05-09-2023-0931 - High efficiency laser-driven proton sources using 3D-printed micro-structure (Qin et al., 2022)

Published: 25 May 2022


High efficiency laser-driven proton sources using 3D-printed micro-structure

Chengyu Qin,
Hui Zhang,
Shun Li,
Nengwen Wang,
Angxiao Li,
Lulin Fan,
Xiaoming Lu,
Jinfeng Li,
Rongjie Xu,
Cheng Wang,
Xiaoyan Liang,
Yuxin Leng,
Baifei Shen,
Liangliang Ji &
Ruxin Li

Communications Physics volume 5, Article number: 124 (2022) Cite this article


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Abstract


Fine structured targets are promising in enhancing laser-driven proton acceleration for various applications. Here, we apply 3D-printed microwire-array (MWA) structure to boost the energy conversion efficiency from laser to proton beam. Under irradiation of high contrast femtosecond laser pulse, the MWA target generates over 1.2 × 1012 protons (>1 MeV) with cut-off energies extending to 25 MeV, corresponding to top-end of 8.7% energy conversion efficiency. When comparing to flat foils the efficiency is enhanced by three times, while the cut-off energy is increased by 32%. We find the dependence of proton energy/conversion-efficiency on the spacing of the MWA. The experimental trend is well reproduced by hydrodynamic and Particle-In-Cell simulations, which reveal the modulation of pre-plasma profile induced by laser diffraction within the fine structures. Our work validates the use of 3D-printed micro-structures to produce high efficiency laser-driven particle sources and pointed out the effect in optimizing the experimental conditions.



https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-022-00900-8

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-022-00900-8

Citation (Reference)

Qin, C., Zhang, H., Li, S. et al. High efficiency laser-driven proton sources using 3D-printed micro-structure. Commun Phys 5, 124 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-022-00900-8