dover NP, Ziegler T, Assenbaum S, Bernert C, Bock S, Brack FE, Cowan TE, Ditter EJ, Garten M, Gaus L, Goethel I, Hicks GS, Kiriyama H, Kluge T, Koga JK, Kon A, Kondo K, Kraft S, Kroll F, Lowe HF, Metzkes-Ng J, Miyatake T, Najmudin Z, Püschel T, Rehwald M, Reimold M, Sakaki H, Schlenvoigt HP, Shiokawa K, Umlandt MEP, Schramm U, Zeil K, Nishiuchi M. Enhanced ion acceleration from transparency-driven foils demonstrated at two ultraintense laser facilities. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2023; 12:71. [PMID: 36914618 PMCID: PMC10011581 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01083-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Laser-driven ion sources are a rapidly developing technology producing high energy, high peak current beams. Their suitability for applications, such as compact medical accelerators, motivates development of robust acceleration schemes using widely available repetitive ultraintense femtosecond lasers. These applications not only require high beam energy, but also place demanding requirements on the source stability and controllability. This can be seriously affected by the laser temporal contrast, precluding the replication of ion acceleration performance on independent laser systems with otherwise similar parameters. Here, we present the experimental generation of >60 MeV protons and >30 MeV u-1 carbon ions from sub-micrometre thickness Formvar foils irradiated with laser intensities >1021 Wcm2. Ions are accelerated by an extreme localised space charge field ≳30 TVm-1, over a million times higher than used in conventional accelerators. The field is formed by a rapid expulsion of electrons from the target bulk due to relativistically induced transparency, in which relativistic corrections to the refractive index enables laser transmission through normally opaque plasma. We replicate the mechanism on two different laser facilities and show that the optimum target thickness decreases with improved laser contrast due to reduced pre-expansion. Our demonstration that energetic ions can be accelerated by this mechanism at different contrast levels relaxes laser requirements and indicates interaction parameters for realising application-specific beam delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas P Dover
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Ziegler
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Assenbaum
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Constantin Bernert
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Bock
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Florian-Emanuel Brack
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Thomas E Cowan
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Emma J Ditter
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Marco Garten
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lennart Gaus
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ilja Goethel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - George S Hicks
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Hiromitsu Kiriyama
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Thomas Kluge
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - James K Koga
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Akira Kon
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Kotaro Kondo
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | - Stephan Kraft
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Florian Kroll
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hazel F Lowe
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
| | | | - Tatsuhiko Miyatake
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580, Japan
| | - Zulfikar Najmudin
- The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Püschel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Martin Rehwald
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marvin Reimold
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hironao Sakaki
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580, Japan
| | | | - Keiichiro Shiokawa
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580, Japan
| | - Marvin E P Umlandt
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schramm
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Karl Zeil
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Mamiko Nishiuchi
- Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto, 619-0215, Japan.
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Bernert C, Assenbaum S, Brack FE, Cowan TE, Curry CB, Garten M, Gaus L, Gauthier M, Göde S, Goethel I, Glenzer SH, Kluge T, Kraft S, Kroll F, Kuntzsch M, Metzkes-Ng J, Loeser M, Obst-Huebl L, Rehwald M, Schlenvoigt HP, Schoenwaelder C, Schramm U, Siebold M, Treffert F, Ziegler T, Zeil K. Off-harmonic optical probing of high intensity laser plasma expansion dynamics in solid density hydrogen jets. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7287. [PMID: 35508489 PMCID: PMC9068928 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10797-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the non-linear nature of relativistic laser induced plasma processes, the development of laser-plasma accelerators requires precise numerical modeling. Especially high intensity laser-solid interactions are sensitive to the temporal laser rising edge and the predictive capability of simulations suffers from incomplete information on the plasma state at the onset of the relativistic interaction. Experimental diagnostics utilizing ultra-fast optical backlighters can help to ease this challenge by providing temporally resolved inside into the plasma density evolution. We present the successful implementation of an off-harmonic optical probe laser setup to investigate the interaction of a high-intensity laser at [Formula: see text] peak intensity with a solid-density cylindrical cryogenic hydrogen jet target of [Formula: see text] diameter as a target test bed. The temporal synchronization of pump and probe laser, spectral filtering and spectrally resolved data of the parasitic plasma self-emission are discussed. The probing technique mitigates detector saturation by self-emission and allowed to record a temporal scan of shadowgraphy data revealing details of the target ionization and expansion dynamics that were so far not accessible for the given laser intensity. Plasma expansion speeds of up to [Formula: see text] followed by full target transparency at [Formula: see text] after the high intensity laser peak are observed. A three dimensional particle-in-cell simulation initiated with the diagnosed target pre-expansion at [Formula: see text] and post processed by ray tracing simulations supports the experimental observations and demonstrates the capability of time resolved optical diagnostics to provide quantitative input and feedback to the numerical treatment within the time frame of the relativistic laser-plasma interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantin Bernert
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany.
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Stefan Assenbaum
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Florian-Emanuel Brack
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Thomas E Cowan
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Chandra B Curry
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
- University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Marco Garten
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lennart Gaus
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Maxence Gauthier
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | | | - Ilja Goethel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Kluge
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stephan Kraft
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Florian Kroll
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | - Markus Loeser
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lieselotte Obst-Huebl
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Martin Rehwald
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Christopher Schoenwaelder
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
- Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schramm
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Mathias Siebold
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
| | - Franziska Treffert
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64289, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Tim Ziegler
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Karl Zeil
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328, Dresden, Germany
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