Laser-accelerated Electron Beams Research Articles

All-optical source size and emittance measurements of laser-accelerated electron beams

Novel schemes for generating ultralow emittance electron beams have been developed in past years and promise compact particle sources with excellent beam quality suitable for future high-energy physics experiments and free-electron lasers. Recent theoretical work has proposed a laser-based method capable of resolving emittances in the sub 0.1 mm mrad regime by modulating the electron phase space ponderomotively. Here we present the first experimental demonstration of this scheme using a laser wakefield accelerator. The observed emittance and source size are consistent with published values. We also show calculations demonstrating that tight bounds on the upper limit for emittance and source size can be derived from the “laser-grating” method even in the presence of low signal to noise and uncertainty in laser-grating parameters. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Electron-positron generation by irradiating various metallic materials with laser-accelerated electrons

We examined electron–positron pair production in solid iron, zinc, tungsten, and lead targets irradiated by a laser-accelerated electron beam generated with a 100TW laser. These targets were assessed at the target thickness of 0.5, 1.25, and 2.0radiation lengths for each material. Using a 0.75-T-magnetic spectrometer, we measured the electron and positron yields and spectra, producing 3 × 108 positrons per shot with a peak leptonic density of 4 × 1012cm−3. These experimental results agree very well with Monte Carlo simulations conducted with the simulation code Geant4. Importantly, our findings show that normalizing the target thickness to each material’s radiation length results in consistent electron and positron yields across the materials, effectively reducing discrepancies due to material differences.

Study of the isomeric yield ratio in the photoneutron reaction of natural holmium induced by laser-accelerated electron beams

Introduction: An accurate knowledge of the isomeric yield ratio (IR) induced by the photonuclear reaction is crucial to study the nuclear structure and reaction mechanisms. 165Ho is a good candidate for the investigation of the IR since the Ho target has a natural abundance of 100% and the residual nuclide has a good decay property.Methods: In this study, the photoneutron production of 164m, gHo induced by laser-accelerated electron beams is investigated experimentally. The γ-ray spectra of activated Ho foils are off-line detected. Since the direct transitions from the 164mHo are not successfully observed, we propose to extract the IRs of the 164m, gHo using only the photopeak counts from the ground-state decay.Results: The production yields of 164m, gHo are extracted to be (0.45 ± 0.10) × 106 and (1.48 ± 0.14) × 106 per laser shot, respectively. The resulting IR is obtained to be 0.30 ± 0.08 at the effective γ-ray energy of 12.65 MeV.Discussion: The present data, available experimental data, and TALYS calculations are then compared to examine the role of the excitation energy. It is found that besides the giant dipole resonance, the excitation energy effect also plays a key role in the determination of the IRs.

Laser-accelerated electron beams at 1 GeV using optically-induced shock injection

In recent years, significant progress has been made in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), both regarding the increase in electron energy, charge and stability as well as the reduction of bandwidth of electron bunches. Simultaneous optimization of these parameters is, however, still the subject of an ongoing effort in the community to reach sufficient beam quality for next generation’s compact accelerators. In this report, we show the design of slit-shaped gas nozzles providing centimeter-long supersonic gas jets that can be used as targets for the acceleration of electrons to the GeV regime. In LWFA experiments at the Centre for Advanced Laser Applications, we show that electron bunches are accelerated to {1}text {GeV} using these nozzles. The electron bunches were injected into the laser wakefield via a laser-machined density down-ramp using hydrodynamic optical-field-ionization and subsequent plasma expansion on a ns-timescale. This injection method provides highly controllable quasi-monoenergetic electron beams with high charge around {100}text {pC}, low divergence of {0.5}text {mrad}, and a relatively small energy spread of around {10}% at {1}text {GeV}. In contrast to capillaries and gas cells, the scheme allows full plasma access for injection, probing or guiding in order to further improve the energy and quality of LWFA beams.

Demonstration of a compact plasma accelerator powered by laser-accelerated electron beams

Plasma wakefield accelerators are capable of sustaining gigavolt-per-centimeter accelerating fields, surpassing the electric breakdown threshold in state-of-the-art accelerator modules by 3-4 orders of magnitude. Beam-driven wakefields offer particularly attractive conditions for the generation and acceleration of high-quality beams. However, this scheme relies on kilometer-scale accelerators. Here, we report on the demonstration of a millimeter-scale plasma accelerator powered by laser-accelerated electron beams. We showcase the acceleration of electron beams to 128 MeV, consistent with simulations exhibiting accelerating gradients exceeding 100 GV m−1. This miniaturized accelerator is further explored by employing a controlled pair of drive and witness electron bunches, where a fraction of the driver energy is transferred to the accelerated witness through the plasma. Such a hybrid approach allows fundamental studies of beam-driven plasma accelerator concepts at widely accessible high-power laser facilities. It is anticipated to provide compact sources of energetic high-brightness electron beams for quality-demanding applications such as free-electron lasers.

Bright betatron x-rays generation from picosecond laser interactions with long-scale near critical density plasmas

Our previous experimental and three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results demonstrated that a well-directed electron beam with space charge of about μC and maximum energy of 100 MeV can be generated via a sub-petawatt, picosecond laser pulse interacting with a long-scale near-critical-density plasma. Effective laser energy coupling into hot electrons occurs in the presence of strong self-generated quasistatic electric and magnetic fields that confine fast electrons in relativistic ion channels. Here, we report results of 3D PIC simulations, which show that this direct laser accelerated electron beam can work as a compact high-brightness source of x rays. The relativistic electrons make betatron oscillations in the transverse fields of the ion channel and emit a bright broadband x-ray radiation with the critical energy of about 5 keV. Due to the huge number of accelerated electrons, our simulation shows that with a picosecond, 20 J laser pulse, an x-ray spectrum with a photon number of 7×1011 (>1 keV) can be generated, resulting into a peak flux of 2 ×108 photons/eV and a brilliance of 3.3×1020 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW.

1 kHz laser accelerated electron beam feasible for radiotherapy uses: A PIC–Monte Carlo based study

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) offers a promising compact solution for the production of high and very high energy electron (VHEE) beams, which have an ultrashort pulse duration with a high instantaneous dose rate and small source size. These unique properties are of radiobiological as well as clinical interest. In this paper we focus on the potential application of high repetition rate LWFA electron beams for radiobiology and radiotherapy. On the basis of particle-in-cell (PIC) and Monte Carlo simulations we propose that, using a commercially available 1kHz laser system one can generate electron beams with 35.7MeV mean energy and 3pC electron bunch charge at 1kHz repetition rate to deliver a dose rate of 18Gy/min, which could be extremely useful for real radiotherapy applications. Thanks to the high repetition rate, dose delivery can be performed with high precision making this system a potential alternative to conventional clinical electron accelerators.

Mass-limited plasmas heated by laser-driven fast electrons as a powerful source of neutron and hard x-ray radiation

To create a plasma with extreme thermodynamic parameters, we propose to heat with a laser-accelerated fast electron beam a target of a size less than the mean free path of the heating particles. The effect of capture of fast electrons generated in an electrically neutral target due to the action of a self-consistent electrostatic field at its boundaries allows us to volumetrically heat a target over multiple flights of fast electrons through it. Using such a heating mode enables control of the target mass to be significantly less than the mass stopping range of the heating particles. Heating a mass-limited target by laser-driven relativistic electrons can produce a plasma with a temperature of ∼10’s keV and a density close to its initial solid-state density. Such plasma objects are expected to serve as powerful sources of neutron and hard x-ray radiation.

New algorithm using L1 regularization for measuring electron energy spectra.

Retrieving the spectrum of physical radiation from experimental measurements typically involves using a mathematical algorithm to deconvolve the instrument response function from the measured signal. However, in the field of signal processing known as "Source Separation" (SS), which refers to the process of computationally retrieving the separate source components that generate an overlapping signal on the detector, the deconvolution process can become an ill-posed problem and crosstalk complicates the separation of the individual sources. To overcome this problem, we have designed a magnetic spectrometer for inline electron energy spectrum diagnosis and developed an analysis algorithm using techniques applicable to the problem of SS. An unknown polychromatic electron spectrum is calculated by sparse coding using a Gaussian basis function and an L1 regularization algorithm with a sparsity constraint. This technique is verified by using a specially designed magnetic field electron spectrometer. We use Monte Carlo simulations of the detector response to Maxwellian input energy distributions with electron temperatures of 5.0 MeV, 10.0 MeV, and 15.0 MeV to show that the calculated sparse spectrum can reproduce the input spectrum with an optimum energy bin width automatically selected by the L1 regularization. The spectra are reproduced with a high accuracy of less than 4.0% error, without an initial value. The technique is then applied to experimental measurements of intense laser accelerated electron beams from solid targets. Our analysis concept of spectral retrieval and automatic optimization of energy bin width by sparse coding could form the basis of a novel diagnostic method for spectroscopy.

Transition of dominant heating process from relativistic electron beam heating to thermal diffusion in an over picoseconds relativistic laser-solid interaction

A mechanism of isochoric heating of a solid density plasma by a kilojoule (kJ) class laser with relativistic intensity and a ten picosecond (ps) pulse duration is delineated by collisional Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations. Before an emergence of kJ class lasers, plasma heating by the laser-accelerated relativistic electron beam (REB) has been studied as the dominant isochoric heating process by intense lasers. A recent experiment using a kJ class laser indicates that the thermal diffusion from the hot plasma surface becomes the dominant process of the isochoric heating in the ps scale laser irradiation. In this article, we demonstrate that a transition of the dominant isochoric heating process from the REB heating to the thermal diffusion happens in the 10 ps laser irradiation. The diffusion heat front propagates with the speed approximately 2 μm/ps in an Aluminum target. Additionally, the hot dense plasma expands to create a steep laser-plasma interface, which is found to reduce REB energy.

Features and Limiting Characteristics of the Heating of a Substance by a Laser-Accelerated Fast Electron Beam

The features of plasma formation in a substance heated by a laser-accelerated fast electron beam have been studied. These features are related to the ratio of the heating rate to the rate of energy loss because of radiation processes and electronic thermal conductivity, which are governed by the dependence of the energy of the heating beam particles on the beam intensity, which is characteristic of laser-driven electron acceleration. It has been shown that energy losses increase with the beam intensity and significantly limit the maximum temperature of the formed plasma. The possibility of generating an intense γ-radiation pulse of a nonnuclear origin because of the bremsstrahlung of laser-accelerated electrons has been discussed.

Direct Observation of Plasma Waves and Dynamics Induced by Laser-Accelerated Electron Beams

Plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) is a novel acceleration technique with promising prospects for both particle colliders and light sources. However, PWFA research has so far been limited to a few large-scale accelerator facilities world-wide. Here, we present first results on plasma wakefield generation using electron beams accelerated with a 100-TW-class Ti:Sa laser. Due to their ultrashort duration and high charge density, the laser-accelerated electron bunches are suitable to drive plasma waves at electron densities in the order of $10^{19}$ cm$^{-3}$. We capture the beam-induced plasma dynamics with femtosecond resolution using few-cycle optical probing and, in addition to the plasma wave itself, we observe a distinctive transverse ion motion in its trail. This previously unobserved phenomenon can be explained by the ponderomotive force of the plasma wave acting on the ions, resulting in a modulation of the plasma density over many picoseconds. Due to the scaling laws of plasma wakefield generation, results obtained at high plasma density using high-current laser-accelerated electron beams can be readily scaled to low-density systems. Laser-driven PWFA experiments can thus act as miniature models for their larger, conventional counterparts. Furthermore, our results pave the way towards a novel generation of laser-driven PWFA, which can potentially provide ultra-low emittance beams within a compact setup.

Compact X-ray Free-Electron Laser Based on Laser Accelerated Electron Beams

Compact X-ray Free-Electron Laser Based on Laser Accelerated Electron Beams

Ionization and reflux dependence of magnetic instability generation and probing inside laser-irradiated solid thin foils

When an intense laser accelerated electron beam, with large current density on the order of 1012 A/cm2, enters a solid density plasma, it is well-known to be subject to a number of different types of instabilities that cause it to filament. In this work, we investigate the transport instability of a fast electron beam that is imprinted on the self-generated magnetic filaments inside the solid density plasmas using particle-in-cell simulations. By varying collisional ionization models, our simulations show that the atomic ionization process is crucial to determine the structure of the magnetic filaments. We further attribute the generation of bulk magnetic filaments to Weibel-like instability mechanism caused by counter-propagating hot forward-bulk return current streams and counter-propagating hot forward-reflux current streams. It is found that the magnetic fields in the filament channels near the rear surface are around one order of magnitude higher than those near the front surface of the thin solid target. This asymmetry is likely induced by the very different properties of bulk electron stream and hot reflux electron stream in terms of density and velocity distribution. Finally, we propose to probe the magnetic fields inside the solid density plasmas by X-Ray polarimetry via Faraday rotation using X-Ray free electron lasers (XFELs). The synthetic simulations show that XFELs are capable to detect the magnetic fields from relativistic laser-solid interactions.

Dosimetric properties of plasma density effects on laser-accelerated VHEE beams using a sharp density-transition scheme

In this paper, the effects of the plasma density on laser-accelerated electron beams for radiation therapy with a sharp density transition are investigated. In the sharp density-transition scheme for electron injection, the crucial issue is finding the optimum density conditions under which electrons injected only during the first period of the laser wake wave are accelerated further. In this paper, we report particle-in-cell simulation results for the effects of both the scale length and the densitytransition ratio on the generation of a quasi-mono-energetic electron bunch. The effects of both the transverse parabolic channel and the plasma length on the electron-beam’s quality are investigated. Also, we show the experimental results for the feasibility of a sharp density-transition structure. The dosimetric properties of these very high-energy electron beams are calculated using Monte Carlo simulations.

Enhanced x-rays from resonant betatron oscillations in laser wakefield with external wigglers

Generation of ultra-short betatron x-rays by laser-accelerated electron beams is of great research interest as it has many applications. In this paper, we propose a scheme for obtaining bright betatron x-rays by applying external wiggler magnetic field in the laser wakefield to resonantly drive the betatron oscillations of the accelerated electrons therein. This results in a significant enhancement of the betatron oscillation amplitude and generation of bright x-rays with high photon energy. The scheme is demonstrated using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation and discussed using a simple analytical model.

3D printing of gas jet nozzles for laser-plasma accelerators.

Recent results on laser wakefield acceleration in tailored plasma channels have underlined the importance of controlling the density profile of the gas target. In particular, it was reported that the appropriate density tailoring can result in improved injection, acceleration, and collimation of laser-accelerated electron beams. To achieve such profiles, innovative target designs are required. For this purpose, we have reviewed the usage of additive layer manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, in order to produce gas jet nozzles. Notably we have compared the performance of two industry standard techniques, namely, selective laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA). Furthermore we have used the common fused deposition modeling to reproduce basic gas jet designs and used SLA and SLS for more sophisticated nozzle designs. The nozzles are characterized interferometrically and used for electron acceleration experiments with the Salle Jaune terawatt laser at Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquée.

Recent advances in laser-driven neutron sources

Due to the limited number and high cost of large-scale neutron facilities, there has been a growing interest in compact accelerator-driven sources. In this context, several potential schemes of laser-driven neutron sources are being intensively studied employing laser-accelerated electron and ion beams. In addition to the potential of delivering neutron beams with high brilliance, directionality and ultra-short burst duration, a laser-driven neutron source would offer further advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, compactness and radiation confinement by closed-coupled experiments. Some of the recent advances in this field are discussed, showing improvements in the directionality and flux of the laser-driven neutron beams.

Intrinsic beam emittance of laser-accelerated electrons measured by x-ray spectroscopic imaging.

The recent combination of ultra-intense lasers and laser-accelerated electron beams is enabling the development of a new generation of compact x-ray light sources, the coherence of which depends directly on electron beam emittance. Although the emittance of accelerated electron beams can be low, it can grow due to the effects of space charge during free-space propagation. Direct experimental measurement of this important property is complicated by micron-scale beam sizes, and the presence of intense fields at the location where space charge acts. Reported here is a novel, non-destructive, single-shot method that overcame this problem. It employed an intense laser probe pulse, and spectroscopic imaging of the inverse-Compton scattered x-rays, allowing measurement of an ultra-low value for the normalized transverse emittance, 0.15 (±0.06) π mm mrad, as well as study of its subsequent growth upon exiting the accelerator. The technique and results are critical for designing multi-stage laser-wakefield accelerators, and generating high-brightness, spatially coherent x-rays.

Laser-driven x-ray and neutron source development for industrial applications of plasma accelerators

Pulsed beams of energetic x-rays and neutrons from intense laser interactions with solid foils are promising for applications where bright, small emission area sources, capable of multi-modal delivery are ideal. Possible end users of laser-driven multi-modal sources are those requiring advanced non-destructive inspection techniques in industry sectors of high value commerce such as aerospace, nuclear and advanced manufacturing. We report on experimental work that demonstrates multi-modal operation of high power laser-solid interactions for neutron and x-ray beam generation. Measurements and Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations show that neutron yield is increased by a factor ~2 when a 1 mm copper foil is placed behind a 2 mm lithium foil, compared to using a 2 cm block of lithium only. We explore x-ray generation with a 10 picosecond drive pulse in order to tailor the spectral content for radiography with medium density alloy metals. The impact of using >1 ps pulse duration on laser-accelerated electron beam generation and transport is discussed alongside the optimisation of subsequent bremsstrahlung emission in thin, high atomic number target foils. X-ray spectra are deconvolved from spectrometer measurements and simulation data generated using the GEANT4 Monte Carlo code. We also demonstrate the unique capability of laser-driven x-rays in being able to deliver single pulse high spatial resolution projection imaging of thick metallic objects. Active detector radiographic imaging of industrially relevant sample objects with a 10 ps drive pulse is presented for the first time, demonstrating that features of 200 μm size are resolved when projected at high magnification.