Laser-accelerated ions and their applications

During the two-year fellowship Dr Petringa will carry out a research project focused on the realisation of a novel detector for diagnostics and dosimetry of both conventional and laser-based ion accelerators.

The Research project named PRAGUE (PRoton RAnge measure Using Silicon CarbidE) will be carried out by the young Italian researcher at the ELI-Beamlines Research Centre in the Czech Republic under the supervision of Dr Daniele Margarone, where one of the most powerful laser system worldwide will be available along with a target area fully dedicated to the acceleration of ions by ultrahigh intensity laser-matter interaction.

The project foresees the realisation of a new dosimetric system based on the use of Silicon Carbide detectors. It will allow to reconstruct depth-dose distributions of energetic (10 - 250 MeV range) proton and ion beams used in hadrontherapy and in medical applications, demonstrating unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution.

The precise evaluation of the depth-dose distribution represents, in fact, one of the most important parameters to be evaluated during the quality assurance procedures of any hadron beam used in clinical applications. Nowadays, the available systems for the depth dose profile reconstruction have millimeter-level resolution, while the detector to be developed by Dr Petringa will push this limit down to the sub-millimeter-level thanks to the newly developed Silicon Carbide technologies.

At the same time, the detector will be tested with extremely intense ion beams generated in ultrahigh power laser-matter interaction processes. Such laser-acceleration approach is currently considered as one of the research frontiers for the construction of new accelerators in the field of hadrontherapy using clinically effective Flash regimes.

The design of such detector and its working principle is protected by an international patent; thus, it will clearly be the first detector working in two distinct irradiation regimes (conventional intensities and flash), also capable to provide information on ion energy distribution, released dose profile and ion range.

The main goal of the "Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships" is the valorization of Dr Petringa's innovative ideas, as young researcher, and the possibility to develop her project in an highly recognized research institution operating d in a EU Country.

Dr Giada Petringa received her master's degree in physics and her PhD in Physics at the Physics and Astronomy Department of the Catania University (Italy)