Fast sensing technologies and techniques for applications of laser plasma acceleration

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Laser-driven ultrafast sources of energetic radiation will have a transformative impact in numerous industrial and scientific areas over the next decade. At the focus of an ultra-high power laser, extremely large electric fields can be used to accelerate charged particles to 100's MeV energies and produce bright, highly directional hard X-ray pulses. With the advent of new diode pumping technology, such sources will be able to be delivered at 10's Hz (x100 faster than today's typical machines) over the next few years and this opens the way for new and novel applications of such sources. This project will develop our understanding of the laser-plasma interaction to enable brighter and better conversion into these new and novel X-ray sources, specifically for the application of penetrating imaging for defence. This project will also develop and apply ultrafast detectors matched to the new time-resolved imaging capability of these unique sources (typically of sub ps duration). The objectives include simulation, modelling and experimentally evaluating such new detector classes to deliver unprecedented highly penetrating imaging capability. The student is registered at the Physics Department at the University of Strathclyde and based primarily at the Central Laser Facility, Oxfordshire where they have access to specialist experimental equipment including the Vulcan and Gemini high power lasers and several large high performance computers, and at Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) where they will be trained in Monte Carlo modelling. The project aligns to EPSRC's Global Uncertainties (Terrorism) theme and the Plasma and Laser research area