Scientific Reports (Feb 2021)

Accurate spectra for high energy ions by advanced time-of-flight diamond-detector schemes in experiments with high energy and intensity lasers

  • Martina Salvadori,
  • F. Consoli,
  • C. Verona,
  • M. Cipriani,
  • M. P. Anania,
  • P. L. Andreoli,
  • P. Antici,
  • F. Bisesto,
  • G. Costa,
  • G. Cristofari,
  • R. De Angelis,
  • G. Di Giorgio,
  • M. Ferrario,
  • M. Galletti,
  • D. Giulietti,
  • M. Migliorati,
  • R. Pompili,
  • A. Zigler

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82655-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Time-Of-Flight (TOF) methods are very effective to detect particles accelerated in laser-plasma interactions, but they show significant limitations when used in experiments with high energy and intensity lasers, where both high-energy ions and remarkable levels of ElectroMagnetic Pulses (EMPs) in the radiofrequency-microwave range are generated. Here we describe a novel advanced diagnostic method for the characterization of protons accelerated by intense matter interactions with high-energy and high-intensity ultra-short laser pulses up to the femtosecond and even future attosecond range. The method employs a stacked diamond detector structure and the TOF technique, featuring high sensitivity, high resolution, high radiation hardness and high signal-to-noise ratio in environments heavily affected by remarkable EMP fields. A detailed study on the use, the optimization and the properties of a single module of the stack is here described for an experiment where a fast diamond detector is employed in an highly EMP-polluted environment. Accurate calibrated spectra of accelerated protons are presented from an experiment with the femtosecond Flame laser (beyond 100 TW power and ~ 1019 W/cm2 intensity) interacting with thin foil targets. The results can be readily applied to the case of complex stack configurations and to more general experimental conditions.