Ion beam bunching via phase rotation in cascading laser-driven ion acceleration

TL;DR

This paper explores a method for ion beam bunching using phase rotation in cascaded laser-driven ion acceleration, combining theoretical analysis and particle-in-cell simulations to demonstrate simultaneous acceleration and bunching of protons.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach for ion beam bunching via phase rotation in cascaded laser-driven acceleration, supported by detailed simulations and analysis.

Findings

Proton beams can be accelerated and bunched simultaneously.

Ion phase rotation enables longitudinal compression of the beam.

Simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed bunching mechanism.

Abstract

The ion beam bunching in a cascaded target normal sheath acceleration is investigated by theoretical analysis and particle-in-cell simulations. It is found that a proton beam can be accelerated and bunched simultaneously by injecting it into the rising sheath field at the rear side of a laser-irradiated foil target. In the rising sheath field, the ion phase rotation may take place since the back-end protons of the beam feels a stronger field than the front-end protons. Consequently, the injected proton beam can be compressed in the longitudinal direction. At last, the vital role of the ion beam bunching is illustrated by the integrated simulations of two successive stages in a cascaded acceleration.