Implementation of a cryogenic hydrogen jet target at the DRACO PW laser

As high power laser systems producing high repetition rate pulses become interesting for applications in e.g.
radiation therapy, there is a high demand for rapid and controlled target delivery at the high power laser focus.
Due to their continuous and debris-free operation, cryogenic target systems producing renewable jets of
hydrogen [1] or other species proved to be very beneficial. Furthermore, the low plasma density of solid single
species hydrogen of only 30nc@800nm and the availability of different jet geometries allowed for gaining
deeper understanding of the laser proton acceleration process [2,3,4]. In this talk we focus on the
implementation of a hydrogen jet target at the Petawatt (PW) beam line of the high power laser source DRACO
at HZDR. The laser system delivers pulses with energies of up to 23J and pulse durations of about 30 fs on
target. We present significant improvements of the operation robustness of the cryogenic target with respect to
the harsh environment around the interaction zone and thereby leading to substantial increase in stability of the
laser accelerated proton beams. Prior and during experiments, characterization of the jet target was conducted
with a synchronized off-harmonic optical probe laser. It allowed for on-shot study of the onset of ionization
induced by the leading edge of the main laser pulse prior to its intensity maximum with sub-picosecond time
resolution. Also, by adding artificial pre-pulses the initial shape and size of the target can be engineered for
optimal interaction conditions with the high intensity laser pulse.