Development of a Compact Laser-Driven Ion Accelerator for Medical Applications

Abstract

Laser-driven ion acceleration was discovered in 2000, and medical application projects using this acceleration method started in Japan the following year. Twenty years later, a prototype model of the laser-driven ion accelerator has been completed in 2023 at QST-Kansai. In this paper, we report on the results from medical application projects so far and present the data obtained during the commissioning of the prototype model.