2013, Steinke, S., Hilz, P., Schnürer, M., Priebe, G., Bränzel, J., Abicht, F., Kiefer, D., Kreuzer, C., Ostermayr, T., Schreiber, J., Andreev, A.A., Yu, T.P., Pukhov, A., Sandner, W.

We present experimental results on ion acceleration with circularly polarized, ultrahigh contrast laser pulses focused to peak intensities of 5×1019 W cm-2 onto polymer targets of a few 10 nanometer thickness. We observed spatially and energetically separated protons and carbon ions that accumulate to pronounced peaks around 2 MeV containing as much as 6.5% of the laser energy. Based on particle-in-cell simulation, we illustrate that an early separation of heavier carbon ions and lighter protons creates a stable interface that is maintained beyond the end of the radiation pressure dominated acceleration process.

2018, Ostermayr, T.M., Gebhard, J., Haffa, D., Kiefer, D., Kreuzer, C., Allinger, K., Bömer, C., Braenzel, J., Schnürer, M., Cermak, I., Schreiber, J., Hilz, P.

We report on a Paul-trap system with large access angles that allows positioning of fully isolated micrometer-scale particles with micrometer precision as targets in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions. This paper summarizes theoretical and experimental concepts of the apparatus as well as supporting measurements that were performed for the trapping process of single particles.