Proton and ion acceleration in ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions is a very active research field with strong European contributions. With its high acceleration gradients, producing multi-MeV particles on micrometer lengths, the underlying processes are considered a key technology for future accelerators at all energy scales. Since 2012, I3M has participated in the setup of the first laser-proton experiments in Spain, in collaboration with other research institutes as well as private companies. We have developed and tested several kinds of particle detectors for the spectral characterisation of protons and ions. From 2015-2017, several series of proton acceleration experiments have been successfully accomplished with a 3 TW, 50 fs table-top laser. The group is now contributing to fundamental research at the L2A2 laboratory (Santiago de Compostela) aiming at biomedical applications of laser-accelerated ions.
In parallel, our group is involved in the development of particle detector applications for medical imaging and for research in hadron therapy. Short-term projects have been run with public and private partners on the national and European level.
Members
Michael Seimetz, PhD, Group leader
José María Benlloch, PhD, Prof.
Alicia Reija Vecino
Francisco Barranco Blázquez
Jessica Juan Morales
Former members:
Pablo Jesús Bellido Millán, PhD. (2017)
Paula Mur León (Garantía Juvenil grant, 2016-2018)
María Laorden Cano (Garantía Juvenil grant, 2017-2018)
José Manuel Calatayud Jordán (JAE Intro 2019 grant)
Alberto Torralba Torregrosa (Garantía Juvenil grant, 2020-2021)
Lidia Palenciano Castro (Garantía Juvenil grant, 2019-2021)
María del Mar de Gálvez Porras (JAE Intro 2020 grant)
Javier Calatayud Giner, Final degree project (2019)
Albert Sánchez Paños, Final degree project, Master thesis (2021-2022)
Contact:
Ayudas PEJ2018-002035-A y PEJ2018-002037-A financiadas por AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por El FSE invierte en tu futuro.
Ayuda EDGJID/2021/204 financiada por Generalitat Valenciana.
Becas JAE Intro financiadas por CSIC.
Projects and funding
“Front end fiber track detector for proton and carbon ion therapy”, i-LINK+2020, CSIC, ref. LINKA20351. Collaborators: I3M (CSIC), DKFZ (Heidelberg), LIP (Lisbon).
Proyecto LINKA20351 financiado por CSIC en el programa i-LINK+2020.
“Efectos radiobiológicos de pulsos ultra-cortos de iones en células vivas”, Grupos de Investigación Consolidables, Generalitat Valenciana, ref. AICO/2020/207. Collaborators: i3M (CSIC), Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela.
Proyecto AICO/2020/207 financiado por Generalitat Valenciana en el programa Grupos de Investigación Consolidables.
“Medical applications of laser-plasma accelerators”, Retos Investigación 2018 program, ref. RTI-2018-101578-B. Collaborators: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, I3M (CSIC).
Proyecto RTI-2018-101578-B financiado por MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa.
“Aceleración de iones de carbono por pulsos de láser ultraintensos”, Proyectos intramurales especiales, ref. 201850|082.
Proyecto 201850|082 financiado por CSIC.
“Investigation, development and validation of a system which generates radiopharmaceuticals by laser acceleration”, Retos 2015 program, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. Collaborators: Proton Laser Applications S.L., Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica, I3M (CSIC).
Proyecto RTC-2015-3278-1 financiado por MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa.
Research co-financed by the European Union through Programa Operativo del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) of the Comunitat Valenciana 2014-2020 (IDIFEDER/2018/022 and IDIFEDER/2021/004).
Relevant Publications
Peer-reviewed publications
Experimental Setup for Irradiation of Cell Cultures at L2A2,
A. Torralba, L. Palenciano, A. Reija, J.P. Rigla, J. Peñas, J.J. Llerena, R. Contreras-Martínez, J. Benlliure, A. Vega, M.E. Aguado-Barrera, C. Ruiz, and M. Seimetz,
Quantum Beam Science 6 (2022) 10.
Electromagnetic pulse generation in laser-proton acceleration from conductive and dielectric targets,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, P. Mur, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, I. Sánchez, R. Zaffino, J. Benlliure, C. Ruiz, L. Roso and J.M. Benlloch,
Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 62 (2020) 115008.
PADC nuclear track detector for ion spectroscopy in laser-plasma acceleration,
M. Seimetz, J. Peñas, J.J. Llerena, J. Benlliure, J. García López, M.A. Millán-Callado, and J.M. Benlloch,
Physica Medica 76 (2020) 72.
Development of a few TW Ti:Sa laser system at 100 Hz for proton acceleration,
R. Lera, P. Bellido, I. Sánchez, P. Mur, M. Seimetz, J.M. Benlloch, L. Roso, and A. Ruiz-de la Cruz,
Appl. Phys. B 125 (2019) 4.
Wafer-scale fabrication of target arrays for stable generation of proton beams by laser-plasma interaction,
R.L. Zaffino, M. Seimetz, A. Ruiz, I. Sánchez, P. Mur, P. Bellido, R. Lera, D. Quirion, L. Martín, J. Benlliure, J.M. Benlloch, M. Lozano, and G. Pellegrini,
J. Phys. Conf. Series 1079 (2018) 012007.
Efficient proton acceleration from a 3 TW table-top laser interacting with submicrometric mass-produced solid targets,
R. Zaffino, M. Seimetz, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, I. Sánchez, P. Mur, D. Quirion, P. Bellido, R. Lera, L. Martín, J. Benlliure, J.M. Benlloch, M. Lozano, and G. Pellegrini,
J. Phys. Commun. 2 (2018) 041001.
Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments,
R. Zaffino, M. Seimetz, D. Quirion, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, I. Sánchez, P. Mur, J. Benlliure, L. Martín, L. Roso, J.M. Benlloch, M. Lozano, and G. Pellegrini,
Microelectronic Engineering 194 (2018) 67-70.
Spectral characterization of laser-accelerated protons with CR-39 nuclear track detector,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, P. García, P. Mur, A. Iborra, A. Soriano, T. Hülber, J. García López, M.C. Jiménez-Ramos, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, I. Sánchez, R. Zaffino, L. Roso, and J.M. Benlloch,
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 89 (2018) 023302.
Characterization of protons accelerated from a 3 TW table-top laser system,
P. Bellido, R. Lera, M. Seimetz, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, S. Torres-Peirò, M. Galán, P. Mur, I. Sánchez, R. Zaffino, L. Vidal, A. Soriano, S. Sánchez, F. Sánchez, M.J. Rodríguez-Álvarez, J.P. Rigla, L. Moliner, A. Iborra, L. Hernández, D. Grau-Ruiz, A.J. González, J.J. García-Garrigos, E. Díaz-Caballero, P. Conde, A. Aguilar, L. Roso and J.M. Benlloch,
J. Inst. 12 (2017) T05001.
Intra-operative radiation therapy with laser-accelerated carbon ions,
P. Mur, P. Bellido, M. Seimetz, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, M. Galán, L. Roso, F. Sánchezand J.M. Benlloch, 3rd ELIMED Workshop, Catania (Italy), 2016,
J. Inst. 12 (2017) C03083.
Proton acceleration with a table-top TW laser,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, P. Mur, I. Sánchez, M. Galán, F. Sánchez, L. Rosoand J.M. Benlloch, 3rd ELIMED Workshop, Catania (Italy), 2016,
J. Inst. 11 (2016) C11012.
Simulations of the gain profile and performance of a diode side-pumped QCW Nd:YAG laser,
R. Lera, F. Valle-Brozas, S. Torres-Peirò, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, M. Galán, P. Bellido, M. Seimetz, J.M. Benllochand L. Roso,
Applied Optics 55 (2016) 9573.
Calibration and Performance Tests of Detectors for Laser-Accelerated Protons,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, A. Soriano, J. García López, M. C. Jiménez-Ramos, B. Fernández, P. Conde, E. Crespo, A. J. González, L. Hernández, A. Iborra, L. Moliner, J. P. Rigla, M. J. Rodríguez-Álvarez, F. Sánchez, S. Sánchez, L. F. Vidal, and J. M. Benlloch,
IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 62 (2015) 3216-3224.
Publications on Instrumentation for Medical Imaging
A single-particle trigger for time-of-flight measurements in prompt-gamma imaging,
P. Magalhaes Martins, R. Dal Bello, M. Seimetz, G. Hermann, Th. Kihm and J. Seco,
Frontiers in Physics 8 (2020) 169.
Gamma-imaging devices based on position-sensitive photomultipliers,
M. Seimetz.
in: S. Awadalla (ed.), Solid-state radiation detectors, CRC Press (2015), 303-315, ISBN 978-1-4822-6220-9.
Correction algorithms for signal reduction in insensitive areas of a small gamma camera,
M. Seimetz, A. Orero, C. Morera, D. Abellán, R. Polo, L. Hernández, L.F. Vidal, A. Soriano, N. Pavón, and J. M. Benlloch.
J. Inst. 9 (2014) C05042.
Conference proceedings
A tabletop laser-driven X-ray source for radiobiological studies in the flash regime,
R. Contreras-Martínez, A. Coathup, A. Reija, M.E. Aguado-Barrera, J. Benlliure, J. Peñas, C. Ruiz, A. Vega-Gliemmo, and M. Seimetz,
Flash Radiation and Particle Therapy 2021, Viena/online, December 1-3, 2021; Physica Medica 94S1, S87 (2022).
Proton dose measurements with passive detectors at high fluence,
L. Palenciano, M.C. Jiménez-Ramos, J. García López, A. Viñals, M. Seimetz,
Flash Radiation and Particle Therapy 2021, Viena/online, December 1-3, 2021; Physica Medica 94S1, S111 (2022).
High throughput production of solid targets for laser-driven particles acceleration through MEMS based processing,
R. Zaffino, M. Seimetz, A. Ruiz, I. Sánchez, P. Mur, R. Lera, P. Bellido, D. Quirion, J. M. Benlloch, M. Lozano, and G. Pellegrini,
XXXVI Reunión Bienal de la Real Sociedad Española de Física, Santiago de Compostela (2017); D. Cortina Gil y E. López Lago (eds.),
Libro de Resúmenes de la XXXVI Reunión Bienal de la RSEF (2018), 312-313, ISBN 13 978-84-09-01780-5.
Time-of-flight detection of Al ions from laser produced plasma,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, A. Peralta Conde, J. I. Apiñaniz, A. V. Carpentier, M. Sánchez Albaneda, F. Valle Brozas, C. Méndez, J. Lozano, J.M. Álvarez, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, M. Galán, L. Vidal, A. Soriano, S. Sánchez, F. Sánchez, M.J. Rodríguez-Álvarez, J.P. Rigla, L. Moliner, A. Iborra, L. Hernández, A.J. González, P. Conde, A. Aguilar, L. Roso, and J.M. Benlloch,
2016 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference Record (NSS-MIC 2016).
Radiological protection study of a radioisotope production scenario of a laser-based proton accelerator,
P. Bellido, M. Seimetz, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, F. Sánchez, L. Roso and J.M. Benlloch,
2016 IEEE NSS-MIC Conference Record.
Detailed requirements for a laser-based proton/ion accelerator for radioisotope production,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, A. Aguilar, P. Conde, A.J. González, A. Iborra, L. Moliner, J.P. Rigla, M.J. Rodríguez-Álvarez, F. Sánchez, S. Sánchez, A. Soriano, and J.M. Benlloch,
2015 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference Record (NSS-MIC 2015).
Design of a Thomson Parabola Spectrometer for the detection of laser-accelerated protons and ions,
P. Bellido, M. Seimetz, R. Lera, A. Ruiz-de la Cruz, S. Torres-Peirò, A.J. González, F. Sánchez, L. Roso and J.M. Benlloch,
2015 IEEE NSS-MIC Conference Record (NSS-MIC 2015).
Time-of-flight detector for the characterisation of laser-accelerated protons,
M. Seimetz, P. Bellido, A. Soriano, C. Huertas, J. García López, M.C. Jiménez-Ramos, B. Fernández, P. Conde, E. Crespo, A.J. González, L. Hernández, A. Iborra, F. Martos, L. Moliner, J.P. Rigla, M.J. Rodríguez-Álvarez, F. Sánchez, L.F. Vidal, and J.M. Benlloch,
2013 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference Record (NSS-MIC 2013).
Dosimetric calibration of radiochromic film for laser-accelerated proton beams,
P. Bellido, M. Seimetz, A. Soriano, C. Huertas, J. García López, M.C. Jiménez-Ramos, B. Fernández, P. Conde, E. Crespo, A.J. González, L. Hernández, A. Iborra, F. Martos, L. Moliner, J.P. Rigla, M.J. Rodríguez-Álvarez, F. Sánchez, L.F. Vidal, and J.M. Benlloch,
2013 IEEE NSS-MIC Conference Record (NSS-MIC 2013).
PhD thesis
Caracterización de protones acelerados por láser y estudio de aplicaciones médicas,
Pablo Bellido Millán, Universitat de València, June 2017.
Master theses
Medida de dosis de radiación en estudios radiobiológicos con iones acelerados por láser,
José Manuel Calatayud Jordán, Universitat de València, July 2020.
Scintillating fiber beam monitor for hadrontherapy,
Albert Sánchez Paños, Universitat de València, July 2022.