Stable generation of GeV-class electron beams from self-guided laser-plasma channels
Stable generation of GeV-class electron beams from self-guided laser-plasma channels
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DOI：
10.1038/nphoton.2008.155
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发表时间：
2008-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
35
通讯作者：
Lee, Jongmin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hafz, Nasr A. M.;Jeong, Tae Moon;Lee, Jongmin
台式激光驱动等离子体加速器因其在未来高能加速器中的潜在应用而受到关注。用超短强激光脉冲辐照气体射流靶，可以产生准单能电子束。目前，束产生的稳定性和扩展到更高电子束能量的能力是实际激光加速的关键问题。在这里，我们展示了稳定的几毫米长的等离子体通道中的自导韦克菲尔德加速过程中的第一代稳定的GeV级电子束。作为气泡区激光韦克菲尔德加速的主要证据，我们观察到在1 cm长的气体射流中，通过减小等离子体密度和增加等离子体长度，电子束能量和质量都得到了提高。随后的三维模拟表明，通过最大限度地减少等离子体气泡的伸长，实现更高的电子束能量的可能性，我们预计在不久的将来，在束能量和质量的显着增加。这将为超紧凑、全光学电子束加速器及其在科学、技术和医学中的应用铺平道路。
Table-top laser-driven plasma accelerators are gaining attention for their potential use in miniaturizing future high-energy accelerators. By irradiating gas jet targets with ultrashort intense laser pulses, the generation of quasimonoenergetic electron beams was recently observed. Currently, the stability of beam generation and the ability to scale to higher electron beam energies are critical issues for practical laser acceleration. Here, we demonstrate the first generation of stable GeV-class electron beams from stable few-millimetre-long plasma channels in a self-guided wakefield acceleration process. As primary evidence of the laser wakefield acceleration in a bubble regime, we observed a boost of both the electron beam energy and quality by reducing the plasma density and increasing the plasma length in a 1-cm-long gas jet. Subsequent three-dimensional simulations show the possibility of achieving even higher electron beam energies by minimizing plasma bubble elongation, and we anticipate dramatic increases in beam energy and quality in the near future. This will pave the way towards ultracompact, all-optical electron beam accelerators and their applications in science, technology and medicine.