Generating monoenergetic heavy-ion bunches with laser-induced electrostatic shocks

A method for efficient laser acceleration of heavy ions by electrostatic shock is investigated using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation and analytical modeling. When a small number of heavy ions are mixed with light ions, the heavy ions can be accelerated to the same velocity as the light ions so that they gain much higher energy because of their large mass. Accordingly, a sandwich target design with a thin compound ion layer between two light-ion layers and a micro-structured target design are proposed for obtaining monoenergetic heavy-ion beams.     

400 Kev heavy ion implanter

An experimental 400 Kev heavy ion implanter has been constructed and put into operation in the Department of Physics, the Peking Normal University. The equipment works on a system of acceleration, analysis, scan, and acceleration (or deceleration). It is composed of the radiofrequency heavy ion source, the front accelerating system, the double focusing symmetrical magnet, the deflexion scanning system, the post-accelerating tube, and the target chamber. The deflecting angle of the magnet is 90°. At present, more than twenty different species of ion beam, such as B, P, As, Al, Mg, Zn, Hg, etc. have been extracted. The extracted ions are used in research work on semiconductors, metals, and superconductive materials. The beam current on the target ranges between 10 μA and 200 μA, and the doping uniformity is ±1.4%.     

Dominance of radiation pressure in ion acceleration with linearly polarized pulses at intensities of 10(21) W cm(-2)

A novel regime is proposed where, by employing linearly polarized laser pulses at intensities 10(21) W cm(-2) (2 orders of magnitude lower than discussed in previous work [T. Esirkepov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 175003 (2004)]), ions are dominantly accelerated from ultrathin foils by the radiation pressure and have monoenergetic spectra. In this regime, ions accelerated from the hole-boring process quickly catch up with the ions accelerated by target normal sheath acceleration, and they then join in a single bunch, undergoing a hybrid light-sail-target normal sheath acceleration. Under an appropriate coupling condition between foil thickness, laser intensity, and pulse duration, laser radiation pressure can be dominant in this hybrid acceleration. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that 1.26 GeV quasimonoenergetic C(6+) beams are obtained by linearly polarized laser pulses at intensities of 10(21) W cm(-2).     

Laser acceleration of light ions from high-intensity laser-target interactions

A systematic theoretical study of laser-irradiated targets made of material with increasing atomic number has been performed. The formation of energetic light ions resulting from the interaction of an intense ultrashort pulse laser with thin planar targets is investigated theoretically with a two-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic particle-in-cell model. A common parameter, the areal electron density of the foil, can be used to describe qualitatively targets made of different material. By varying either the laser intensity or the target thickness we observe a gradual transition of various ion acceleration mechanisms from one into another. Light ions, such as H⁺, Li³⁺, C⁶⁺, and Al¹³⁺, can be accelerated to GeV energies with existing laser systems at a laser fluence of 10–20 J/μm².     

Ion acceleration in a solitary wave by an intense picosecond laser pulse

Acceleration of ions in a solitary wave produced by shock-wave decay in a plasma slab irradiated by an intense picosecond laser pulse is studied via particle-in-cell simulation. Instead of exponential distribution as in known mechanisms of ion acceleration from the target surface, these ions accelerated forwardly form a bunch with relatively low energy spread. The bunch is shown to be a solitary wave moving over expanding plasma; its velocity can exceed the maximal velocity of ions accelerated forward from the rear side of the target.     

Effects of density profile and multi-species target on laser-heated thermal-pressure-driven shock wave acceleration

The shock wave acceleration of ions driven by laser-heated thermal pressure is studied through one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation and analysis. The generation of high-energy mono-energetic protons in recent experiments （D. Haberberger et al., 2012 Nat. Phys. 8 95） is attributed to the use of exponentially decaying density profile of the plasma target. It does not only keep the shock velocity stable but also suppresses the normal target normal sheath acceleration. The effects of target composition are also examined, where a similar collective velocity of all ion species is demonstrated. The results also give some reference to future experiments of producing energetic heavy ions.     

Comparison of ion acceleration from ultra-short intense laser interactions with thin foil and small dense target

The comparative efficiency and beam characteristics of high-energy ions generated from the interaction of a petawatt laser pulse with thin foil target and a small solid-density plasma bunch target have been studied by particle-in-cell simulation under identical conditions. It is shown that thin foil and small solid dense target of micrometer size can be efficiently accelerated when irradiated by a laser pulse of intensity >10²¹?W/cm². Using direct beam measurements, we find that small solid dense target acceleration produces higher energy particles with smaller divergence and a higher efficiency compared to thin foil target acceleration. The merits of small solid target acceleration can be exploited for potential applications such as its role as ignitor for fast ignition in inertial confinement fusion.     

High-intensity laser induced ion acceleration from heavy-water droplets

Fusion neutrons from a heavy water droplet target irradiated with laser pulses of 3 x 10(19) W/cm(2) and from a deuterated secondary target are observed by a time-of-flight (TOF) neutron spectrometer. The observed TOF spectrum can be explained by fusion of deuterium ions simultaneously originating from two different sources: ion acceleration in the laser focus by ponderomotively induced charge separation and target-normal sheath acceleration off the target rear surface. The experimental findings agree well with 3D particle-in-cell simulations.     

Coulomb acceleration of light ions from homogeneous and layered targets

As applied to the problem of laser-induced ion acceleration, we have developed a theory for the expansion of a completely ionized thin two-ion-species target in the regime of a Coulomb explosion typical of the interaction of relativistically intense femtosecond laser pulses with nanofoils. Based on this theory and a simple numerical model, we have studied the generation of bunches of quasi-monoenergetic light ions and found their characteristics as a function of target parameters. We have performed a comparative analysis of the acceleration of light ions uniformly distributed in the target and concentrated in the form of a thin layer. For the production of high-quality accelerated ion beams, we have found optimal conditions that were qualitatively confirmed by our three-dimensional kinetic simulations of the laser pulse-thin target interaction.     

Proton and light-ion acceleration to relativistic GeV energies by the superstrong laser radiation interacting with a structured plasma target

A new scheme is proposed for proton and light-ion acceleration to relativistic energies by superstrong laser radiation interacting with a structured plasma target. The proposal consists in the use of two-component targets consisting of heavy and light ions, where an ambipolar field is formed under the action of the ponderomotive force of incident radiation, and, in contrast to the traditional schemes, acceleration starts from the front boundary of the layer. It is shown that, for the optimized target parameters, monoenergetic GeV ion beams can be produced for radiation pulse intensities on the order of 10²¹−10²² W/cm².     

Hybrid model of ion acceleration in laser plasma of flat heterogeneous target

We have constructed a two-phase analytical model of acceleration of ions in a two-layer laser target. The first phase of acceleration is isothermic and covers the action time of the laser pulse, while the second phase is adiabatic and occurs after the end of the laser pulse. The maximal ion energy is obtained as a function of parameters of the laser pulse and target. We compare analytical results with PIC calculations and show that the theory is adequate.     

Particle-in-cell simulation for experimental ion acceleration by fs laser-generated plasma

ABSTRACT

Particle in cell simulation was applied to fit the measurements of protons and ions acceleration obtained using an fs laser pulse irradiating a thin foil in target-normal-sheath-acceleration regime. The simulation code calculates the maximum electrical field generated in the rear side of the target driving the forward ions acceleration. The electron density versus time and space, and the plasma temperatures are evaluated using a medium contrast laser at an intensity of about 10¹⁹?Wcm^?2. Proton acceleration above 10?MeV was experimentally measured using SiC detectors connected in time-of-flight configuration. A comparison between theoretical aspects and experimental data is reported and discussed.     

Finite spot effects on radiation pressure acceleration from intense high-contrast laser interactions with thin targets

Short pulse laser interactions at intensities of 2×10(21) W cm(-2) with ultrahigh contrast (10(-15)) on submicrometer silicon nitride foils were studied experimentally by using linear and circular polarizations at normal incidence. It was observed that, as the target decreases in thickness, electron heating by the laser begins to occur for circular polarization leading to target normal sheath acceleration of contaminant ions, while at thicker targets no acceleration or electron heating is observed. For linear polarization, all targets showed exponential energy spreads with similar electron temperatures. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the heating is due to the rapid deformation of the target that occurs early in the interaction. These experiments demonstrate that finite spot size effects can severely restrict the regime suitable for radiation pressure acceleration.     

Collective acceleration of xenon ions in a plasma-anode vircator

The collective acceleration of xenon ions in a plasma-anode vircator is studied. It is shown that the energy of accelerated ions may reach 900 MeV. The image of a bremsstrahlung source on the target suggests effective transport of relativistic electrons in the drift channel.     

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采用PIC/MCC模型,通过数值模拟的方法研究了束线离子和靶台复合加速离子注入过程中靶台偏压大小对注入过程离子动力学行为的影响,重点考察了不同偏压作用下离子的注入能量、注入剂量、注入角度以及注入范围的变化.结果表明,靶台上施加脉冲偏压后,在束流离子的作用下空间电荷分布发生变化,束流正下方的电势线会发生凹曲,凹曲的电场同时又作用于空间中的带电粒子,影响粒子的运动;靶台偏压越高,零电势线距离靶台越远,靶台电场对离子的作用范围越大.离子的注入剂量、注入能量随着靶台偏压的增大而增大,而偏压对离子注入角度的影响并不大,大部分离子都以垂直入射的方式注入到靶台表面.另外,离子注入到靶台上的面积会因束流离子在靶台电场中飞行偏转而增大,并且偏压越大注入面积增大越明显.     

超短超强激光脉冲辐照超薄碳膜电离状态研究

为了进一步理解极端条件下物质的电离特性, 特别是超短超强激光脉冲辐照超薄靶时等离子体的形成与分布, 本文以超薄碳膜为例, 细致研究了超短超强激光脉冲辐照下原子的离化过程. 分析和比较了强激光场直接作用电离和靶内静电场电离等两种场致电离形式, 在碰撞电离可以忽略的情况下, 发现更多的电离份额是来自靶内静电场的电离方式. 研究了激光脉冲强度对电离的影响, 发现激光脉冲强度越强, 电离速度越快, 产生的高价态离子所占比例也越高.当激光强度为1×10²⁰ W/cm²时, 尽管该强度高于电离生成C⁺⁶所需要的激光强度阈值, 但该激光脉冲并不能将整个靶电离成C⁺⁶离子, 对此本文进行了详细的分析. 在研究激光脉冲宽度的影响时, 发现激光脉宽越小, 电离速度越快, 但越小的激光脉冲电离获得的高价态离子越少.     

Ion acceleration at the front and rear surfaces of thin foils with high-intensity 40-fs laser pulses

Ion acceleration from the front and rear sides of a foil target is observed by measurements of the ions’ spectral and spatial emission characteristics when irradiating the targets with ultrashort (40-fs) high-intensity laser pulses. The experimental results show that the origin of accelerated ions, from both the front and rear surfaces of the target, strongly depend on the laser energy absorption mechanism. In particular, laser pulse parameters such as pulse duration and contrast are crucial and determine the entire acceleration scenario. Thus, the experimental outcome can be controlled by selection of the irradiation conditions. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

光纤非接触加速度计

介绍一种新型光纤接触加速度。入射激光经长短不同的两光纤，在两个不同的时间对物体同一点的速度取样，由物体返回的光束经偏振光实现长短光路互易成近于等光程干涉，利用外差技术测量多普勒频差得到物的加速度值。