Development of a multi-shot experiment for proton acceleration

In this paper, we present a target system to produce protons from laser plasma interactions at high repetition rates. In order to increase the number of available shots needed for the foreseen application, the target system will help to improve the reproducibility and stability of the proton source. We describe the experiments that we will carry out with the 50 TW (1.2J, 25 fs, 10Hz) laser at the Laser Laboratory for Acceleration and Applications (L2A2) at the University of Santiago of Compostela to study the production of radioactive isotopes for medical imaging such as PET. We describe the multi-shot target that we have developed and the related diagnostic to characterize the focal spot and the relative distance between the target and the focus. The multi-shot target will permit the use of thin foils or nano-structured targets with repetition rates relevant to our high power laser system. (paper)