Dynamic Control of Laser-Produced Proton Beams

S. Kar, K. Markey, P. T. Simpson, C. Bellei, J. S. Green, S. R. Nagel, S. Kneip, D. C. Carroll, B. Dromey, L. Willingale, E. L. Clark, P. McKenna, Z. Najmudin, K. Krushelnick, P. Norreys, R. J. Clarke, D. Neely, M. Borghesi, and M. Zepf
Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 105004 – Published 11 March 2008

Abstract

The emission characteristics of intense laser driven protons are controlled using ultrastrong (of the order of 109V/m) electrostatic fields varying on a few ps time scale. The field structures are achieved by exploiting the high potential of the target (reaching multi-MV during the laser interaction). Suitably shaped targets result in a reduction in the proton beam divergence, and hence an increase in proton flux while preserving the high beam quality. The peak focusing power and its temporal variation are shown to depend on the target characteristics, allowing for the collimation of the inherently highly divergent beam and the design of achromatic electrostatic lenses.

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  • Received 10 September 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.105004

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

S. Kar1, K. Markey1, P. T. Simpson1, C. Bellei2, J. S. Green3, S. R. Nagel2, S. Kneip2, D. C. Carroll4, B. Dromey1, L. Willingale2, E. L. Clark5, P. McKenna4, Z. Najmudin2, K. Krushelnick2,*, P. Norreys3, R. J. Clarke3, D. Neely3, M. Borghesi1, and M. Zepf1,†

  • 1The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
  • 2Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London, SW7 2BW, United Kingdom
  • 3Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
  • 4SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, United Kingdom
  • 5Department of Electronics, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Chania, Crete, Greece

  • *Present address: CUOS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
  • m.zepf@qub.ac.uk

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Vol. 100, Iss. 10 — 14 March 2008

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