A Proton Source via Laser Ablation of Hydrogenated Targets

In this work we present results on the extraction of proton beams from a plasma generated by pulsed laser ablation of solid hydrogenated targets. The laser used was an excimer KrF operating at low irradiances $(108-109 W/cm2)$ and nanosecond pulse duration. The ablated targets were disks obtained by compression of TiH2 powder. The ions emission was analyzed by the time-of-flight technique using a Faraday cup as ion collector. In order to improve the ion yield, an electrostatic extraction system was applied. Studies on the produced plasma for different laser irradiances and accelerating voltages have been performed. The results obtained show that this setup is suitable for a high yield proton source.