GeV Electron Beams from a Laser-plasma Accelerator PDF Download

Author: C. B. Schroeder
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Languages : en
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High-quality electron beams with up to 1 GeV energy havebeen generated by a laser-driven plasma-based accelerator by guiding a 40TW peak power laser pulse in a 3.3 cm long gas-filled capillary dischargewaveguide.

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Languages : en
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Laser plasma acceleration (LPA) up to 1 GeV has been realized at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory by using a capillary discharge waveguide. In this paper, the capillary discharge guided LPA system including a broadband single-shot electron spectrometer is described. The spectrometer was designed specifically for LPA experiments and has amomentumacceptance of 0.01 - 1.1 GeV/c with a percent level resolution. Experiments using a 33 mm long, 300 mu m diameter capillary demonstrated the generation of high energy electron beams up to 1 GeV. By de-tuning discharge delay from optimum guiding performance, selftrapping and acceleration were found to be stabilized producing 460 MeV electron beams.

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Languages : en
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GeV electron accelerators are essential to synchrotron radiation facilities and free electron lasers, and as modules for high-energy particle physics. Radio frequency based accelerators are limited to relatively low accelerating fields (10-50 MV/m) and hence require tens to hundreds of meters to reach the multi-GeV beam energies needed to drive radiation sources, and many kilometers to generate particle energies of interest to the frontiers of high-energy physics. Laser wakefield accelerators (LWFA) in which particles are accelerated by the field of a plasma wave driven by an intense laser pulse produce electric fields several orders of magnitude stronger (10-100 GV/m) and so offer the potential of very compact devices. However, until now it has not been possible to maintain the required laser intensity, and hence acceleration, over the several centimeters needed to reach GeV energies. For this reason laser-driven accelerators have to date been limited to the 100 MeV scale. Contrary to predictions that PW-class lasers would be needed to reach GeV energies, here we demonstrate production of a high-quality electron beam with 1 GeV energy by channeling a 40 TW peak power laser pulse in a 3.3 cm long gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide. We anticipate that laser-plasma accelerators based on capillary discharge waveguides will have a major impact on the development of future femtosecond radiation sources such as x-ray free electron lasers and become a standard building block for next generation high-energy accelerators.

Author: Brian Henry Shaw
Publisher:
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Languages : en
Pages : 111

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For over 10 years, laser plasma acceleration (LPA) has been a rapidly growing technology used to create electron beams on length-scales much smaller than that of a conventional RF-accelerator [1]. As electron beam properties improve, research for LPAs is expanding to take advantage of the creation and accessibility of high-quality electron beams from plasma targets. Two applications which are currently being explored are a multi-stage plasma accelerator to reach energies greater than those a single-stage accelerator can achieve and exploring the possibility of an LPA based free-electron laser (FEL) light source. Research supporting both of these efforts has been performed on the 50 TW TREX laser system at the BELLA Center at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and the results of these efforts are described in this dissertation. Using chirped-pulsed amplification to produce high-quality laser pulses up to petawatt levels, experimental results have yielded laser driven electron beam energies up to 4.25 GeV [2]. By tuning the density of the target, the accelerating gradients sustained by the plasma can grow beyond 100 GeV/m [3] (10^3 times larger than that of a conventional RF accelerator). However, limiting factors such as dephasing of the electron beam from the plasma wake, defocusing of a laser pulse, and energy depletion of the laser into the plasma limit the maximum sensible length of a plasma accelerator. Staging the LPA with two or more accelerating modules could be the next step towards producing beams with energies greater than those possible with a single stage. One requirement for staged acceleration is that the laser pulse used to drive the first accelerating stage must be coupled out of the beamline, and a fresh laser pulse must be coupled in for the second stage to post accelerate the electrons. To do this while maintaining a short scale length between the two stages requires an optic to be placed near the final focus of the second laser pulse. Because damage will occur when the laser pulse interacts with a steering optic near focus, the coupling optic must be capable of replacing the surface following damage on each successive shot. This thesis comprises a detailed investigation of the physics of using a plasma mirror (PM) from a tape by reflecting ultrashort pulses from a laser-triggered surface plasma. The tapes used in the characterization of the PM are VHS and computer data storage tape. The tapes are 6.6 m (computer storage tape) and 15 m (VHS) thick. Each tape is 0.5 inches wide, and 10s of meters of tape are spooled using a tape drive; providing thousands of shots on a single reel of tape. The amount of reflected energy of the PM was studied for different input intensities. The fluence was varied by translating the focus of the laser upstream and downstream of the tape, which changed the spot size on the tape surface and hence changed the fluence. This study measured reflectances from both sides of the two tapes, and for input light of both s and p-polarizations. Lastly, an analytic model was developed to understand the reflectance as a function of fluence for each tape material and polarization. Another application that benefits from the advancements of LPA technology is an LPAbased FEL. By sending a high quality electron bunch through an undulator (a periodic structure of positive and negative magnetic poles), the electrons oscillate transversely to the propagation axis and produce radiation. The 1.5 m THUNDER undulator [4] at the BELLA Center has been commissioned using electron beams of 400MeV beams with broad energy spread (35%) [5]. To produce a coherent LPA-based FEL, the beam quality would need to improve to sub-percent level energy spread. A seed source could be used to help induce bunching of the electron beam within the undulator. This thesis described the experimental investigation of the physics of using solid-based surface high-harmonic generation (SHHG) from a thin tape as a possible seed source for an FEL. A thin tape placed within centimeters of the undulator's entrance could act as a harmonic generating source, while simultaneously transmitting an electron beam. This removes the need for transport optics for the XUV photons and the need for additional optics to overlap the seed beam with the electron beam at the undulator entrance. By operating at sub-relativistic laser strengths, harmonics up to the 17th order of 800 nm light are produced using an SHHG technique known as coherent wake emission (CWE). CWE pulse properties such as divergence, energy, conversion efficiency, and spectrum are measured for a wide range of tape materials and drive laser conditions. A clear correlation between surface roughness and harmonic beam divergence is found. The measured pulse properties for the 15th harmonic from VHS tape (conversion efficiency 6.5x10^-7 and an rms divergence of 12 mrad), the 100 mJ-level, 40-50 fs-class drive laser, produces peak powers of several MW's of XUV pulses. The results of a 1D model indicate that these CWE pulses with MW level powers are sufficient for seed-induced FEL gain.

Author: Karl Schmid
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 364219950X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. This process, known as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), relies on strongly driven plasma waves for the generation of accelerating gradients in the vicinity of several 100 GV/m, a value four orders of magnitude larger than that attainable by conventional accelerators. This thesis demonstrates that laser pulses with an ultrashort duration of 8 fs and a peak power of 6 TW allow the production of electron energies up to 50 MeV via LWFA. The special properties of laser accelerated electron pulses, namely the ultrashort pulse duration, the high brilliance, and the high charge density, open up new possibilities in many applications of these electron beams.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030908637X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Recent scientific and technical advances have made it possible to create matter in the laboratory under conditions relevant to astrophysical systems such as supernovae and black holes. These advances will also benefit inertial confinement fusion research and the nation's nuclear weapon's program. The report describes the major research facilities on which such high energy density conditions can be achieved and lists a number of key scientific questions about high energy density physics that can be addressed by this research. Several recommendations are presented that would facilitate the development of a comprehensive strategy for realizing these research opportunities.

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Languages : en
Pages : 181

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This dissertation documents the development of a broadband electron spectrometer (ESM) for GeV class Laser Wakefield Accelerators (LWFA), the production of high quality GeV electron beams (e-beams) for the first time in a LWFA by using a capillary discharge guide (CDG), and a statistical analysis of CDG-LWFAs. An ESM specialized for CDG-LWFAs with an unprecedented wide momentum acceptance, from 0.01 to 1.1 GeV in a single shot, has been developed. Simultaneous measurement of e-beam spectra and output laser properties as well as a large angular acceptance (> ± 10 mrad) were realized by employing a slitless scheme. A scintillating screen (LANEX Fast back, LANEX-FB)--camera system allowed faster than 1 Hz operation and evaluation of the spatial properties of e-beams. The design provided sufficient resolution for the whole range of the ESM (below 5% for beams with 2 mrad divergence). The calibration between light yield from LANEX-FB and total charge, and a study on the electron energy dependence (0.071 to 1.23 GeV) of LANEX-FB were performed at the Advanced light source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Using this calibration data, the developed ESM provided a charge measurement as well. The production of high quality electron beams up to 1 GeV from a centimeter-scale accelerator was demonstrated. The experiment used a 310 ?m diameter gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide that channeled relativistically-intense laser pulses (42 TW, 4.5 x 1018 W/cm2) over 3.3 centimeters of sufficiently low density (≃ 4.3 x 1018/cm3) plasma. Also demonstrated was stable self-injection and acceleration at a beam energy of ≃ 0.5 GeV by using a 225 ?m diameter capillary. Relativistically-intense laser pulses (12 TW, 1.3 x 1018W/cm2) were guided over 3.3 centimeters of low density (≃ 3.5 x 1018/cm3) plasma in this experiment. A statistical analysis of the CDG-LWFAs performance was carried out. By taking advantage of the high repetition rate experimental system, several thousands of shots were taken in a broad range of the laser and plasma parameters. An analysis program was developed to sort and select the data by specified parameters, and then to evaluate performance statistically. The analysis suggested that the generation of GeV-level beams comes from a highly unstable and regime. By having the plasma density slightly above the threshold density for self injection, (1) the longest dephasing length possible was provided, which led to the generation of high energy e-beams, and (2) the number of electrons injected into the wakefield was kept small, which led to the generation of high quality (low energy spread) e-beams by minimizing the beam loading effect on the wake. The analysis of the stable half-GeV beam regime showed the requirements for stable self injection and acceleration. A small change of discharge delay tdsc, and input energy Ein, significantly affected performance. The statistical analysis provided information for future optimization, and suggested possible schemes for improvement of the stability and higher quality beam generation. A CDG-LWFA is envisioned as a construction block for the next generation accelerator, enabling significant cost and size reductions.

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Languages : en
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Laser plasma accelerators are able to produce high quality electron beams from 1 MeV to 1 GeV. The next generation of plasma accelerator experiments will likely use a multi-stage approach where a high quality electron bunch is first produced and then injected into an accelerating structure. In this paper we present scaled particle-in-cell simulations of a 10 GeV stage in the quasi-linear regime. We show that physical parameters can be scaled to be able to perform these simulations at reasonable computational cost. Beam loading properties and electron bunch energy gain are calculated. A range of parameter regimes are studied to optimize the quality of the electron bunch at the output of the stage.

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Guiding of relativistically intense laser beams in preformed plasma channels is discussed for development of GeV-class laser accelerators. Experiments using a channel guided laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) at LBNL have demonstrated that near mono-energetic 100 MeV-class electron beams can be produced with a 10 TW laser system. 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, together with loading of the accelerating structure with beam, is the key to production of mono-energetic electron beams. Increasing the energy towards a GeV and beyond will require reducing the plasma density and design criteria are discussed for an optimized accelerator module. The current progress and future directions are summarized through comparison with conventional accelerators, highlighting the unique short term prospects for intense radiation sources based on laser-driven plasma accelerators.

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Languages : en
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Laser plasma accelerators have produced high-quality electron beams with GeV energies from cm-scale devices and are being investigated as hyperspectral fs light sources producing THz to [gamma]-ray radiation and as drivers for future high-energy colliders. These applications require a high degree of stability, beam quality and tunability. Here we report on a technique to inject electrons into the accelerating field of a laser-driven plasma wave and coupling of this injector to a lower-density, separately tunable plasma for further acceleration. The technique relies on a single laser pulse powering a plasma structure with a tailored longitudinal density profile, to produce beams that can be tuned in the range of 100-400 MeV with percent-level stability, using laser pulses of less than 40 TW. The resulting device is a simple stand-alone accelerator or the front end for a multistage higher-energy accelerator.