High-power laser development projects for laser particle acceleration at HZDR

Recent developments in the field of laser particle acceleration enable potential applications as, e.g., radiotherapy with laser driven proton beams. Laser driven proton therapy, not only requires sufficiently high proton energies but also a reasonable repetition rate for appropriate control of the dose delivery. In Dresden, this ambitious vision is addressed by close collaborative work at OncoRay (represented by Technical University Dresden and Helmhotz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR)) combining expertise in laser plasma physics, accelerator physics, and medicine. A dedicated research building later housing both, a laser driven proton beam delivery system and a conventional proton therapy accelerator for direct comparison in clinical trials is presently under construction.
For the development of a medical high intensity laser prototype to be installed at OncoRay we focus on two major projects in parallel. The first project uses a commercialized Ti:Sapphire based laser concept providing ultra short pulses of tens of femtoseconds at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. With the 150 TW Draco laser the proton acceleration process was investigated in the last three years [1], and a long-term stable and reliable mode of operation was established which has enabled first in vitro cell irradiation studies [2]. The laser system is presently upgraded by an additional amplifier stage and new front end components finally providing high contrast pulses of >500 TW on target at 1 Hz pulse repetition rate. By use of the increased pulse energy and the multiple beam option the proton energy scaling will be investigated and the radiobiological program will be extended to the irradiation of tumors in animals.
Complementary to the ultra short pulse laser approach, the direct diode pumped solid state laser PENELOPE is under development. The status of this energetically more efficient technology providing longer pulse durations at comparable beam power and therefore favoring potentially higher proton acceleration performance than ultra short pulses will be presented.

[1] Zeil, K. et al. New J Phys, 12, 045015, 2010.
[2] Kraft, S. et al. New J Phys 12, 085003 (2010).