Abstract
Production of high-quality ion beams by intense laser–plasma interactions represents a rapidly evolving field of interest. In this paper, a nanostructured target is proposed to generate laser-driven quasi-monoenergetic ion beams with considerably reduced energy spread and enhanced peak energy. Linearly polarized, 40-fs laser pulses of intensity 8.5 × 1020 W cm−2 were considered to irradiate simple carbon foil and nanostructured targets. The proposed target consists of a thin layer of relatively high-Z atom (Ti) with a depression on its back surface which is filled by a nanosize disc of a low-Z atom (C). Reliable and reproducible results of multi-parametric Particle-in-Cell simulations show that by using a composed nanostructured target with optimum physical properties, a quasi-monoenergetic ion beam can be generated with a narrow band energy spectrum peaking at energies higher than 20 MeV. In addition, the forward-accelerated beam of low-Z carbon ions exhibits a considerably reduced transverse emittance in comparison with the ion beam obtained in the condition of a simple foil. The proposed nanostructured target can efficiently contribute to the generation of high-quality ion beams which are critical in newly growing applications and physics of laser-plasma accelerators.
Published Version
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