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Improvement of proton energy in high-intensity laser-nanobrush target interactions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2012

Jinqing Yu
Affiliation:
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, China
Weimin Zhou
Affiliation:
Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, China
Xiaolin Jin
Affiliation:
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Lihua Cao
Affiliation:
Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, China.
Zongqing Zhao
Affiliation:
Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, China
Wei Hong
Affiliation:
Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, China
Bin Li
Affiliation:
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Yuqiu Gu*
Affiliation:
Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, China
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Yuqiu Gu; National Key Laboratory of Laser Fusion, Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box, 919-986, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China621900. E-mail: yqgu@caep.ac.cn

Abstract

In order to improve the total laser-proton energy conversion efficiency, a nanobrush target is proposed for proton acceleration and investigated by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation results show that the nanobrush target significantly enhances the energy and number of hot electrons through the target rear side. Compared with plain target, the sheath field on the rear surface is increased near 100% and the total laser-proton energy conversion efficiency is prompted more than 70%. Furthermore, the proton divergence angle is less than 30° by using nanobrush target. The proposed target may serve as a new method to increase the energy conversion efficiency from laser to protons.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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