Near-100 MeV protons via a laser-driven transparency-enhanced hybrid acceleration scheme
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The range of potential applications of compact laser-plasma ion sources motivates the development of new acceleration schemes to increase achievable ion energies and conversion efficiencies. Whilst the evolving nature of laser-plasma interactions can limit the effectiveness of individual acceleration mechanisms, it can also enable the development of hybrid schemes, allowing additional degrees of control on the properties of the resulting ion beam. Here we report on an experimental demonstration of efficient proton acceleration to energies exceeding 94 MeV via a hybrid scheme of radiation pressure-sheath acceleration in an ultrathin foil irradiated by a linearly polarised laser pulse. This occurs via a double-peaked electrostatic field structure, which, at an optimum foil thickness, is significantly enhanced by relativistic transparency and an associated jet of super-thermal electrons. The range of parameters over which this hybrid scenario occurs is discussed and implications for ion acceleration driven by next-generation, multi-petawatt laser facilities are explored.
Date Issued
2018-02-20
Date Acceptance
2018-01-17
Citation
Nature Communications, 2018, 9 (1)
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Research
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
9
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2018 The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you giveappropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the CreativeCommons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third partymaterial in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unlessindicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in thearticle’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutoryregulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly fromthe copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29463872
PII: 10.1038/s41467-018-03063-9
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
ARTN 724