MeV negative ion source from ultra-intense laser-matter interaction

Abstract

Improved charge breeding efficiency of light ions with an electron cyclotron resonance ion source Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 113303 (2012) Production of negative ions on graphite surface in H2/D2 plasmas: Experiments and srim calculations Phys. Plasmas 19, 063503 (2012) Electrical shielding box measurement of the negative hydrogen beam from Penning ion gauge ion source Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 063302 (2012) Meniscus and beam halo formation in a tandem-type negative ion source with surface production Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 233507 (2012) Additional information on Rev. Sci. Instrum. Experimental demonstration of negative ion acceleration to MeV energies from sub-micron size droplets of water spray irradiated by ultra-intense laser pulses is presented. Thanks to the specific target configuration and laser parameters, more than 10 9 negative ions per steradian solid angle in 5% energy bandwidth are accelerated in a stable and reliable manner. To our knowledge, by virtue of the ultra-short duration of the emission, this is by far the brightest negative ion source reported. The data also indicate the existence of beams of neutrals with at least similar numbers and energies.

Ethanol (C2H5OH) spray of sub-micron droplets for laser driven negative ion source

“…11 It comprises of a solenoid driven pulsed valve (from Parker Hannifin Company), a heated channel, and a hypersonic conical nozzle (Fig. 1).…”

Direct electron attachment to fast hydrogen in 10−9 contrast 1018 W cm−2 intense laser solid target interaction

“…The relatively high neutral atom density along the path of the ion beam, or surrounding the laser focus, has enabled the charge transfer mechanism in all of these previous experiments. In special targets, such as liquid droplet sprays [19][20][21][22] or nanoclusters [23][24][25] the large cross-sections for charge transfer processes were shown to be responsible for the negative ion formation. Negative ion formation has been reported from solid targets when the pulse duration is large [26,27], or when the pulse contrast is poor [28], due to collisions with neutrals in the ablation plume.…”

Energetic beams of negative and neutral hydrogen from intense laser plasma interaction

“…4,7,8 Compared to standard negative ion sources, which are large scale, complicated devices, 9,10 a laser driven source can be very compact, and with an average power limited only by the laser performance, 6 properties which could be advantageous for applications in industry and fusion research.…”