Calibration of BAS-TR image plate response to GeV gold ions

TL;DR

This paper presents an absolute calibration of BAS-TR image plates for high-energy gold ions using CR-39 detectors and a Thomson parabola spectrometer, enabling accurate measurement of heavy ion spectra from laser acceleration.

Contribution

It introduces a new calibration method for BAS-TR image plates for GeV gold ions, improving the accuracy of heavy ion detection in laser-driven experiments.

Findings

Calibration achieved up to 1.6 GeV Au ions.

Response function closely matches theoretical ion stopping models.

Enables precise quantification of high-energy heavy ion spectra.

Abstract

The response of the BAS-TR image plate (IP) was absolutely calibrated using CR-39 track detector for high linear energy transfer (LET) Au ions up to $\sim$1.6 GeV (8.2 MeV/nucleon), accelerated by high-power lasers. The calibration was carried out by employing a high-resolution Thomson parabola spectrometer, which allowed resolving Au ions with closely spaced ionization states up to 58$^+$. A response function was obtained by fitting the photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL) per Au ion for different ion energies, which is broadly in agreement with that expected from ion stopping in the active layer of the IP. This calibration would allow quantifying the ion energy spectra for high energy Au ions, which is important for further investigation of the laser-based acceleration of heavy ion beams.