Proton, Electron and K-Alpha Emission from Micro-Scale Copper Cone Targets

We have conducted two sets of laser-ion acceleration experiments at the LANL 200 TW Trident short-pulse laser comparing regular size flat foils, reduced mass targets and new Cu micro-cone targets to elucidate the production of hot electrons and ions in these targets. Results from the latest experiment show proton energies in excess of ~65 MeV for the cones, compared to ~55 MeV for reduced mass targets and ~45 MeV for regular flat foils for high contrast. Data from Cu K-alpha 2D imaging crystal, an X-Ray single hit CCD, proton beam images on RCF film stacks, and an electron spectrometer are presented.