Abstract
We report on the acceleration of ion beams from ultrathin diamondlike carbon foils of thickness 50, 30, and 10 nm irradiated by ultrahigh contrast laser pulses at intensities of . An unprecedented maximum energy of 185 MeV () for fully ionized carbon atoms is observed at the optimum thickness of 30 nm. The enhanced acceleration is attributed to self-induced transparency, leading to strong volumetric heating of the classically overdense electron population in the bulk of the target. Our experimental results are supported by both particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and an analytical model.
- Received 18 January 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.045002
©2009 American Physical Society