Design and optimization of a laser-PIXE beamline for material science applications
Multi-MeV proton beams can be generated by irradiating thin solid foils with ultra-intense (>10^18 W/cm^2) short laser pulses. Several of their characteristics, such as high bunch charge and short pulse duration, make them a complementary alternative to conventional radio frequency-based accelerators. A potential material science application is the chemical analysis of cultural heritage (CH) artifacts. The complete chemistry of the bulk material (ceramics, metals) can be retrieved through sophisticated nuclear techniques such as particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE).