LASER-ACCELERATED PROTONS: PERSPECTIVES FOR CONTROL/OPTIMIZATION OF BEAM PROPERTIES

Abstract

The acceleration of high-energy ion beams (up to several tens of MeV per nucleon) following the interaction of short ( t < 1ps ) and intense (Iλ2 > 1018W cm-2μm2) laser pulses with solid targets has been one of the most active areas of research in the last few years. The exceptional properties of these beams (high brightness and high spectral cutoff, high directionality and laminarity, short burst duration) distinguish them from those of the lower energy ions accelerated in earlier experiments at moderate laser intensities. In view of these properties, laser-driven ion beams can be employed in a number of groundbreaking applications in the scientific, technological and medical areas. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art, highlights recent developments and indicate future directions of this research area.