Numerical modeling and applications of laser-accelerated ion beams

E. Lefebvre (1) , E. d'Humières (1, 2) , Laurent Gremillet (1) , Sven Fritzler (3) , Victor Malka (4)

1 DPTA - Département de Physique Théorique et Appliquée
2 National Terawatt Facility, MS-372
3 Vacuum Technology
4 LOA - Laboratoire d'optique appliquée

We use laser-plasma interaction and particle-transport codes to investigate ion acceleration when a short, intense laser pulse irradiates a thin solid foil, and to quantify the isotope yield that these ions can induce by nuclear reactions in secondary targets. Optimum acceleration, in terms of peak ion energy and secondary target activation, is obtained for ultra-low (sub-μm) target thickness.

Keywords: Laser-plasma interaction; Ion acceleration; Particle-In-Cell simulation; Isotope production

Domains: Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Optics [physics.optics]

E. Lefebvre, E. d'Humières, Laurent Gremillet, Sven Fritzler, Victor Malka. Numerical modeling and applications of laser-accelerated ion beams. Computer Physics Communications, 2007, 177 (1-2), pp.60-63. ⟨10.1016/j.cpc.2007.02.052⟩. ⟨hal-00503223⟩