CLPU (Salamanca, Spain)

Ion acceleration and Proton sources

CLPU has experience on laser ion acceleration via TNSA and its subsequent applications such as alpha-particle and radioisotope production, proton-boron nuclear reactions as well as neutron generation. Experimental campaigns focused on that have been carried out with VEGA laser system in the last ten years.

• Experimental and computational evaluation of alpha particle production from laser-driven proton–boron nuclear reaction in hole-boring scheme. Phys. Plasmas 32, 013102 (2025) https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0238029
• Production of carbon-11 for PET preclinical imaging a high-repetition rate laser-driven proton source. Scientific Reports 14, 11448 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61540-2
• Radioisotope production using lasers: from basic science to applications. Matter Radiat. Extremes 9, 037203 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0196909
• Demonstration of efficient relativistic electron acceleration by surface plasmonics with sequential target processing using high repetition lasers. Phys. Rev. Research 5, 013062 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.013062
• Integrated quantitative PIXE analysis and EDX spectroscopy using a laser-driven particle source Science Advances Vol 7, Issue 3 (2021) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc8660
• Proton stopping measurements at low velocity in warm dense carbon. Nat Commun 13, 2893 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30472-8
• Generation of high energy laser-driven electron and proton sources with the 200 TW system VEGA 2 at the Centro de Laseres Pulsados. High Power Laser Science and Engineering, 7 (2019)  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2019.10
• More publications: https://www.clpu.es/publications/

Electrons acceleration and X-ray radiation generation via laser-plasma interaction

A considerably number of experimental campaigns on electron acceleration via LWFA have been successfully carried out at CLPU. Also, x-ray radiation generation and the corresponding diagnostics for its characterization have been developed.

• Method of producing 100 keVs ion beams from a gas jet using two intense laser pulses. Proc. SPIE, Laser Acceleration of Electrons, Protons and Ions 1257904 (2023)  https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672099
• Imaging electron angular distributions to assess a full-power petawatt-class laser focus Phys. Rev. A 108, 053101 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.108.053101
• Time-domain study of the synchrotron radiation emitted from electron beams in plasma focusing channel. Phys. Rev. E 105, 025201 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.105.025201
• Observation of tuneable parametric x-ray radiation emitted by laser-plasma electron beams interacting with crystalline structures. Phys. Rev. Acce. Beams 25, 063403 (2022)  https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.25.063403
• Off axis spiral phase mirrors for generating high-intensity optical vortices. Opt. Lett. 45, 2187-2190 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.387363
• Soft X-ray measurements with a gas detector coupled to microchips in laser-plasma experiments at VEGA-2 .JINST 15 C02006 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-0221/15/02/C02006/pdf
• Towards an in situ, full-power gauge of the focal-volume intensity of petawatt-class lasers Opt. Express 27, 30020-30030 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.27.030020
• More publications: https://www.clpu.es/publications/

The CLPU is the key Spanish user facility specialized in high-power ultrashort lasers and its applications included in the strategic National Roadmap of Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructures (ICTS). Its main mission is to promote scientific and technological development by offering national and international user access to its laser system VEGA, successfully commissioned in 2017 (the 200 TW VEGA-2), and in 2019 (the PW VEGA-3).

VEGA is offered to national and international users with several modes of operation related to the selection of the synchronized lines, the repetition rate (single-shot, burst or nominal frequency or dividers modes,) and the energy (full power and/or lower regime).

The CLPU staff have demonstrated experience on laser plasma interaction, particle acceleration (laser weakfield acceleration, Ion acceleration), laser metrology, targetry and diagnostic and generated secondary sources (electron, proton and betatron X-ray) are the main subject of investigations at CLPU. The scientific division is involved in a research programme encompassing the secondary sources’ development and their employment in high density and intense laser-plasma interactions, targetry, detectors’ development, warm dense matter, proton-boron nuclear reactions, neutron generation via laser plasma interaction.

The ULAMP Service (Ultrashort Laser Applications and Micromaterial Processing) as well as the Microscopy Unit with the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and an Optical Microscope.

RIANA website >>

Apart from offering material characterisation techniques such as PIXE (particle induced X-ray emission), X ray fluorescence and absorption, spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and related techniques (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction) CLPU has extensive experience in the use of reusable detectors suitable for characterizing particle beams at high repetition rate measurements. In addition Vega 3 can be used to study Laser induce Damage threshold and pump probe measurements.

ReMade@ARI website >>

Watch the Laserlab-Europe Talk ‘ Radiation sources based on laser plasma interaction and applications in materials science’ >>

The laser VEGA, a Titanium-Sapphire system based on CPA technology, is available offering two beamlines (200 TW and Petawatt) whose properly focalized can delivers (both) a peak intensity of I ~ 2×1020 W/cm2 in maximum compression. The more relevant parameters are described below, and in also can be found in detail in the web: https://www.clpu.es/en/laser-vega-pw/

In addition, in the petawatt line we can provide a singularity: a double pulse configuration beam which consists of a delay line (two pulses delayed in time until 25 ps max.) with energies up to 12J and 3J respectively (and conversely). It has been used successfully for optimize the proton and ion acceleration.

The CLPU facility can provide the following complementary equipment to VEGA:

• ULAMP Service (Ultrashort Laser Applications and Micromaterial Processing), a lab with a fs Spitfire laser system that provides a laser beam specially characterized for micromaterial processing. It supports basically the development in targetry and diagnostic devices. https://www.clpu.es/en/ulamp-technical-features/
• Microscopy Unit that has a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and an optical microscope, adding values to the performance of the experiments at CLPU. https://www.clpu.es/en/microscopy-features/
• Electro-mechanical workshop, where we can design and manufacture  customized pieces with high degree of precision  for users’ experimental set-ups. https://www.clpu.es/en/mechatronics-technical-features/