Narrow spread electron beams from a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator

Wiggins, S. M.; Anania, M. P.; Brunetti, E.; Cipiccia, Silvia; Ersfeld, B.; Islam, M. R.; Issac, R. C.; Raj, Gaurav; Shanks, Richard; Vieux, G.; Welsh, G. H.; Gillespie, W. A.; MacLeod, A. M.; Jaroszynski, D. A.

doi:10.1117/12.820733

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 20 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…2, narrow energy spread bunches have been obtained using the ALPHA-X electron spectrometer (E-SPEC) operating in its high energy configuration where, at electron energies above ∼100 MeV, optimal focussing of the beam in the imaging plane of the spectrometer can be obtained with additional beam collimation provided by the EMQs (no PMQs have been used for these measurements). The dependence of the spectrometer response on the electron beam properties is well understood from General Particle Tracer (GPT) (van der Geer et al 2005) simulations and estimations of the detection system resolution are consistent with the narrowest measured energy spreads (Wiggins et al 2009). For the energy range discussed here, the resolution is typically 0.3-1.0%.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 63%

High resolution electron beam measurements on the ALPHA-X laser–plasma wakefield accelerator

Welsh¹,

Wiggins²,

Issac

et al. 2012

J. Plasma Phys.

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The Advanced Laser–Plasma High-Energy Accelerators towards X-rays (ALPHA-X) programme at the University of Strathclyde is developing laser– plasma accelerators for the production of ultra-short high quality electron bunches. Focussing such LWFA bunches into an undulator, for example, requires particular attention to be paid to the emittance, electron bunch duration and energy spread. On the ALPHA-X wakefield accelerator beam line, a high intensity ultra-short pulse from a 30 TW Ti:Sapphire laser is focussed into a helium gas jet to produce femtosecond duration electron bunches in the range of 90–220 MeV. Measurements of the electron energy spectrum, obtained using a high resolution magnetic dipole spectrometer, show electron bunch r.m.s. energy spreads down to 0.5%. A pepper-pot mask is used to obtain transverse emittance measurements of a 128±3 MeV mono-energetic electron beam. An average normalized emittance of εrms,x,y = 2.2±0.7, 2.3±0.6 π-mm-mrad is measured, which is comparable to that of a conventional radio-frequency accelerator. The best measured emittance of εrms,x, = 1.1±0.1 π-mm-mrad corresponds to the resolution limit of the detection system. 3D particle-in-cell simulations of the ALPHA-X accelerator partially replicate the generation of low emittance, low energy spread bunches with charge less than 4 pC and gas flow simulations indicate both long density ramps and shock formation in the gas jet nozzle

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 63%

High resolution electron beam measurements on the ALPHA-X laser–plasma wakefield accelerator

Welsh¹,

Wiggins²,

Issac

et al. 2012

J. Plasma Phys.

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Determining the duration of an ultra-intense laser pulse directly in its focus

Mackenroth¹,

Holkundkar²

2019

Sci Rep

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Ultra-intense lasers facilitate studies of matter and particle dynamics at unprecedented electromagnetic field strengths. In order to quantify these studies, precise knowledge of the laser’s spatiotemporal shape is required. Due to material damage, however, conventional metrology devices are inapplicable at highest intensities, limiting laser metrology there to indirect schemes at attenuated intensities. Direct metrology, capable of benchmarking these methods, thus far only provides static properties of short-pulsed lasers with no scheme suggested to extract dynamical laser properties. Most notably, this leaves an ultra-intense laser pulse’s duration in its focus unknown at full intensity. Here we demonstrate how the electromagnetic radiation pattern emitted by an electron bunch with a temporal energy chirp colliding with the laser pulse depends on the laser’s pulse duration. This could eventually facilitate to determine the pulse’s temporal duration directly in its focus at full intensity, in an example case to an accuracy of order 10% for fs-pulses, indicating the possibility of an order-of magnitude estimation of this previously inaccessible parameter.

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A method of determining narrow energy spread electron beams from a laser plasma wakefield accelerator using undulator radiation

et al. 2009

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In this paper a new method of determining the energy spread of a relativistic electron beam from a laser-driven plasma wakefield accelerator by measuring radiation from an undulator is presented. This could be used to determine the beam characteristics of multi-GeV accelerators where conventional spectrometers are very large and cumbersome. Simultaneous measurement of the energy spectra of electrons from the wakefield accelerator in the 55-70 MeV range and the radiation spectra in the wavelength range of 700-900 nm of synchrotron radiation emitted from a 50 period undulator confirm a narrow energy spread for electrons accelerated over the dephasing distance where beam loading leads to energy compression. Measured energy spreads of less than 1% indicates the potential of using a wakefield accelerator as a driver of future compact and brilliant ultrashort pulse synchrotron sources and free-electron lasers that require high peak brightness beams

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Narrow spread electron beams from a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

High resolution electron beam measurements on the ALPHA-X laser–plasma wakefield accelerator

High resolution electron beam measurements on the ALPHA-X laser–plasma wakefield accelerator

Determining the duration of an ultra-intense laser pulse directly in its focus

A method of determining narrow energy spread electron beams from a laser plasma wakefield accelerator using undulator radiation

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