Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 223, 1031-1035 (2014)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2014-02153-7

Regular Article

Instability-free ion acceleration by two laser pulses

¹ State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, and Key Laboratory of HEDP of the Ministry of Education, CAPT, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
² International Centre for Zetta- Exawatt Science and Technology (IZEST)  
³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
⁴ Laser Fusion Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
⁵ Helmholtz Institute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany

Received: 13 March 2014
Revised: 24 March 2014
Published online: 4 June 2014

Abstract

We demonstrate the instability-free ion acceleration regime by introducing laser control with two parallel circularly polarized laser pulses at an intensity of I = 6.8 × 10²¹ W/cm², normally incident on a hydrogen foil. The special structure of the equivalent wave front of those two pulses, which contains Gaussian peaks in both sides and a concavity in the centre (2D), can suppress the transverse instabilities and hole boring effects to constrain a high density ion clump in the centre of the foil, leading to an acceleration over a long distance and gain above 1GeV/u for the ion bunches.