A tunable electron beam source using trapping of electrons in a density down-ramp in laser wakefield acceleration
(2017) In Scientific Reports 7(1).- Abstract
One challenge in the development of laser wakefield accelerators is to demonstrate sufficient control and reproducibility of the parameters of the generated bunches of accelerated electrons. Here we report on a numerical study, where we demonstrate that trapping using density down-ramps allows for tuning of several electron bunch parameters by varying the properties of the density down-ramp. We show that the electron bunch length is determined by the difference in density before and after the ramp. Furthermore, the transverse emittance of the bunch is controlled by the steepness of the ramp. Finally, the amount of trapped charge depends both on the density difference and on the steepness of the ramp. We emphasize that both parameters of... (More)
One challenge in the development of laser wakefield accelerators is to demonstrate sufficient control and reproducibility of the parameters of the generated bunches of accelerated electrons. Here we report on a numerical study, where we demonstrate that trapping using density down-ramps allows for tuning of several electron bunch parameters by varying the properties of the density down-ramp. We show that the electron bunch length is determined by the difference in density before and after the ramp. Furthermore, the transverse emittance of the bunch is controlled by the steepness of the ramp. Finally, the amount of trapped charge depends both on the density difference and on the steepness of the ramp. We emphasize that both parameters of the density ramp are feasible to vary experimentally. We therefore conclude that this tunable electron accelerator makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, from those requiring short pulse length and low emittance, such as the free-electron lasers, to those requiring high-charge, large-emittance bunches to maximize betatron X-ray generation.
(Less)
- author
- Ekerfelt, Henrik
LU
; Hansson, Martin
LU
; Gallardo González, Isabel
LU
; Davoine, Xavier and Lundh, Olle LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-12-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Scientific Reports
- volume
- 7
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 12229
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85029851661
- pmid:28947789
- wos:000411648500003
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-017-12560-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 86f91c0d-bdb5-4dfa-9603-7dfdb06b26ac
- date added to LUP
- 2017-10-05 12:25:54
- date last changed
- 2025-01-20 23:12:50
@article{86f91c0d-bdb5-4dfa-9603-7dfdb06b26ac, abstract = {{<p>One challenge in the development of laser wakefield accelerators is to demonstrate sufficient control and reproducibility of the parameters of the generated bunches of accelerated electrons. Here we report on a numerical study, where we demonstrate that trapping using density down-ramps allows for tuning of several electron bunch parameters by varying the properties of the density down-ramp. We show that the electron bunch length is determined by the difference in density before and after the ramp. Furthermore, the transverse emittance of the bunch is controlled by the steepness of the ramp. Finally, the amount of trapped charge depends both on the density difference and on the steepness of the ramp. We emphasize that both parameters of the density ramp are feasible to vary experimentally. We therefore conclude that this tunable electron accelerator makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, from those requiring short pulse length and low emittance, such as the free-electron lasers, to those requiring high-charge, large-emittance bunches to maximize betatron X-ray generation.</p>}}, author = {{Ekerfelt, Henrik and Hansson, Martin and Gallardo González, Isabel and Davoine, Xavier and Lundh, Olle}}, issn = {{2045-2322}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{12}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}}, series = {{Scientific Reports}}, title = {{A tunable electron beam source using trapping of electrons in a density down-ramp in laser wakefield acceleration}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12560-8}}, doi = {{10.1038/s41598-017-12560-8}}, volume = {{7}}, year = {{2017}}, }