Towards compact laser-driven accelerators: exploring the potential of advanced double-layer targets

EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation

Research Article

Davide Orecchia¹  Marta Galbiati¹  Alessandro Maffini¹  Francesco Gatti¹  Valeria Russo¹  Matteo Passoni¹  Kevin Ambrogioni¹  Davide Vavassori¹  Francesco Mirani¹  David Dellasega¹  Maria Sole Galli De Magistris¹  Margherita Zavelani-Rossi¹ 

[1] Dipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci, 32, 20133, Milano, Italy;

关键词: Laser-driven particle acceleration;    Double-layer targets;    Carbon foams;    Pulsed-laser deposition;    Magnetron sputtering;    Particle induced X-ray emission;   

DOI  :  10.1140/epjti/s40485-023-00102-8

 received in 2023-04-11, accepted in 2023-05-28,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

The interest in compact, cost-effective, and versatile accelerators is increasing for many applications of great societal relevance, ranging from nuclear medicine to agriculture, pollution control, and cultural heritage conservation. For instance, Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) is a non-destructive material characterization technique applied to environmental analysis that requires MeV-energy ions. In this context, superintense laser-driven ion sources represent a promising alternative to conventional accelerators. In particular, the optimization of the laser-target coupling by acting on target properties results in an enhancement of ion current and energy with reduced requirements on the laser system. Among the advanced target concepts that have been explored, one appealing option is given by double-layer targets (DLTs), where a very low-density layer, which acts as an enhanced laser absorber, is grown to a thin solid foil. Here we present some of the most recent results concerning the production with deposition techniques of advanced DLTs for laser-driven particle acceleration. We assess the potential of these targets for laser-driven ion acceleration with particle-in-cell simulations, as well as their application to PIXE analysis of aerosol samples with Monte Carlo simulations. Our investigation reports that MeV protons, accelerated with a ∼20 TW compact laser and optimized DLTs, can allow performing PIXE with comparable performances to conventional sources. We conclude that compact DLT-based laser-driven accelerators can be relevant for environmental monitoring.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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