The goal of PANTANI is to design a laser-driven source (see Image 2) to perform different applications in the material science and medical fields. To this aim, several activities have been performed:
1) A crucial component of the source is the target since its optimization can allow achieving the energies and particle fluxes required by the applications. We considered advanced Double-Layer Targets (DLTs) where a low-density carbon foam covers a micrometric thick metallic foil. The laser interacting with this target is highly absorbed, resulting in a more intense emitted radiation. We developed and tested a strategy to entirely produce DLTs. We combined the Pulsed-Laser Deposition (PLD) and Magnetron Sputtering techniques to deposit both the carbon foam and foil. The result is a DLT, having well-known properties, for efficient laser-driven particle acceleration.
2) In the context of our past ERC projects, we studied the generation of laser-driven electrons, protons, neutrons and photons. We completed this investigation by studying numerically the non-linear inverse Compton scattering process, a peculiar photon emission mechanism, in DLTs.
Considering commercial high-power lasers, we numerically studied three concrete applications of laser-driven radiation sources.
3) Laser-driven protons interacting with proper materials can generate high-energy neutrons useful for materials inspection. By measuring the attenuation of neutrons passing through large objects, drugs and explosives can be identified. We studied this application of laser-driven sources showing that coupling a 100s TW class laser with DLTs allows achieving the required neutron fluxes for radiography.
4) In the framework of nuclear medicine, nuclides for theranostics like Copper-64 are attractive since they can play both a diagnostic and therapeutic role. We studied the production of this radioisotope with laser-driven protons. Our results show that a 150 TW laser and DLTs can be used to produce sufficient Copper-64 for pre-clinical studies on mice in 10s minutes.
5) Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) exploits high-energy protons to induce the emission of characteristic X-rays from irradiated materials like artworks and aerosol samples. In PIXE, X-ray detection allows retrieving the composition of materials. We assessed the feasibility of PIXE performed with laser-driven protons for environmental monitoring. Exploiting DLTs, a compact 10s TW laser source can be used to perform PIXE with comparable performances of a conventional accelerator.
These studies allowed us to identify the laser parameters to realize a multipurpose source and provided insights about the properties of the radiation useful for radiation protection studies. New numerical codes have been developed to determine the required laser and target parameters, design the source, and analyze the data collected to retrieve the composition of materials.
6) The applications require proper characterization (energy and number of particles) of the laser-driven radiation source. Thus, we designed and realized a novel proton detector prototype in collaboration with the RayLab company (
https://www.raylab.solutions/(opens in new window)). This PANTANI activity had the merit of connecting an industrial reality with academia, favouring the exchange of expertise.
