The EPS Conference on Plasma Physics is Europe’s largest annual forum covering the full spectrum of plasma physics research. Organised by the Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS), the event brings together international experts to present groundbreaking results in fusion energy, laser science and astrophysics.
In 2024, the CLPU, together with the Polytechnic University of Madrid, had the pleasure of organising the 50th edition, an important milestone in the long history of this major conference. This year, held in Edinburgh, the CLPU was once again present, not as an organiser but as a participant. The talk, given by our senior scientist José Antonio Pérez in the framework of the European Hiper+ project, was titled Proton acceleration efficiency via ultrashort PW-class lasers.
Most importantly, a former user of the facility presented the outstanding results of two experimental campaigns conducted at VEGA in 2023 and 2024. Katarzyna Batani, a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, delivered a talk entitled Laser-driven radioisotope production for medical applications
There, she presented the outcomes of these two experiments:
High Repetition Rate laser-plasma interaction and production of radioisotopes
This experimental campaign, conducted from 9 to 19 April 2024 using the VEGA-3 system, was led by Professor Dimitri Batani of the University of Bordeaux, France, and co-funded by the LASCAN project — Production de radioisotopes par laser — led by the University of Bordeaux. The experiment was carried out jointly by seven institutions: CELIA, France; ELI-Beamlines, Czech Republic; Texas A&M University, United States; the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Poland; and, in Spain, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE) and the Spanish Centre for Pulsed Lasers. The campaign aimed to produce radioisotopes through laser–matter interaction using the VEGA-2 short-focal-length and VEGA-3 long-focal-length configurations. The process was designed to induce alpha-particle generation through the proton–boron nuclear reaction. Owing to limitations in the target-positioning system, the experiment was conducted at the maximum repetition rate of 1 Hz, allowing statistically significant data to be acquired. A pitcher–catcher configuration was used, in which the first target element is refreshed while the second remains static. Radioisotope measurements were performed using the CLPU’s germanium detector. During the experiment, the laser system delivered more than 8,000 shots, achieving an average peak power of 1.09 PW in VEGA and a corresponding energy of 27.81 J in the experimental area.
There is a publication in preparation.
Laser-driven proton-boron fusion.–
This competitive-access campaign was evaluated and co-funded through the RADNEXT project, the Radiation Facility Network for the Exploration of Effects for Industry and Research. It was carried out from 6 to 17 March 2023 using VEGA’s petawatt output. In recent years, the proton–boron fusion reaction has attracted particular interest because of its many potential applications. The reaction p + ¹¹B → 3 ⁴He + 8.7 MeV produces three alpha particles with a total energy of 8.7 MeV, opening up the possibility of developing a new generation of high-brightness alpha-particle sources, with potential applications in astrophysics, space propulsion, fusion energy, and medical treatment. This reaction can also be exploited to develop laser-driven alpha-particle sources for medical applications, particularly the production of radioisotopes for diagnostic purposes, such as PET imaging, or for medical treatment. The campaign aimed to investigate different laser-driven p–¹¹B reaction schemes, taking advantage of the high power and high repetition rate of the VEGA-3 laser to improve the detection of alpha-particle production and the production of scandium radioisotopes.
The results of this experiment were published in High Power Laser Science and Engineering in January 2025, in an open-access article entitled ‘Generation of radioisotopes for medical applications using high-repetition, high-intensity lasers’ (read here) [doi:10.1017/hpl.2024.92]
For further information, watch the interview with Professor D. Batani on our YouTube channel.
