Laser-Driven Ion Acceleration and Its Applications

Abstract

The electrostatic field generated by the interaction of an intense laser and plasma can be used for a compact and ideal ion accelerator. The plasma no longer has the breakdown limitation of solids. Then it creates order of much stronger electric fields that cannot be reached by conventional accelerators. In addition, laser beams can be easily focused to microns scale, making it possible to emit high-current ion beams with low emittance as small as several tens of microns. Laser-driven ion beams are expected to be applied in various fields due to their unique characteristics, and active research is being conducted worldwide to generate higher quality beams. Here, we briefly introduce the characteristics of laser-driven ion beams, the mechanism of ion acceleration, and recent research trends.