High quality electron beams from a plasma channel guided laser wakefield accelerator

Journal Article · Thu Jul 08 04:00:00 EDT 2004 · Nature

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02900· OSTI ID:836978

Geddes, C G.R. ^[1]; Toth, Cs; van Tilborg, J; Esarey, E; Schroeder, C B; Bruhwiler, D; Nieter, C; Cary, J; Leemans, W P

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1. LBNL Library

Laser driven accelerators, in which particles are accelerated by the electric field of a plasma wave driven by an intense laser, have demonstrated accelerating electric fields of hundreds of GV/m. These fields are thousands of times those achievable in conventional radiofrequency (RF) accelerators, spurring interest in laser accelerators as compact next generation sources of energetic electrons and radiation. To date however, acceleration distances have been severely limited by lack of a controllable method for extending the propagation distance of the focused laser pulse. The ensuing short acceleration distance results in low energy beams with 100% electron energy spread, limiting applications. Here we demonstrate that a relativistically intense laser can be guided by a preformed plasma density channel and that the longer propagation distance can result in electron beams of percent energy spread with low emittance and increased energy, containing >10{sup 9} electrons above 80 MeV. The preformed plasma channel technique forms the basis of a new class of accelerators, combining beam quality comparable to RF accelerators with the high gradients of laser accelerators to produce compact tunable high brightness electron and radiation sources.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics. Division of High Energy Physics (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 836978
• Report Number(s): LBNL--55732; CBP Note-576
• Journal Information: Nature, Journal Name: Nature Journal Issue: 7008 Vol. 431
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ACCELERATION
ACCELERATORS
BRIGHTNESS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON BEAMS
ELECTRONS
LASERS
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA WAVES
RADIATION SOURCES
TAIL ELECTRONS
WAKEFIELD ACCELERATORS