Structured targets for advanced laser-driven sources

Fedeli, Luca; Formenti, Arianna; Cialfi, Lorenzo; Sgattoni, A.; Cantono, Giada; Passoni, M.

doi:10.1088/1361-6587/aa8a54

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Novel interaction conditions and target configurations have been constantly explored [8] . Recently, structured targets have been intensively studied as it was shown that they are able to enhance the level of laser light absorption [9] and the radiation yield (HHG, THz, X-ray) [10,11] or to improve the physical parameters of electron and ion beams via excitation of surface plasmons (plasma waves) [12][13][14] . Surface plasma waves (SPWs) are localized electron oscillation modes that can be excited at the vacuum-plasma interface by a laser Correspondence to: M. Cerchez, Institut für Laser und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…− λ L /λ g for q = 1. The electron acceleration by the evanescent field of an SPW has been theoretically and experimentally investigated [12,[17][18][19][20][21] , and the studies demonstrate that the SPW excitation for the resonant condition has a direct impact on the electron acceleration process leading to improved physical parameters such as enhanced flux and charge density of the electrons, a higher electron maximum energy, and a higher absorption efficiency [14,[21][22][23] . Moreover, in the resonant regime, SPWs are a very efficient route to transfer the laser energy via hot electrons to secondary sources including high harmonic generation [24] or ion acceleration [25] and to optimize the physical properties of these sources [13,17,22,23,25,26] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relativistic electron acceleration by surface plasma waves excited with high intensity laser pulses

Zhu

Prasad

Swantusch

et al. 2020

High Pow Laser Sci Eng

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The process of high energy electron acceleration along the surface of grating targets (GTs) that were irradiated by a relativistic, high-contrast laser pulse at an intensity $I=2.5\times 10^{20}~\text{W}/\text{cm}^{2}$ was studied. Our experimental results demonstrate that for a GT with a periodicity twice the laser wavelength, the surface electron flux is more intense for a laser incidence angle that is larger compared to the resonance angle predicted by the linear model. An electron beam with a peak charge of ${\sim}2.7~\text{nC}/\text{sr}$ , for electrons with energies ${>}1.5~\text{MeV}$ , was measured. Numerical simulations carried out with parameters similar to the experimental conditions also show an enhanced electron flux at higher incidence angles depending on the preplasma scale length. A theoretical model that includes ponderomotive effects with more realistic initial preplasma conditions suggests that the laser-driven intensity and preformed plasma scale length are important for the acceleration process. The predictions closely match the experimental and computational results.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relativistic electron acceleration by surface plasma waves excited with high intensity laser pulses

Zhu

Prasad

Swantusch

et al. 2020

High Pow Laser Sci Eng

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…These results emphasize the robustness of the acceleration mechanism and encourage the development of a compact electron source at few MeV of energy, with potential applications for ultra-fast electron diffraction, 20,21 photo-neutron generation, 22 or enhanced emission of THz radiation. 23…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive study of electron acceleration by relativistic surface plasmons

et al. 2018

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The excitation of surface plasmons with ultra-intense (I $ 5 Â 10 19 W/cm 2), high contrast ($10 12) laser pulses on periodically modulated solid targets has been recently demonstrated to produce collimated bunches of energetic electrons along the target surface [Fedeli et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 015001 (2016)]. Here, we report an extensive experimental and numerical study aimed to a complete characterization of the acceleration mechanism, demonstrating its robustness and promising characteristics for an electron source. By comparing different grating structures, we identify the relevant parameters to optimize the acceleration and obtain bunches of $650 pC of charge at several MeV of energy with blazed gratings.

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“…The low-density layer can either be a controlled pre-plasma or a solid nanostructured material with ultra-high void fraction. Both solutions allow for a high absorption efficiency of the laser energy by the hot electrons population, which results into more ions accelerated at higher energies with respect to a simple flat foil [55][56][57]. Nevertheless, pre-plasmas-usually generated via target pre-expansion induced by the laser pedestal or ns-duration pulses [58, 59]-is affected by poor stability and control, since large deviations may arise depending on the specific laser facility.…”

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced laser-driven hadron sources with nanostructured double-layer targets

et al. 2020

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Laser-driven ion sources are approaching the requirements for several applications in materials and nuclear science. Relying on compact, table-top, femtosecond laser systems is pivotal to enable most of these applications. However, the moderate intensity of these systems (I10 19 W cm −2 ) could lead to insufficient energy and total charge of the accelerated ions. The use of solid foils coated with a nanostructured near-critical layer is emerging as a promising targeted solution to enhance the energy and the total charge of the accelerated ions. For an appropriate theoretical understanding of this acceleration scheme, a realistic description of the nanostructure is essential, also to precisely assess its role in the physical processes at play. Here, by means of 3D particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate ion acceleration in this scenario, assessing the role of different realistic nanostructure morphologies, such as fractal-like foams and nanowire forests. With respect to a simple flat foil, the presence of a nanostructure allows for up to a×3 increase of the maximum ion energy and for a significant increase of the conversion efficiency of laser energy into ion kinetic energy. Simulations show also that the details of the nanostructure morphology affect both the maximum energy of the ions and their angular distribution. Furthermore, combined 3D particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo simulations show that if accelerated ions are used for neutron generation with a beryllium converter, double-layer nanostructured targets allow to greatly enhance the neutron yield. These results suggest that nanostructured double-layer targets could be an essential component to enable applications of hadron sources driven by compact, table-top lasers. feasibility of laser-driven ion beam analysis for non-destructive materials characterization. Laser-driven ion sources have been considered to test electronic components in a harsh radiation environment [18], for thermal stress testing [19], to study ultra-fast dynamics in irradiated materials [20,21], and for materials synthesis [22,23]. Ultrashort pulsed neutron sources driven by laser-accelerated ions [24-32] have been investigated for applications such as fast neutron spectroscopy [33] and radiography [34].What make these applications particularly attractive are the requirements for the ion source. Energies of few MeVs are perfectly suitable for several ion beam analysis techniques [35] or to generate neutrons with a lithium [36] or beryllium [37] converter. Moreover, for selected applications, the inherently broad energy spectrum of a laser-driven ion source [2] is not detrimental [15,17] and could even be beneficial [18]. Maximum ion energies of ∼1 MeV have been recently demonstrated even with commercial, sub-terawatt laser systems [38]. These lasersystems are truly table-top and can operate at a high repetition rate (kiloHertz). Relying on these systems could make laser-driven ion sources portable and competitive with conventional accelerators, paving the way for their widesprea...

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Structured targets for advanced laser-driven sources

Cited by 23 publications

References 74 publications

Relativistic electron acceleration by surface plasma waves excited with high intensity laser pulses

Relativistic electron acceleration by surface plasma waves excited with high intensity laser pulses

Extensive study of electron acceleration by relativistic surface plasmons

Enhanced laser-driven hadron sources with nanostructured double-layer targets

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