The directed acceleration of ions with lasers is one of the current challenges in the field of light-matter interaction. This process can be realized by a series of laser-induced phenomena in the plasma, but specifically by the transfer of the directed pulse of the laser field, the so-called light pressure.
Light pressure - the path to efficient ion acceleration with lasers
The use of light pressure requires enormous demands on the laser intensity and the temporal shape of the laser pulse. For this, the theory predicts a large energy transfer from the laser field into the ion beam to be generated and a rather narrow energy distribution, which are both prerequisites for many applications.
Physicists of the Max Born Institute (MBI) in Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching and the LMU in Munich were now able to apply this principle in experiments (Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 (24), 245003 (2009)) demonstrate. The key to success lies in the preference of the momentum transfer between the laser field and the target while at the same time suppressing unwanted heating of the electrons in the target. This is achieved by generating laser pulses with an ultra-high temporal contrast (by the high-field laser of MBI-Berlin) irradiating ultra-thin diamond films (manufactured at the MPQ / LMU). The results demonstrate an efficient ion beam generation while simultaneously reducing the kinetic energy distribution of the ions.
Search publications of MBI
Publications since 2026
A1-P-2026.01
Fragmentation dynamics of CS2 dications and trications following S 2p ionization
Journal of Chemical Physics
164
(2026) 024304/1-16
A3-P-2025.28
Few-cycle pulses with 40 W average power at 100 kHz from a flat-top pumped OPCPA
Optics Express
34
(2026)
A3-P-2026.01
Apparatus for broadband, time-resolved measurements of laser-induced reflectivity transients with sub-10 fs resolution
Optics & Laser Technology
193, Part B
(2026) 114354/1-8
B1-P-2025.17
Excitation of spin waves in ferrimagnetic alloy via optical transient grating spectroscopy
Advanced Photonics Research
7
(2026) e202500233/1-5
B1-P-2025.18
Soft X-ray imaging with coherence tomography in the water window spectral range using highharmonic generation
Light: Science & Applications
15
(2026) 79/1-10
B4-P-2026.01
Studies on multiferroics with weak magnetoelectric coupling using Green's function method
Physical Review B
724
(2026) 418166/1-7
C1-P-2025.03
Transient electronic polarizability of β-carotene from ultrafast terahertz Stark spectroscopy
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Online
(2026)
C3-P-2025.04
Light wave induced nanosecond-long persistent state in the Dirac semimetal Cd3As2
Physical Review B
113
(2026) L041106/1-7
T1-P-2026.01
Keldysh approach to calculating the ionization rate in strong two-color fields
Physical Review A
113
(2026) 013512/1-24
T1-P-2026.02
Encoding and manipulating ultrafast coherent valleytronic information with lightwaves
Nature Photonics
online
(2026) 1-10
T2-P-2026.01
Geometry of chiral temporal structures. I. Physical effects
Physical Review A
113
(2026) 013110/1-
T2-P-2026.02
Geometry of chiral temporal structures. II. The formalism
Physical Review A
113
(2026) 013111/1-8