"Density-transition based electron injector for laser driven wakefield accelerators" K. Schmid, A. Buck, C. M. S. Sears, J. M. Mikhailova, R. Tautz, D. Herrmann, M. Geissler, F. Krausz, and L. Veisz
PHYSICAL REVIEW SPECIAL TOPICS - ACCELERATORS AND BEAMS
Abstract: We demonstrate a laser wakefield accelerator with a novel electron injection scheme resulting in
enhanced stability, reproducibility, and ease of use. In order to inject electrons into the accelerating phase
of the plasma wave, a sharp downward density transition is employed. Prior to ionization by the laser pulse
this transition is formed by a shock front induced by a knife edge inserted into a supersonic gas jet. With
laser pulses of 8 fs duration and with only 65 mJ energy on target, the accelerator produces a
monoenergetic electron beam with tunable energy between 15 and 25 MeVand on average 3.3 pC charge
per electron bunch. The shock-front injector is a simple and powerful new tool to enhance the
reproducibility of laser-driven electron accelerators, is easily adapted to different laser parameters, and
should therefore allow scaling to the energy range of several hundred MeV.
This publication has not been written at BMO
BMO authors (in alphabetic order): Daniel Herrmann
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