High quality laser-produced proton beam generation by phase rotation

Noda, Akira*; Nakamura, Shu*; Iwashita, Yoshihisa*; Shirai, Toshiyuki*; Tongu, Hiromu*; Soda, Hikaru*; Daido, Hiroyuki; Mori, Michiaki; Kado, Masataka; Sagisaka, Akito; Ogura, Koichi; Nishiuchi, Mamiko; Orimo, Satoshi; Hayashi, Yukio; Yogo, Akifumi; Pirozhkov, A. S.; Bulanov, S. V.; Esirkepov, T. Z.; Nagashima, Akira; Kimura, Toyoaki; Tajima, Toshiki; Takeuchi, Takeshi*; Fukumi, Atsushi*; Li, Z.*

Laser ion production has been studied for downsizing of the accelerator dedicated for cancer therapy. For optimization of various parameters such as pre-pulse condition, target position, laser spot size on target, laser pulse width and so on, time of flight (TOF) measurement utilizing the detected signal by a plastic scintillation counter played an essential role for real time measurement. Protons up to 900 keV and 600 keV are produced from the thin foil targets of Ti 3 micron and 5 micron in thickness, respectively. Modification of the energy distribution of the laser-produced ions with Maxwell distribution by utilizing an RF electric field synchronized to the pulse laser, which is the rotation of the ion beam in the longitudinal phase space (phase rotation), has been demonstrated for the first time.