A Comprehensive Characterization of the Neutron Fields Produced by the Apollon Petawatt Laser

TL;DR

This paper thoroughly characterizes neutron fields produced by the Apollon Petawatt laser, highlighting the effects of a Double Plasma Mirror on neutron yield and X-ray production, with implications for advanced imaging techniques.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive experimental and simulation-based analysis of laser-driven neutron emissions, including the impact of DPM on neutron and X-ray yields.

Findings

Neutron yield of approximately 4×10^7 neutrons per shot.

Fewer X-rays produced when using the DPM.

Neutron emissions are similar with or without DPM.

Abstract

Since two decades, laser-driven neutron emissions are studied as they represent a complementary source to conventional neutron sources, with further more different characteristics (i.e. shorter bunch duration and higher number of neutrons per bunch). We report here a global, thorough characterization of the neutron fields produced at the Apollon laser facility using the secondary laser beam (F2). A Double Plasma Mirror (DPM) was used to improve the temporal contrast of the laser which delivers pulses of 24 fs duration, a mean on-target energy of ~10 J and up to 1 shot/min. The interaction of the laser with thin targets (few tens or hundreds of nm) in ultra-high conditions produced enhanced proton beams (up to 35 MeV), which were then used to generate neutrons via the pitcher-catcher technique. The characterization of these neutron emissions is presented, with results obtained from both simulations and measurements using several diagnostics (activation samples, bubble detectors and Time-of-Flight detectors), leading to a neutron yield of ~$4.10^{7}$ neutrons/shot. Similar neutron emissions were observed during shots with and without DPM, while fewer X-rays are produced when the DPM is used, making this tool interesting to adjust the neutrons/X-rays ratio for some applications like combined neutron/X-ray radiography.