Streeter M J V, Glenn G D, DiIorio S, Treffert F, Loughran B, Ahmed H, Astbury S, Borghesi M, Bourgeois N, Curry C B, Dann S J D, Dover N P, Dzelzainis T, Ettlinger O C, Gauthier M, Giuffrida L, Glenzer S H, Gray R J, Green J S, Hicks G S, Hyland C, Istokskaia V, King M, Margarone D, McCusker O, McKenna P, Najmudin Z, Parisuaña C, Parsons P, Spindloe C, Symes D R, Thomas A G R, Xu N, Palmer C A J
School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 24;16(1):1004. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56248-4.
Laser-plasma acceleration of protons offers a compact, ultra-fast alternative to conventional acceleration techniques, and is being widely pursued for potential applications in medicine, industry and fundamental science. Creating a stable, collimated beam of protons at high repetition rates presents a key challenge. Here, we demonstrate the generation of multi-MeV proton beams from a fast-replenishing ambient-temperature liquid sheet. The beam has an unprecedentedly low divergence of 1° (≤20 mrad), resulting from magnetic self-guiding of the proton beam during propagation through a low density vapour. The proton beams, generated at a repetition rate of 5 Hz using only 190 mJ of laser energy, exhibit a hundred-fold increase in flux compared to beams from a solid target. Coupled with the high shot-to-shot stability of this source, this represents a crucial step towards applications.
激光等离子体加速质子为传统加速技术提供了一种紧凑、超快的替代方案，并且正因其在医学、工业和基础科学中的潜在应用而被广泛研究。以高重复率产生稳定、准直的质子束是一项关键挑战。在此，我们展示了从快速补充的常温液体薄片中产生多兆电子伏特质子束。该束流具有前所未有的1°（≤20毫弧度）的低发散度，这是由于质子束在通过低密度蒸汽传播期间的磁自引导造成的。仅使用190毫焦的激光能量以5赫兹的重复率产生的质子束，与来自固体靶的束流相比，通量增加了一百倍。再加上该源的高逐次稳定性，这代表了向应用迈出的关键一步。
