Laser-driven radiation beamlines at SCAPA

我们建议利用苏格兰等离子体加速器应用中心的三条新的光束线和实验站，为合作的高功率激光-等离子体研究创造新的能力和能力，以支持激光驱动辐射源的开发和应用。每条光束线都将以一种独特的方式进行配置，并侧重于特定类别的激光-等离子体相互作用和二次源，以创建一套补充的专用光束线。这种方法是使激光等离子体源能够从科学研究领域发展和优化到现实世界应用所必需的。它允许对光束的优化和稳定进行长期投资，并在很大程度上消除了重建实验的停机时间，从而能够高效地利用高功率激光光束时间。该设备将支持激光等离子体物理和多学科应用的广泛研究组合，重点是放射源和医疗保健应用。激光驱动辐射源的独特特性使其成为科学工具(例如用于探测物质结构的飞秒X射线源)和各种部门的应用，包括：医疗保健(例如成像和放射治疗)；工业(例如穿透性探测和分析)和能源(例如测试储存的核废料的完整性)。这一领域的战略发展需要一个专门的大学规模和尖端的国家激光设施的均衡方案。拟议的光束线将补充中央激光设施现有的和计划中的国家设施扩建，提供新的能力和能力，使英国研究小组能够保持在这一研究领域的前沿，并帮助促进国际合作。这项研究将与来自英国各地的团体合作进行，并主要通过合作研究拨款来维持。新的光束线套件将促进学术界和工业界之间的交流，并使英国研究界能够参与大型国际项目，如极限光基础设施，ELI。它还将为研究人员提供一个独特的跨学科培训平台。

.We propose to create new capability and capacity for collaborative high power laser-plasma research to underpin the development and application of laser-driven radiation sources, using three new beamlines and experiment stations at the Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma-based Accelerators, SCAPA. Each of the beamlines will be configured in a unique way and with a focus on a specific category of laser-plasma interactions and secondary sources, to create a complementary suite of dedicated beamlines. This approach is required to enable the development and optimisation of laser-plasma sources from the realms of scientific investigation to real-world applications. It enables long-term investment in the optimisation and stabilisation of the beams and largely eliminates downtime for rebuilding experiments, thus enabling efficient and effective use of high power laser beam time. The equipment will support an extensive research portfolio in laser-plasma physics and multidisciplinary applications, with an emphasis on radiation sources and healthcare applications. The unique properties of laser-driven radiation sources make them attractive both as tools for science (e.g. femtosecond X-ray sources for probing the structure of matter) and for applications in a variety of sectors including: healthcare (e.g. imaging and radiotherapy); industry (e.g. penetrative probing and assay) and energy (e.g. testing the integrity of stored nuclear waste). The strategic development of this field requires a balanced programme of dedicated university-scale and leading-edge national laser facilities. The proposed beamlines will complement existing and planned expansion of national facilities at the Central Laser Facility, providing new capability and capacity to enable UK research groups to remain at the forefront of this research area and help promote international collaboration. The research will be performed collaboratively with groups from across the UK and sustained mainly through collaborative research grants. The new suite of beamlines will promote exchanges between academia and industry, and enable engagement of the UK research community with large international projects, such as the Extreme Light Infrastructure, ELI. It will also provide a unique interdisciplinary training platform for researchers..