München 2009 – scientific programme
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ST: Fachverband Strahlen- und Medizinphysik
ST 5: MAP: Laser-driven Particle acceleration
ST 5.1: Talk
Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 09:00–09:30, A021
Laser-driven electron acceleration from ultra-thin DLC foils - towards an ultra-compact coherent X-ray source — •Daniel Kiefer1,2, Andreas Henig1,2, Daniel Jung1,2, Kirk Flippo3, Cord Gautier3, Sandrine Gaillard3, Randy Johnson3, Tom Shimada3, Rahul Shah3, Juan Fernandez3, Vitaly Liechtenstein5, Jörg Schreiber1,2,4, Manuel Hegelich2,3, and Dietrich Habs1,2 — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching — 2Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Am Coulombwall 1, D-85748 Garching — 3Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA — 4Plasma Physics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, SW7 2BZ, UK — 5RRC Kurchatov Institute, 123182, Moscow, Russia
We report on the acceleration of electrons from ultra-thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) foils by an ultrahigh-intensity laser pulse. While thick targets show maxwellian shaped electron spectra, a distinct quasi-monoenergetic characteristic peaked at 31 MeV is observed at a target thickness as thin as 5nm. At the same time, a substantial drop in laser-accelerated ion energies is observed. The experimental findings give first indication that laser-driven relativistic electron mirrors can be generated from ultra-thin foils, which in future may be used to generate brilliant X-ray beams by the coherent reflection of a second laser.