Microcoulomb (0.7 ± [Formula: see text] μC) laser plasma accelerator on OMEGA EP

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Plasma Physics
• Accelerator Physics

Background:

• Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) offer potential for generating particle beams and X-ray sources.
• High-energy-density science (HEDS) drivers like OMEGA and NIF require advanced sources for experiments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the development of the first LPA driven by a kilojoule-class laser (OMEGA EP) integrated with a multi-kilojoule HEDS driver (OMEGA).
• To characterize the electron beams produced by this integrated LPA-HEDS system.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the OMEGA EP laser as a driver for the LPA.
• Integrated the LPA system with the OMEGA HEDS driver.
• Conducted experiments to measure electron beam properties.

Main Results:

• Generated electron beams with energies exceeding 200 MeV.
• Achieved electron beam divergences as low as 32 mrad.
• Observed electron beam charges greater than 700 nC with conversion efficiencies up to 11% from laser to electron energy.
• Demonstrated electron beam charge scaling with normalized vector potential and plasma density.

Conclusions:

• The developed LPA-HEDS system successfully produced high-quality electron beams.
• These electron beams show significant promise for generating MeV-class radiography sources.
• The system offers potential for improved-flux broadband X-ray sources at HEDS facilities.