Observation of a Hot High-Current Electron Beam from a Self-Modulated Laser Wakefield Accelerator

Santala, M.; Najmudin, Z.; Clark, Ε. L.; Tatarakis, M.; Krushelnick, K.; Dangor, A. E.; Malka, Victor; Faure, Jérôme; Allott, R.; Clarke, R.J.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.86.1227

Cited by 100 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…9 and 10. Even though the generation of relativistic electrons with short laser pulses in gas-jet targets has been reported in a number of similar investigations, [15][16][17][18] to our knowledge this is the first experiment in which an 1-TW table-top laser system operating at 10 Hz was utilized for that purpose. Recently, similar measurements were reported using the same type of laser but at higher intensities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This divergence appears to be in agreement with the results from similar experiments at lower density and higher power obtained with a completely different method. 18 Measurements at optimum electron density n e ϭ2 ϫ10 20 cm Ϫ3 reveal that the hottest electron spectrum is made up of a hot component of 5 MeV in the center of the beam at 0°and colder components in the outer parts, namely 4 MeV at 5°and finally 2 MeV at 10°. This indicates that the very fast electrons with energies exceeding 10 MeV are more collimated than the less energetic ones.…”

Section: Angular Dependencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Generation of MeV electrons and positrons with femtosecond pulses from a table-top laser system

Gahn¹,

Tsakiris²,

Pretzler³

et al. 2002

Physics of Plasmas

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In experiments, the feasibility was demonstrated of generating multi-MeV electrons in a form of a collimated beam utilizing a table-top laser system delivering 200 fs pulses with P L ϭ1.2 TW and 10 Hz capability. The method uses the process of relativistic self-channeling in a high-density gas jet producing electron densities in the range of 3ϫ1019 -6ϫ10 20 cm Ϫ3 . In a thorough investigation, angularly resolved and absolutely calibrated electron spectra were measured and their dependence on the plasma density, laser intensity, and gas medium was studied. For the optimum electron density of n e ϭ2ϫ10 20 cm Ϫ3 the effective temperature of the electron energy distribution and the channel length exhibit a maximum of 5 MeV and 400 m respectively. The laser-energyto-MeV-electron efficiency is estimated to be 5%. In a second step, utilizing the multi-MeV electron beam anti-particles, namely positrons, were successfully generated in a 2 mm Pb converter. The average intensity of this new source of positrons is estimated to be equivalent to a radioactivity of 2ϫ10 8 Bq and it exhibits a very favorable scaling for higher laser intensities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Angular Dependencementioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of MeV electrons and positrons with femtosecond pulses from a table-top laser system

Gahn¹,

Tsakiris²,

Pretzler³

et al. 2002

Physics of Plasmas

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“…Accelerating gradients in the 10-100 GV/m have been measured in laser wakefield accelerator ͑LWFA͒ experiments, [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] which is three orders of magnitude higher than in conventional linacs. Acceleration of electron bunches containing several nC of charge and energy spectra characterized by a Boltzmann-type distribution with an equivalent temperature ranging from the few MeV to tens of MeV has been demonstrated in the selfmodulated regime of the LWFA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terahertz radiation from laser accelerated electron bunches

et al. 2004

Self Cite

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Coherent terahertz and millimeter wave radiation from laser accelerated electron bunches has been measured. The bunches were produced by tightly focusing (spot diameter ≈6 μm) a high peak power (up to 10 TW), ultra-short (⩾50 fs) laser pulse from a high repetition rate (10 Hz) laser system (0.8 μm), onto a high density (>1019 cm−3) pulsed gas jet of length ≈1.5 mm. As the electrons exit the plasma, coherent transition radiation is generated at the plasma-vacuum boundary for wavelengths long compared to the bunch length. Radiation in the 0.3–19 THz range and at 94 GHz has been measured and found to depend quadratically on the bunch charge. The measured radiated energy for two different collection angles is in good agreement with theory. Modeling indicates that optimization of this table-top source could provide more than 100 μJ/pulse. Together with intrinsic synchronization to the laser pulse, this will enable numerous applications requiring intense terahertz radiation. This radiation can also be used as a powerful tool for measuring the properties of laser accelerated bunches at the exit of the plasma accelerator. Preliminary spectral measurements indicates that bunches as short as 30–50 fs have been produced in these laser driven accelerators.

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“…Over the years, the quality of these bunches improved, and beams were produced with "smaller" lasers, capable of operating at higher repetition rate. Laser pulse shape effects were studied [3,4], and applications were explored such as radio-isotope production [5,6,7] and THz radiation generation [8,9]. At AAC2002, experiments were reported, in which beams containing electrons with energy up to 200 MeV had been produced, using a 30 TW, 30 fs laser [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Laser Driven Accelerator R&D

Leemans

2004

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Abstract. Current activities (last few years) at different laboratories, towards the development of a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) are reviewed, followed by a more in depth discussion of results obtained at the L'OASIS laboratory of LBNL. Recent results on laser guiding of relativistically intense beams in preformed plasma channels are discussed. The observation of mono-energetic beams in the 100 MeV energy range, produced by a channel guided LWFA at LBNL, is described and compared to results obtained in the unguided case at LOA, RAL and LBNL. Analysis, aided by particle-in-cell simulations, as well as experiments with various plasma lengths and densities, indicate that tailoring the length of the accelerator has a very beneficial impact on the electron energy distribution. Progress on laser triggered injection is reviewed. Results are presented on measurements of bunch duration and emittance of the accelerated electron beams, that indicate the possibility of generating femtosecond duration electron bunches. Future challenges and plans towards the development of a 1 GeV LWFA module are discussed.

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Observation of a Hot High-Current Electron Beam from a Self-Modulated Laser Wakefield Accelerator

Cited by 100 publications

References 33 publications

Generation of MeV electrons and positrons with femtosecond pulses from a table-top laser system

Generation of MeV electrons and positrons with femtosecond pulses from a table-top laser system

Terahertz radiation from laser accelerated electron bunches

Advances in Laser Driven Accelerator R&D

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