First measurements of laser-accelerated proton induced luminescence

Abstract

We present our first results about laser-accelerated proton induced luminescence in solids. In the first part, we describe the optimization of the proton source as a function of the target thickness as well as the laser pulse duration and energy. Due to the ultra high contrast ratio of our laser beam, we succeeded in using targets ranging from the micron scale down to nanometers thickness. The two optimal thicknesses we put in evidence are in good agreement with numerical simulations. Laser pulse duration shows a small influence on proton maximum energy, whereas the latter turns out to vary almost linearly as a function of laser energy. Thanks to this optimisation work, we have been able to acquire images of the proton energy deposition in a solid scintillator.