APPLIED PHYSICS

Numerical 1D PIC simulations of ion acceleration by laser-plasma interaction: multilayered multicomponent target structure optimization

I. A. Sidorov
A. M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Moscow, Russia

A. B. Savelev
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

   This work investigates process of high-energy ion beam acceleration by ultrarelativistic ultrashort laser pulses interaction with multilayered multicomponent dense plasma. Numerical simulations were performed using one-dimensional 1D2P PIC code. Ion beam spectrum width and energy maximum dependencies from target parameters (layer width, atom species and light ions density) and laser characteristics (pulse length and intensity) were studied. Optimal light ions layer width was found, for which accelerated ions have maximal energy exceeding 5 to 160 MeV for intensities 5·10¹⁸ to 5·10²⁰ W/cm². Optimal target configuration appeared to depend from intensity only (not from pulse duration). Simulations showed that to achieve monoenergetic beams one has to decrease light ion layer width and concentration. This leads to beam particle number and energy decrease pointing that compromise between spectrum width and maximum energy has to be reached.

PACS: 52.38.-r

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