Phase Rotation Scheme To Combine an RF Technique With Laser-Plasma Interaction For Real Applications Of Laser-Produced Ions

Abstract

A phase rotation scheme of laser‐produced ions from a solid target by the application of a synchronized RF electric voltage with a pulsed laser has been experimentally investigated with the use of a 100 TW laser, J‐KAREN at JAEA, KPSI. Up to now, energy peaks of up to around 2.0 MeV have been created with a FWHM of 2.6% with good reproducibility using a two‐gap resonator of a quarter wave length with the same frequency as the source laser (∼80 MHz). It is also found that the position of the peak can be well controlled by adjusting the relative phase between the RF electric field and the laser, which is very promising for real applications of such laser‐produced protons. In order to also apply such a phase rotation system for higher energy protons (<200 MeV), a scheme to use a small linear accelerator (LINAC) with multi‐gaps is proposed as a phase rotator. With multi‐gap structure, alternating focusing between longitudinal and transverse degrees of freedoms can be realized. From the point of compactness and realizing a small focused spot, however, a scheme combining separate quadrupole magnets just before and after the RF cavity excited with the Wideroe mode, might be more effective. The scheme presented here will realize laser‐produced ions (protons) with good reproducibility by combining with RF technology.