Laser-driven particle acceleration for multi-purpose elemental analysis of materials

Non-destructive material characterization exploiting radiation sources is of crucial importance in several fields ranging from the characterization of artworks to environmental monitoring. For instance, Ion Beam Analysis techniques exploiting particle accelerators stand for their unparalleled detection capabilities. However, the wide use of these techniques is limited by the large costs and dimensions of the exploited sources. In this framework, laser-driven particle acceleration represents a promising alternative to conventional sources since it can address some of their limitations. It relies on the interaction of a super-intense ultrashort laser pulse with a target material to accelerate high-energy electrons and ion bunches. Laser-driven radiation sources are potentially more compact and cheaper than particle accelerators. Moreover, the same laser source can provide different radiations by acting on the target configuration. Besides electrons and ions, high-energy photons and neutrons can be produced by exploiting suitable converter materials. Lastly, the particle energies can be controlled by tuning both the laser intensity and target properties. Here, we show some of the most recent results related to the application of laser-driven radiation sources to materials characterization. Our strategy is based on advanced near-critical Double-Layer Targets (DLT) to enhance the acceleration process. By means of experimental and numerical tools, we show how laser-driven protons, electrons, photons, and neutrons can be exploited for surface and bulk elemental analysis, as well as radiography. Notably, DLTs allow for satisfying the requirements of the techniques, in terms of energies and fluxes, with reduced laser requirements.