Characterization of laser-driven proton beams from near-critical density targets using copper activation

L. Willingale, S. R. Nagel, A. G. R. Thomas, C. Bellei, R. J. Clarke, A. E. Dangor, R. Heathcote, M. C. Kaluza, C. Kamperidis, S. Kneip, K. Krushelnick, N. Lopes (+4 others)
2014 Journal of Plasma Physics  
Copper activation was used to characterize high-energy proton beam acceleration from near-critical density plasma targets. An enhancement was observed when decreasing the target density, which is indicative for an increased laser-accelerated hot electron density at the rear target-vacuum boundary. This is due to channel formation and collimation of the hot electrons inside the target. Particle-in-cell simulations support the experimental observations and show the correlation between channel
more » ... h and longitudinal electric field strength is directly correlated with the proton acceleration.
doi:10.1017/s002237781400066x fatcat:nric24zwnrdrhponoandseytda