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Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 045004 (2005) [4 pages]

Comparison of Laser Ion Acceleration from the Front and Rear Surfaces of Thin Foils

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J. Fuchs1,2,6, Y. Sentoku1,6, S. Karsch3, J. Cobble4, P. Audebert2, A. Kemp1,6, A. Nikroo1, P. Antici2, E. Brambrink5, A. Blazevic5, E. M. Campbell1, J. C. Fernández4, J.-C. Gauthier2, M. Geissel5, M. Hegelich3,4, H. Pépin2, H. Popescu2, N. Renard-LeGalloudec6, M. Roth5, J. Schreiber3, R. Stephens1, and T. E. Cowan1,6
1General Atomics, San Diego, California 92121, USA
2Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, UMR 7605 CNRS-CEA-École Polytechnique-Univ. Paris VI, Palaiseau, France
3Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, 85748 Garching, Germany
4University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
5Technische Univ. Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
6Physics Department, MS-220, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA

Received 11 March 2004; published 3 February 2005

The comparative efficiency and beam characteristics of high-energy ions generated by high-intensity short-pulse lasers (∼1–6×1019  W/cm2) from both the front and rear surfaces of thin metal foils have been measured under identical conditions. Using direct beam measurements and nuclear activation techniques, we find that rear-surface acceleration produces higher energy particles with smaller divergence and a higher efficiency than front-surface acceleration. Our observations are well reproduced by realistic particle-in-cell simulations, and we predict optimal criteria for future applications.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.045004
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.045004
PACS:
52.38.Kd, 07.77.Ka, 24.10.Lx, 52.70.Nc
 
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