Development and prospects of laser ion accelerators

High-energy ion beams are of great value and are widely used in many fields such as basic research, materials science, biology, and medicine; for this reason, their generation methods are receiving increasing attention. Laser plasma interaction can generate an accelerating electric field three orders of magnitude higher than that of a conventional radio frequency accelerator, which allows the construction of new compact accelerators with low cost and high peak flow intensity. This paper introduces the basic physical concepts and experimental progress of laser ion acceleration, and gives an overview of the engineering design and application prospects of laser ion accelerators.