Design and implementation of an energy selector for laser-accelerated protons

Highly intense bunches of protons and ions with energies of several MeV/u can be generated with ultra-short laser pulses focused on solid targets. In the most common interaction regime, target normal sheath acceleration, the spectra of these particles are spread over a wide range following a Maxwell...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Reija Vecino, Alicia, Esteban Blasco, David, Alejo Alonso, Aarón, Apiñaniz Aginako, Jon Imanol, Bembibre Fernández, Adrián, Benlliure Anaya, José, Ehret, Michael, García López, Francisco Javier, Jiménez Ramos, María del Carmen, Juan Morales, Jessica, Méndez Valverde, María Cruz, Pascual Álvarez, David, Rodríguez Frías, María Dolores, Rodríguez Ramos, Mauricio, Seimetz, Michael
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/165853
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/165853
https://doi.org/10.3390/instruments8030036
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Laser-plasma acceleration
Proton
Mono-energetic beam
Magnetic dipole
Descripción
Sumario:Highly intense bunches of protons and ions with energies of several MeV/u can be generated with ultra-short laser pulses focused on solid targets. In the most common interaction regime, target normal sheath acceleration, the spectra of these particles are spread over a wide range following a Maxwellian distribution. We report on the design and testing of a magnetic chicane for the selection of protons within a limited energy window. This consisted of two successive, anti-parallel dipole fields generated by cost-effective permanent C-magnets with customized configuration and longitudinal positions. The chicane was implemented into the target vessel of a petawatt laser facility with constraints on the direction of the incoming laser beam and guidance of the outgoing particles through a vacuum port. The separation of protons and carbon ions within distinct energy intervals was demonstrated and compared to a ray tracing code. Measurements with radiochromic film stacks indicated the selection of protons within [2.4, 6.9] MeV, [5.0, 8.4] MeV, or ≥6.9 MeV depending on the lateral dispersion. A narrow peak at 4.8 MeV was observed with a time-of-flight detector.