Related papers: Laser-FLASH: radiobiology at high dose, ultra-high…
The differential sparing of normal tissues relative to tumor control observed at ultra-high dose rates, referred to as the FLASH effect, has recently gained considerable attention. The therapeutic advantages of FLASH radiotherapy are…
We report on the first systematic characterisation of a tuneable laser-driven electron source capable of delivering Gy-scale doses in a duration of 10 - 20 ps, thus reaching unprecedented dose rates in the range of $10^{10} - 10^{12}$ Gy/s.…
Intense laser-driven proton pulses, inherently broadband and highly divergent, pose a challenge to established beamline concepts on the path to application-adapted irradiation field formation, particularly for 3D. Here we experimentally…
Laser-plasma accelerators can produce ultra short electron bunches in the femtosecond to picosecond duration range, resulting in high peak dose rates in comparison with clinical accelerators. This peculiar characteristic motivates their…
Laser accelerated protons can be a complimentary source for treatment of oncological diseases to the existing hadron therapy facilities. We demonstrate how the protons, accelerated from near-critical density plasmas by laser pulses having…
Using fully three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we show that readily available femtosecond laser systems can stably generate proton beams with hundred MeV energy and low spread at $\sim1\%$ level by parallel irradiation of a…
Proton acceleration by ultra-intense laser pulse irradiating a target with cross-section smaller than the laser spot size and connected to a parabolic density channel is investigated. The target splits the laser into two parallel…
Compact, stable, and versatile laser-driven ion sources hold great promise for applications ranging from medicine to materials science and fundamental physics. While single-shot sources have demonstrated favorable beam properties, including…
The `Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications', LhARA, is conceived as a novel, uniquely-flexible facility dedicated to the study of radiobiology. The technologies demonstrated in LhARA, which have wide application, will be…
Ultrashort electron beams with femtosecond to picosecond bunch durations offer unique opportunities to explore active research areas ranging from ultrafast structural dynamics to ultra-high dose-rate radiobiological studies. We present a…
Laser-plasma acceleration is an emerging technique for accelerating electrons to high energies over very short distances. The accelerated electron bunches have femtosecond duration, making them particularly relevant for applications such as…
While spatial dose conformity delivered to a target volume has been pushed to its practical limits with advanced treatment planning and delivery, investigations in novel temporal dose delivery are unfolding new mechanisms. Recent advances…
Contemporary ultraintense, short-pulse laser systems provide extremely compact setups for the production of high-flux neutron beams, such as those required for nondestructive probing of dense matter, research on neutron-induced damage in…
We propose a new concept of an electron source for ultrafast electron diffraction with sub-10~fs temporal resolution. Electrons are generated in a laser-plasma accelerator, able to deliver femtosecond electron bunches at 5 MeV energy with…
FLASH is a new treatment modality that requires optimization of dose, dose rate, and LET. Here we validate these three quantities under FLASH conditions, which includes the quantum uncertainty in the time-dependent instantaneous dose rate…
Ultra-high dose rate radiation therapy (FLASH) based on proton irradiation is of major interest for cancer treatments but creates new challenges for dose monitoring. Amorphous hydrogenated silicon is known to be one of the most…
A new scheme of proton acceleration from a laser-driven near-critical-density plasma is proposed. Plasma with a tailored density profile allows a two-stage acceleration of protons. The protons are pre-accelerated in the laser-driven…
Laser-driven ion acceleration is an attractive technique for compact high-energy ion sources. Currently, among various physical and technical issues to be solved, the boost of ion energy and the reduction of energy spread represent the key…
Purpose: The purpose of this work was to provide a flexible platform for FLASH research with protons by adapting a former clinical pencil beam scanning gantry to irradiations with ultrahigh dose rates. Methods: PSI Gantry 1 treated patients…
Laser-driven ion acceleration provides ultra-short, high-charge, low-emittance beams, which are desirable for a wide range of high-impact applications. Yet after decades of research, a significant increase in maximum ion energy is still…