• Laser and Particle Beams
  • Vol. 2023, Issue 1, 3125787 (2023)
Vasiliki Kantarelou1, Andriy Velyhan1, Przemysław Tchórz2, Marcin Rosiński2, Giada Petringa1、3, Giuseppe Antonio Pablo Cirrone1、3, Valeriia Istokskaia1、4, Josef Krása5, Miroslav Krůs6, Antonino Picciotto7, Daniele Margarone1、3、8, Lorenzo Giuffrida1、3, and Sergey Pikuz
Author Affiliations
  • 1ELI Beamlines Facility The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC Dolni Brezany Czech Republic
  • 2Institute of Plasma Physics & Laser Microfusion (IPPLM) Warsaw Poland
  • 3Southern National Laboratory (LNS) Istituto Nazionale Fisica Nucleare Catania Italy
  • 4Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering Prague Czech Republic
  • 5FZU-Institute of Physics Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
  • 6Institute of Plasma Physics Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
  • 7Micro-Nano Facility Fondazione Bruno Kessler Trento 38123 Italy
  • 8Centre for Light-Matter Interactions School of Mathematics and Physics Queen’s University Belfast Belfast UK
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    DOI: 10.1155/2023/3125787 Cite this Article
    Vasiliki Kantarelou, Andriy Velyhan, Przemysław Tchórz, Marcin Rosiński, Giada Petringa, Giuseppe Antonio Pablo Cirrone, Valeriia Istokskaia, Josef Krása, Miroslav Krůs, Antonino Picciotto, Daniele Margarone, Lorenzo Giuffrida, Sergey Pikuz. A Methodology for the Discrimination of Alpha Particles from Other Ions in Laser-Driven Proton-Boron Reactions Using CR-39 Detectors Coupled in a Thomson Parabola Spectrometer[J]. Laser and Particle Beams, 2023, 2023(1): 3125787 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Solid-state nuclear track detectors (CR-39 type) are frequently used for the detection of ions accelerated by laser-plasma interaction because they are sensitive to each single particle. To the present day, CR-39 detectors are the main diagnostics in experiments focused on laser-driven proton-boron (p11B) fusion reactions to detect alpha particles, which are the main products of such a nuclear reaction, and to reconstruct their energy distribution. However, the acceleration of multispecies ions in the laser-generated plasma makes this spectroscopic method complex and often does not allow to unambiguously discriminate the alpha particles generated from p11B fusion events from the laser-driven ions. In this experimental work, performed at the PALS laser facility (600 J, 300 ps, laser intensity 1016 W/cm2), CR-39 detectors were used as main detectors for the angular distribution of the produced alpha particles during a p11B fusion dedicated experimental campaign. Additionally, a CR-39 detector was set inside a Thomson Parabola (TP) spectrometer with the aim to calibrate the CR-39 response for low energetic laser-driven ions originating from the plasma in the given experimental conditions. The detected ion energies were ranging from hundreds of keV to a few MeV, and the ion track diameters were measured for etching times up to 9 hours. The goal of the test was the evaluation of the detectors’ ability to discriminate the alpha particles from the aforementioned ions. Within this study, the calibration curves for protons and silicon low energy ions are accomplished, the overlapping of the proton tracks and alpha particles is verified, and a methodology to avoid this problem is realized.
    Vasiliki Kantarelou, Andriy Velyhan, Przemysław Tchórz, Marcin Rosiński, Giada Petringa, Giuseppe Antonio Pablo Cirrone, Valeriia Istokskaia, Josef Krása, Miroslav Krůs, Antonino Picciotto, Daniele Margarone, Lorenzo Giuffrida, Sergey Pikuz. A Methodology for the Discrimination of Alpha Particles from Other Ions in Laser-Driven Proton-Boron Reactions Using CR-39 Detectors Coupled in a Thomson Parabola Spectrometer[J]. Laser and Particle Beams, 2023, 2023(1): 3125787
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