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Laser-driven generation of high-current ion beams using skin-layer ponderomotive acceleration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2005

J. BADZIAK ,
S. GŁOWACZ ,
S. JABŁOŃSKI ,
P. PARYS ,
J. WOŁOWSKI  and
H. HORA
J. BADZIAK
Affiliation:
Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, EURATOM Association, Warsaw, Poland
S. GŁOWACZ
Affiliation:
Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, EURATOM Association, Warsaw, Poland
S. JABŁOŃSKI
Affiliation:
Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, EURATOM Association, Warsaw, Poland
P. PARYS
Affiliation:
Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, EURATOM Association, Warsaw, Poland
J. WOŁOWSKI
Affiliation:
Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, EURATOM Association, Warsaw, Poland
H. HORA
Affiliation:
Department of Theoretical Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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Abstract

Basic properties of generation of high-current ion beams using the skin-layer ponderomotive acceleration (S-LPA) mechanism, induced by a short laser pulse interacting with a solid target are studied. Simplified scaling laws for the ion energies, the ion current densities, the ion beam intensities, and the efficiency of ions' production are derived for the cases of subrelativistic and relativistic laser-plasma interactions. The results of the time-of-flight measurements performed for both backward-accelerated ion beams from a massive target and forward-accelerated beams from a thin foil target irradiated by 1-ps laser pulse of intensity up to ∼ 1017 W/cm2 are presented. The ion current densities and the ion beam intensities at the source obtained from these measurements are compared to the ones achieved in recent short-pulse experiments using the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) mechanism at relativistic (>1019 W/cm2) laser intensities. The possibility of application of high-current ion beams produced by S-LPA at relativistic intensities for fast ignition of fusion target is considered. Using the derived scaling laws for the ion beam parameters, the achievement conditions for ignition of compressed DT fuel with ion beams driven by ps laser pulses of total energy ≤ 100 kJ is shown.

Keywords

High-current ion beamsLaser plasma interactionPlasma block accelerationSkin-layer ponderomotive acceleration
Type
Workshop on Fast High Density Plasma Blocks Driven By Picosecond Terawatt Lasers
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , October 2005 , pp. 401 - 409
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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