Detection and analysis of laser driven proton beams by calibrated Gafchromic HD-V2 and MD-V3 radiochromic films

Abstract

The radiochromic film (RCF) is a high-dose, high-dynamic range dosimetry detection medium. A stack of RCFs can be used to detect both spatial and energetic distribution of laser driven ion beams with a large divergence angle and continuous energy spectrum. Two types of RCFs (HD-V2 and MD-V3, from Radiation Products Design, Inc.) have been calibrated using MeV energy protons and carbon ions produced by using a 2 × 6 MV tandem electrostatic accelerator. The proportional relationship is obtained between the optical density and the irradiation dose. For protons, the responses are consistent at all energies with a variation of about 15%. For carbon ions, the responses are energy related, which should be noted for heavy ion detection. Based on the calibration, the broad energy spectrum and charge distribution of laser accelerated proton beam with energy from 3 to 8 MeV and pC charge were detected and reconstructed at the Compact LAser Plasma Accelerator at Peking University.