Pre-plasma dynamics on the front side of a target foil in a laser-ion-acceleration process like Target-Normal-Sheath-Acceleration (TNSA) substantially influences the dynamics of the actual Debye-sheath formation and therefore eventually ion yield or ion energies. Acceleration dynamics on sub-picosecond timescales in the laser field are extremely challenging to probe experimentally. Therefore,...
High-intensity short-pulse lasers in the Petawatt regime offer the possibility to study new compact accelerator schemes by utilizing high-density targets for the generation of energetic ion beams. The optimization of the acceleration process demands comprehensive exploration of the plasma dynamics involved, for example via optical probing. In particular, experiments using low density cryogenic...
We report on the first experimental demonstration of radially symmetric focusing of laser-accelerated proton beams with an active plasma lens which provides tunable field gradients of the order of kT/m. MeV level proton beams generated from micrometer solid density targets interacting with a relativistically intense laser were used to examine the focusability and robustness of this new...
The interaction of ultra-intense high power lasers with solid state targets have been largely studying for twenty years as future compact proton and ion source. Indeed, the huge potential established on the target surface by the escaping electrons provides accelerating gradients of ~TV/m. This process, called TNSA, involves a large number of phenomena and is very difficult to study because of...
