Commissioning and first results from the new 2 × 100 TW laser at the WIS

Kroupp, E.; Tata, Sheroy; Wan, Y.; Levy, Dan; Smartsev, Slava; Levine, Eitan Y.; Seemann, O.; Adelberg, Michael; Piliposian, R.; Queller, T.; Segre, Enrico; Ta-Phuoc, K.; Kozlová, M.; Malka, Victor

doi:10.1063/5.0090514

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Concerning the literature, we also would like to recall that with a similar laser system, with a longer off-axis parabola, and similar conditions for plasma density and injection scheme, other authors have demonstrated the same electron energies but higher critical energy (in the few keVs) and number of photons (∼10 8 ) [26]. In another work, with a similar experimental setup, larger electron energies up to 500 MeV have been demonstrated and larger critical energies of the betatron spectrum up to 10 keV [35], but smaller bunch charges. The reason for these differences may be attributed to different conditions for laser guiding and/or different injection schemes realized, e.g., with a mixture of gases, affecting the electron beam emittance, the bunch charge and the energy spread.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Performance Study on a Soft X-ray Betatron Radiation Source Realized in the Self-Injection Regime of Laser-Plasma Wakefield Acceleration

et al. 2022

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We present an analysis of the performance of a broadband secondary radiation source based on a high-gradient laser-plasma wakefield electron accelerator. In more detail, we report studies of compact and ultra-short X-ray generation via betatron oscillations in plasma channels. For the specific working point examined in this paper, determined by the needs of other experiments ongoing at the facility, at ∼0.02 Hz operation rate, we have found ≲106 photons emitted per shot (with a fluctuation of 50%) in the soft X-rays, corresponding to a critical energy of ∼0.8 keV (with a fluctuation of 40%). The source will be implemented for experiments in time-domain spectroscopy, e.g., biological specimens, and for other applications oriented to medical physics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Performance Study on a Soft X-ray Betatron Radiation Source Realized in the Self-Injection Regime of Laser-Plasma Wakefield Acceleration

et al. 2022

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“…The experiment was conducted using the HIGGINS dual 100-TW laser system at the Weizmann Institute of Science ( 37 ). In the experimental setup, one laser beam with 1.2-J and 30-fs duration was focused onto a 3-mm-long helium gas jet doped with 1% nitrogen, resulting in the stable production of an ultra-relativistic electron bunch as a probe.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experiment was carried out at the HIGGINS dual 100-TW laser platform at the Weizmann Institute of Science ( 37 ), where a 1-Hz, 7-J laser beam was split into two equal parts after the final amplifier: laser A for the acceleration of the probe electron bunch, and laser B for driving the wakefield. Both lasers were independently compressed to 30-fs durations and focused to 28.5- and 37.8-μm spots (FWHM), respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time visualization of the laser-plasma wakefield dynamics

Wan,

Tata,

Seemann

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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The exploration of new acceleration mechanisms for compactly delivering high-energy particle beams has gained great attention in recent years. One alternative that has attracted particular interest is the plasma-based wakefield accelerator, which is capable of sustaining accelerating fields that are more than three orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional radio-frequency accelerators. In this device, acceleration is generated by plasma waves that propagate at nearly light speed, driven by intense lasers or charged particle beams. Here, we report on the direct visualization of the entire plasma wake dynamics by probing it with a femtosecond relativistic electron bunch. This includes the excitation of the laser wakefield, the increase of its amplitude, the electron injection, and the transition to the beam-driven plasma wakefield. These experimental observations provide first-hand valuable insights into the complex physics of laser beam–plasma interaction and demonstrate a powerful tool that can largely advance the development of plasma accelerators for real-time operation.

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“…To validate the proposed method, we performed the experiment at the HIGGINS dual 100 TW laser platform of the Weizmann Institute of Science 33 . The LPA-generated electron bunch that was investigated was obtained by focusing a 0.8 J, 30 fs laser beam onto a 5-mm diameter supersonic gas jet using a mixture of helium and nitrogen with a plasma density of 4 × 10 18 cm −3 in the plateau.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experiment was carried out using the HIGGINS dual 100 TW laser system at the Weizmann Institute of Science 33 . The HIGGINS system is comprised of two separate laser pulses (A and B) split from a 7 J laser.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Femtosecond electron microscopy of relativistic electron bunches

et al. 2023

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The development of plasma-based accelerators has enabled the generation of very high brightness electron bunches of femtosecond duration, micrometer size and ultralow emittance, crucial for emerging applications including ultrafast detection in material science, laboratory-scale free-electron lasers and compact colliders for high-energy physics. The precise characterization of the initial bunch parameters is critical to the ability to manipulate the beam properties for downstream applications. Proper diagnostic of such ultra-short and high charge density laser-plasma accelerated bunches, however, remains very challenging. Here we address this challenge with a novel technique we name as femtosecond ultrarelativistic electron microscopy, which utilizes an electron bunch from another laser-plasma accelerator as a probe. In contrast to conventional microscopy of using very low-energy electrons, the femtosecond duration and high electron energy of such a probe beam enable it to capture the ultra-intense space-charge fields of the investigated bunch and to reconstruct the charge distribution with very high spatiotemporal resolution, all in a single shot. In the experiment presented here we have used this technique to study the shape of a laser-plasma accelerated electron beam, its asymmetry due to the drive laser polarization, and its beam evolution as it exits the plasma. We anticipate that this method will significantly advance the understanding of complex beam-plasma dynamics and will also provide a powerful new tool for real-time optimization of plasma accelerators.

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Commissioning and first results from the new 2 × 100 TW laser at the WIS

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Performance Study on a Soft X-ray Betatron Radiation Source Realized in the Self-Injection Regime of Laser-Plasma Wakefield Acceleration

Performance Study on a Soft X-ray Betatron Radiation Source Realized in the Self-Injection Regime of Laser-Plasma Wakefield Acceleration

Real-time visualization of the laser-plasma wakefield dynamics

Femtosecond electron microscopy of relativistic electron bunches

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