Modeling the interaction of an ultra-high intensity laser pulse with nano-layered flat-top cone targets for ion acceleration

Abstract

We propose new nanotargets as nano-layered flat-top cone targets to be used for future laser-ion acceleration experiments at ELI-NP. We study their behaviour at the interaction with an ultra-high intensity laser pulse by performing Particle-In-Cell simulations. We analyze spatio-temporal the electromagnetic field based on the finite-difference time-domain method for a complementary description. We find the optimum diameter of the nanospheres and the proper nano-flat-top foil thickness for which one can obtain monoenergetic beams of very energetic ions with low angular divergence.

Modeling the interaction of an ultra-high intensity laser pulse with an ultra-thin nanostructured foil target

“…We can conclude that we obtained for both linearly and CP laser pulse protons which are accelerated in a hybrid regime composed by the RPA and TNSA regimes same as in the case of the interaction of an ultra-high intensity laser pulse with nano-layered flat-top cone targets [43].…”

“…We can compare the present results for the nanostructured foil with 40 nm nanospheres with our previous results only for a plastic cone with 40 nanospheres on a 40 nm flat-top foil, because for the nanostructured cone we kept constant the flat-top foil thickness as 40 nm and we varied the nanospheres diameter [43]. The maximum proton energy of 617 MeV for a 40 nm foil with 40 nm nanospheres is higher than the value of 523 MeV for a plastic cone with nanospheres with the same dimensions of the flat-top foil.…”

“…We can compare the results for a nanostructured foil with 40 nm nanospheres on a 40 nm foil with our previous results for a plastic cone with nanospheres with a flat-top foil with 40 nm nanospheres on a 40 nm foil [43] in the case of a CP laser pulse for the same reasons set out in the case of a LP laser pulse. The highest value of the proton energy for the cone target with a flat-top foil with 40 nm nanospheres is 998 MeV which is lower than the value of 1210 MeV for nanostructured foil with 40 nm nanospheres.…”

“…A new regime composed by RPA and TNSA regimes was introduced in order to explain the ion acceleration as a result of the interaction of an ultra-high intensity LP laser pulse with a foil target [47][48][49]. We also proved in a previous paper that the protons are accelerated in the hybrid RPA and TNSA regime of acceleration as the result of the interaction of an ultra-high intensity laser pulse with a nano-layered flat-top cone [43]. Here we investigate the regime of the proton acceleration in the case of the interaction of an ultra-high intensity LP and CP laser pulse with a nanostructured foil target.…”

“…• (see figure 5(a) from [43]). At the same time for a nanostructured foil target with 40 nm nanospheres, the ratio N prot /N tot has the maximum value of 0.209 for an angle θ = 1…”