Generation and manipulation of proton beams by ultra-short laser pulses

Applying a 21-channel Thomson spectrometer setup has revealed further insight to the connection between spatial and spectral beam characteristic of laser accelerated protons. Analyzing the central emission cone (plus/minus 3 degree) shows an increasing beam divergency for protons with increasing kinetic energies. This holds for protons emitted from the same source area at the target surface. The whole beam is a well ordered system with a clear functional dependence of trajectories on proton energy. This is a consequence of the source dynamics which is determined by the sheath development in time. Thus laser-driven ion beams can be advantageously manipulated for further propagation to an experiment. We demonstrate this capability with a magnetic quadrupole and obtain a nearly parallel and monochromatized beam. Furthermore we set our achievements in beam production efficiency into context with other laser systems and demonstrate the potential of very-thin target foils.