MeV proton generation with a kHz femtosecond laser

Abstract

Recently, experimental investigations of laser-plasmas produced by high-intensity ultra-short pulse laser from solid targets have shown the generation of copious fluxes of collimated MeV protons, predominantly from the rear-side of the target. The intensity scaling of both the proton energy and their conversion efficiency from laser light appears to be more than linear, prompting that a higher laser intensities. Such collimated beams of multi-MeV protons might be used for proton tomography, proton therapy for cancer treament and other similar applications. Show more