Laser Energy Scaling Law for the Yield of Neutrons Generated by Intense Femtosecond Laser-Cluster Interactions

Abstract

In order to discuss the feasibility of compact neutron sources for scientific, medical and industrial applications, the yield of laser-produced neutrons is scaled by the laser energy. The laser energy scaling law of the neutron yield is derived from the laser intensity scaling law for the energy and the number of laser produced ions. High-energy ions are generated by Coulomb explosion of clusters through intense femtosecond laser-cluster interactions. The reactions of D(D,n)He generating high yield even by relatively low deuterium energy and Li(p,n)Be generating relatively low energy neutrons are discussed. The neutron yield of D(D,n)He determines the potential for using compact neutron sources with the aid of modern laser technology. In addition, p(Li,n)Be shows much higher yield than Li(p,n)Be with the assumption of Coulomb explosion of a cluster with a diameter of 500 nm.