Parametric Study of Proton Acceleration from Laser-Thin Foil Interaction

Abstract

We experimentally investigated the accelerated proton beam characteristics such as maximum energy and number by varying the incident laser parameters. For this purpose, we varied the laser energy, focal spot size, polarization, and pulse duration. The proton spectra were recorded using a single-shot Thomson parabola spectrometer equipped with a microchannel plate and a high-resolution charge-coupled device with a wide detection range from a few tens of keV to several MeV. The outcome of the experimental findings is discussed in detail and compared to other theoretical works.

Keywords

• laser-plasma interaction
• ion acceleration
• ultraintense lasers
• plasma
• thin foils
• electron heating and acceleration