Parameter study of a laser-driven dielectric accelerator for radiobiology research

Abstract

A parameter study for a transmission grating type laser-driven dielectric accelerator (TG-LDA) was performed. The optimum pulse laser width was concluded to be 2 ps from the restrictions on the optical damage threshold intensity and the nonlinear optical effects such as the self-phase modulation and self-focus. An irradiation intensity of (2 GV m−1) was suitable for a silica TG-LDA with a pulse width range from 1 ps to 10 ps. The higher order harmonics of the axial electric field distribution was capable of accelerating electrons provided that the electron speed approximately satisfies the conditions of , or . The electrons at the initial energy of 20 kV are accelerated by an acceleration field strength of 20 MV m−1, and the electrons were accelerated by higher fields as the speed increased. For relativistic energy electrons,the acceleration gradient was .