Quasi-monoenergetic Electron Bunches Research Articles

Relativistic electron bunches accelerated by radially polarized TW lasers from near-critical-density plasmas

By three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation, we study electron acceleration by tightly focusing a few-cycle radially polarized laser onto near-critical-density plasmas. Laser ponderomotive force first pushes electrons into the target, forming a compressed electron layer and leaving behind a charge-separation field. Together with the strong longitudinal electric field of this radially polarized light, the charge-separation field accelerates the electrons backward and injects them into laser fields. The reflected light continuously accelerates these injected electrons by its longitudinal field. Simulations show that a tight quasi-monoenergetic electron bunch at 15 MeV is generated within a few micrometers.

Study of quasimonoenergetic electron bunch generation in self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration using TW or sub-TW ultrashort laser pulses

This work presents a study on laser wakefield electron acceleration in the self-modulated regime (SM-LWFA) using 50-fs laser pulses with energy on the mJ scale, at λ = 0.8 µm, impinging on a thin H2 gas jet. Particle-in-cell simulations were performed using laser peak powers ranging from sub-terawatt to a few terawatts and plasma densities varying from the relativistic self-focusing threshold up to values close to the critical density. The differences in the obtained acceleration processes are discussed. Results show that bunched electron beams with full charge on the nC scale and kinetic energy in the MeV range can be produced and configurations with peak density in the range 0.5–5 × 1020 atoms/cm3 generate electrons with maximum energies. In this range, some simulations generated quasimonoenergetic bunches with ∼0.5% of the total accelerated charge and we show that the beam characteristics, process dynamics, and operational parameters are close to those expected for the blowout regime. The configurations that led to quasimonoenergetic bunches from the sub-TW SM-LWFA regime allow the use of laser systems with repetition rates in the kHz range, which can be beneficial for practical applications.

Design of a compact electron radiography system with electron source from laser wakefield accelerator

A compact electron radiography system has been designed with high gradient permanent magnet quadrupoles with 2.5 times magnification. Quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches with energies ranging from 100 to 200 MeV are generated from a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) acting as the electron source for the system. A matching segment composed of three quadrupoles before the objective plane creates a correlation between the position and the angle for the electrons, illuminating the observed object improved the resolution of the system. We expect electron radiography with 100-MeV ultrafast electron bunches to be widely adopted for many applications, especially considering the micron-level spatial resolution and sub-picosecond temporal resolution of the electron source from the LWFA. Since the laser system needed for generating 100–200 MeV electrons using the LWFA is roughly around 40 TW, the whole system can be effectively table-top in size, which is favorable for movable applications.

Laser wakefield acceleration driven by a few-terawatt laser pulse in a sub-mm nitrogen gas jet

Quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches with energies peaked in 10–20 MeV are generated from laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) by focusing few-TW laser pulses onto a sub-mm gas jet of dense nitrogen. A 152-μm diameter orifice is used to produce transient (≤20 ms), free-flow nitrogen jets, while the plasma electrons with a 860-μm wide Gaussian density profile and a density up to ∼2.8 × 1019 cm−3 enable self-focusing effect and self-modulation instability to develop on the pump pulse, resulting in a high intensity to drive the LWFA. Meanwhile, this Gaussian nitrogen plasma facilitates ionization-induced injection and density down-ramp injection throughout the acceleration process and consequently improves the energy and charge stabilities of output electrons. When 40-fs, 3.2-TW, 810-nm pump pulses are applied, output electrons with a peak energy ∼11 MeV and a charge ∼20 pC are routinely generated with ≤20% energy and charge stabilities, ∼20 mrad divergence, and ∼10 mrad pointing variation. A large electron energy spread is attributed to the dominant mechanisms of ionization and down-ramp injections. This scheme represents a viable approach for implementing a high-repetition-rate LWFA, from which stable tens-of-MeV electrons can be generated with less than 150 mJ of on-target laser energy.

Acceleration of electrons in the interaction of a subterawatt laser pulse with a nonuniform plasma

We consider the effect of nonlinear self-focusing and self-modulation processes on the acceleration of electrons in the interaction of a subterawatt femtosecond laser pulse with a gas jet plasma. A three-dimensional particle-in-cell (3D PIC) simulation of the interaction of laser radiation with a low-density nonuniform plasma shows that laser pulse self-focusing that arises when the critical power of relativistic self-focusing determined by the local concentration of plasma electrons exceeds the pulse power results in efficient generation of a plasma wave. Due to a decrease in the phase velocity of the wake plasma wave generated via self-modulation of the laser pulse, electrons are trapped into the accelerating phase of the plasma wave and are accelerated to energies of ∼10 MeV. It is demonstrated that under the conditions for limiting the electrons’ acceleration region by the length of their dephasing, quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches with a characteristic energy of ∼9 MeV can be produced. The effective temperature of the accelerated electrons and their angular distribution, obtained by 3D PIC simulation, are in good agreement with those determined in the experiment.

Optical control of electron phase space in plasma accelerators with incoherently stacked laser pulsesa)

It is demonstrated that synthesizing an ultrahigh-bandwidth, negatively chirped laser pulse by incoherently stacking pulses of different wavelengths makes it possible to optimize the process of electron self-injection in a dense, highly dispersive plasma ( n0∼1019 cm−3). Avoiding transformation of the driving pulse into a relativistic optical shock maintains a quasi-monoenergetic electron spectrum through electron dephasing and boosts electron energy far beyond the limits suggested by existing scaling laws. In addition, evolution of the accelerating bucket in a plasma channel is shown to produce a background-free, tunable train of femtosecond-duration, 35–100 kA, time-synchronized quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches. The combination of the negative chirp and the channel permits acceleration of electrons beyond 1 GeV in a 3 mm plasma with 1.4 J of laser pulse energy, thus offering the opportunity of high-repetition-rate operation at manageable average laser power.

Photonuclear reaction based high-energy x-ray spectrometer to cover from 2 MeV to 20 MeV.

A photonuclear-reaction-based hard x-ray spectrometer is developed to measure the number and energy spectrum of fast electrons generated by interactions between plasma and intense laser light. In this spectrometer, x-rays are converted to neutrons through photonuclear reactions, and the neutrons are counted with a bubble detector that is insensitive to x-rays. The spectrometer consists of a bundle of hard x-ray detectors that respond to different photon-energy ranges. Proof-of-principle experiment was performed on a linear accelerator facility. A quasi-monoenergetic electron bunch (Ne = 1.0 × 10(-6) C, Ee = 16 ± 0.32 MeV) was injected into a 5-mm-thick lead plate. Bremsstrahlung x-rays, which emanate from the lead plate, were measured with the spectrometer. The measured spectral shape and intensity agree fairly well with those computed with a Monte Carlo simulation code. The result shows that high-energy x-rays can be measured absolutely with a photon-counting accuracy of 50%-70% in the energy range from 2 MeV to 20 MeV with a spectral resolution (Δhν/hν) of about 15%. Quantum efficiency of this spectrometer was designed to be 10(-7), 10(-4), 10(-5), respectively, for 2-10, 11-15, and 15-25 MeV of photon energy ranges.

Quasi monoenergetic electron bunch generation by frequency variation laser pulse in magnetized plasma

The effect of the frequency variation of laser pulse in uniform magnetized plasma is considered in one-dimensional laser wakefield acceleration and carried out particle simulation. It is shown that wakefield amplitude is increased threefold for the negative Gaussian chirped laser pulse in the magnetized plasma. In our simulation, electrons with initial energy about 0.3 MeV with initial energy spread about 10 % were trapped, effectively compressed in longitudinal direction and accelerated to ultra-relativistic energy about 1.3 GeV with final energy spread about 6 %.

Optimum conditions of the plasma density for the generation of the maximum bunch charge in a laser wakefield accelerator

The effects of plasma density on the bunch charge in a laser wakefield accelerator were investigated by using experiments and simulations. We used an energy spectrometer and Integrating Current Transformer (ICT) to measure the energy and the charge of a quasi-monoenergetic electron bunch. Also, the plasma density was measured using a biprism interferometer. The measured electron energy showed that the electron energy decreased with increasing plasma density due to the dephasing effect. The results of the bunch charge measurement showed that the effect of the plasma density on the bunch charge could be separated into two different density regions. In the low-density region (cτ/λp 2), the bunch charge decreased with increasing plasma density. Thus, an optimum plasma density to generate a high bunch charge exists. Particle-in-cell simulations show that multi-cavitation of the plasma wake wave results in maximum generation of the bunch charge in a laser wakefield accelerator.

Electron self-injection into an evolving plasma bubble: Quasi-monoenergetic laser-plasma acceleration in the blowout regime

An electron density bubble driven in a rarefied uniform plasma by a slowly evolving laser pulse goes through periods of adiabatically slow expansions and contractions. Bubble expansion causes robust self-injection of initially quiescent plasma electrons, whereas stabilization and contraction terminate self-injection thus limiting injected charge; concomitant phase space rotation reduces the bunch energy spread. In regimes relevant to experiments with hundred terawatt- to petawatt-class lasers, bubble dynamics and, hence, the self-injection process are governed primarily by the driver evolution. Collective transverse fields of the trapped electron bunch reduce the accelerating gradient and slow down phase space rotation. Bubble expansion followed by stabilization and contraction suppresses the low-energy background and creates a collimated quasi-monoenergetic electron bunch long before dephasing. Nonlinear evolution of the laser pulse (spot size oscillations, self-compression, and front steepening) can also cause continuous self-injection, resulting in a large dark current, degrading the electron beam quality.

Simulation studies of laser wakefield acceleration based on typical 100 TW laser facilities

In this paper, 2-D Particle-In-Cell simulations are made for Laser Wakefield Accelerations (LWFA). As in a real experiment, we perform plasma density scanning for typical 100 TW laser facilities. Several basic laws for self-injected acceleration in a bubble regime are presented. According to these laws, we choose a proper plasma density and then obtain a high quality quasi-monoenergetic electron bunch with a rms energy of more than 650 MeV and a bunch length of less than 1.5 μm.

Quasimonoenergetic GeV electron bunch generation by the wake-field of the chirped laser pulse

One-dimensional nonlinear analysis of wake-field generation and electron bunch acceleration by a chirped laser pulse were investigated numerically. It was found that the optimum linear chirp parameter leads to the wake-field amplitude increase by one order of magnitude and accordingly the acceleration gradient. In our external injection scheme, electrons were accelerated using the initial energy of 100 KeV (γin=1.2). When the pulse passes through the electron bunch most part of the electrons trapped in the first cycle of the laser wake-field and accelerate to about 1 GeV in 1.8 mm. We concluded that the expensive electron preacceleration mechanism could be omitted in a laser-aided electron acceleration scheme.

Electron Bunch Length Measurements from Laser-Accelerated Electrons Using Single-Shot THz Time-Domain Interferometry

Laser-plasma wakefield-based electron accelerators are expected to deliver ultrashort electron bunches with unprecedented peak currents. However, their actual pulse duration has never been directly measured in a single-shot experiment. We present measurements of the ultrashort duration of such electron bunches by means of THz time-domain interferometry. With data obtained using a 0.5 J, 45 fs, 800 nm laser and a ZnTe-based electro-optical setup, we demonstrate the duration of laser-accelerated, quasimonoenergetic electron bunches [best fit of 32 fs (FWHM) with a 90% upper confidence level of 38 fs] to be shorter than the drive laser pulse, but similar to the plasma period.

Generation of stable and low-divergence 10-MeV quasimonoenergetic electron bunch using argon gas jet

The pointing stability and divergence of a quasimonoenergetic electron bunch generated in a self-injected laser-plasma acceleration regime using 4 TW laser is studied. A pointing stability of 2.4 mrad root-mean-square (rms) and a beam divergence of 10.6 mrad (rms) were obtained using an argon gas-jet target for 50 sequential shots, while these values were degraded by a factor of 3 at the optimum condition using helium. The peak electron energies were $8.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.7$ and $24.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3.6\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$ using argon and helium, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the different propagation condition could be generated with the different material, although it is performed with the same irradiation condition.

First observation of quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches driven out of ultra-thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) foils

Electrons have been accelerated from ultra-thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) foils by an ultrahigh-intensity laser pulse. A distinct quasi-monoenergetic electron spectrum peaked at 30 MeV is observed at a target thickness as thin as 5 nm which is in contrast to the observations of wide spectral distributions for thicker targets. At the same time, a substantial drop in laser-accelerated ion energies is found. The experimental findings give first indication that relativistic electron sheets can be generated from ultra-thin foils which in future may be used to generate brilliant X-ray beams by the coherent reflection of a second laser.

Quasimonoenergetic electron acceleration in the self-modulated laser wakefield regime

Details on the generation of (multiple) quasimonoenergetic electron bunches in the self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration (SMLWFA) regime are presented. This type of laser-plasma interaction can result in pronounced longitudinal laser pulse fragmentation, dependent on plasma density and laser intensity. It is shown by experiments and particle-in-cell simulations that these laser pulse fragments can be powerful enough to trigger nonlinear plasma wave breaking, injection, and acceleration of electrons to quasimonoenergetic energies. With high plasma densities, self-modulation is promoted, and the advantages of SMLWFA such as especially high accelerating fields and short electron bunches (<5 fs) can be harvested. In addition, more than one quasimonoenergetic electron bunch can be created, with a temporal spacing between each bunch of only few tens of femtoseconds, again governed by plasma density.

Observation of quasi mono-energetic electron bunches in the new ellipsoid cavity model

AbstractIn this work, we introduce a new ellipsoid model to describe bubble acceleration of electrons and discuss the required conditions of forming it. We have found that the electron trajectory is strongly related to background electron energy and cavity potential ratio. In the ellipsoid cavity regime, the quality of the electron beam is improved in contrast to other methods, such as that using periodic plasma wakefield, spherical cavity regime, and plasma channel guided acceleration. The trajectory of the electron motion can be described as hyperbola, parabola, or ellipsoid path. It is influenced by the position and energy of the electrons and the electrostatic potential of the cavity. In the experimental part of this work, a 20 TW power and 30 fs laser pulse was focused on a pulsed He gas jet. We have focused the laser pulse in the best matched point above the nozzle gas to obtain a stable ellipsoid bubble. The finding of the optimum points will be described in analytical details.

GeV-scale electron acceleration in a gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide

We report experimental results on laser-driven electron acceleration with low divergence. The electron beam was generated by focussing 750 mJ, 42 fs laser pulses into a gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide at electron densities in the range between 1018 and 1019cm−3. Quasi-monoenergetic electron bunches with energies as high as 500 MeV have been detected, with features reaching up to 1 GeV, albeit with large shot-to-shot fluctuations. A more stable regime with higher bunch charge (20–45 pC) and less energy (200–300 MeV) could also be observed. The beam divergence and the pointing stability are around or below 1 mrad and 8 mrad, respectively. These findings are consistent with self-injection of electrons into a breaking plasma wave.

Analysis of the electromagnetic fields and electron acceleration in the bubble regime of the laser-plasma interaction

An analytical model for the electromagnetic fields in the bubble regime of the interaction of ultrahigh-intensity laser with plasma is given. The two-dimensional model is based on the results of particle-in-cell simulation and includes the bubble front region. It is used to consider the generation of dense ultrashort quasimonoenergetic high-energy electron bunches. The resulting bunch parameters agree fairly well with those from the simulation.

Temporal characteristics of monoenergetic electron beams generated by the laser wakefield acceleration

Pulse length of quasimonoenergetic electrons accelerated by the wakefield generated by 12 TW, 40 fs laser pulses in a gas jet is determined via spectral measurements using a bolometer to detect coherent transition radiation. A quasimonoenergetic electron beam with its mean energy $E=21\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, dispersion $\ensuremath{\Delta}E=4\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, total charge $q\ensuremath{\sim}30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{pC}$, and the geometrical emittance $0.07\ensuremath{\pi}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{mm}\text{ }\mathrm{mrad}$ is generated with high reproducibility. The averaged duration of only the quasimonoenergetic electron bunches peaked around 20 MeV is $130\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fs}$ (FWHM), while it is $250\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}70\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fs}$ (FWHM) for electron bunches with quasimonoenergetic distributions peaked around 4 MeV, at a distance of 180 mm far from the gas jet because of relatively large electron energy spread. Pulse elongation of the electron bunch with the quasimonoenergetic distribution after 180 mm path is $60--220\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fs}$ (FWHM). Therefore, the initial duration of the electron bunch at the gas-jet rear is expected to be less than 100 fs (FWHM).