I-BEAT, ultrasound-based energy measurements of single ion-bunches

The interaction of powerful, ultra-short laser pulses with microscopic plasmas can lead to the acceleration of temporally short ion bunches with high particle numbers. This is of inerest for novel approaches for the investigation of the interaction of matter with energetic ions. This project is devoted to tackling the associated considerable challenges concering instrumentation and diagnostics. When traversing matter, ions deposit energy which manifests itself, amongst other effects, in the emssion of (ultra)sound waves. A measurement of these acustic traces allows for the determination of the energy-deposition depth-profile and, hence, the bunch energy, i.e., a quantity which, currently, cannot be controlled well during laser acceleration. The project also aims at an extension of this approach which will allow for the determination of further beam parameters such as the beam profile.