Abstract
We report on the effects of fs-laser desorption on the ion acceleration induced by the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. The experiment was performed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) using the 100 TW Callisto laser of the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF). Thin metal foils (Au, Cu, and Al) with thicknesses ranging from 10 to $20\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ were irradiated by a variable number of low intensity ($\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{12}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$) laser pulses, the last one arriving 100 ms before the main pulse. With these short pulses water vapor and hydrocarbon contaminations could stepwise be removed from the target surface. Substantial modifications of the TNSA-ion energy spectra were observed such as diminished proton energy and intensity, the absence of low-charged ion states, increased particle numbers for ${\mathrm{C}}^{4+}$ and ${\mathrm{O}}^{6+}$ ions in the higher energetic part of their particle spectra as well as the acceleration of target ions. The controlled application of fs-laser desorption on the laser-ion acceleration thus strongly influences the ion spectra and offers the possibility of selecting a targeted range of ion species for the acceleration to higher energies due to the systematic removal of contamination layers.
Highlights
The acceleration of ions generated by the interaction of ultraintense high power lasers with matter has become a rapidly evolving field of interest
Many experiments in the past have demonstrated that laser-accelerated ion beams provide high quality characteristics such as high particle intensities [1,2], short pulse lengths, and very low transverse source emittance [3] exceeding the parameters of standard particle accelerators
These qualities offer numerous potential applications reaching from ion sources of small dimensions over nuclear physics [4], high energy density physics like warm dense matter studies [5,6] as well as its diagnostics [7] and inertial confinement fusion [8,9] to medical applications like laser-induced proton therapy [10,11] in cancer treatment
Summary
The acceleration of ions generated by the interaction of ultraintense high power lasers (intensities of I ! 1019 W=cm2) with matter has become a rapidly evolving field of interest. Many experiments in the past have demonstrated that laser-accelerated ion beams provide high quality characteristics such as high particle intensities [1,2], short pulse lengths, and very low transverse source emittance [3] exceeding the parameters of standard particle accelerators. These qualities offer numerous potential applications reaching from ion sources of small dimensions over nuclear physics [4], high energy density physics like warm dense matter studies [5,6] as well as its diagnostics [7] and inertial confinement fusion [8,9] to medical applications like laser-induced proton therapy [10,11] in cancer treatment.
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