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High-Brightness High-Energy Electron Beams from a Laser Wakefield Accelerator via Energy Chirp Control
W T Wang1, W T Li1, J S Liu1,2
1State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China.
Physical Review Letters
|October 1, 2016
Summary
Researchers created high-brightness, high-energy electron beams using a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator. This advancement enables compact sources for gamma-ray and coherent X-ray radiation.
Area of Science:
- Plasma Physics
- Particle Accelerators
- Laser-Plasma Interactions
Background:
- Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is a promising technique for generating high-energy electron beams.
- Achieving high brightness and low energy spread in LWFA remains a significant challenge.
- Cascaded LWFA offers a pathway to higher electron beam energies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally produce high-brightness, high-energy electron beams using a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator.
- To investigate the manipulation of electron seeding and energy chirp reversal.
- To demonstrate the potential for compact radiation sources.
Main Methods:
- Designed a structured gas density profile between dual-stage gas jets.
- Manipulated electron seeding and energy chirp reversal.
- Utilized a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator setup.
Main Results:
- Produced electron beams with peak energies of 200-600 MeV.
- Achieved low rms energy spread (0.4%-1.2%) and divergence (∼0.2 mrad).
- Obtained high charge (10-80 pC) and maximum six-dimensional brightness (∼6.5×10^15 A/m²/0.1%).
Conclusions:
- The developed method yields electron beams comparable in brightness to state-of-the-art linac drivers.
- These high-quality electron beams are suitable for developing compact monoenergetic gamma-ray and intense coherent X-ray sources.
