• Open Access

Controlling the Self-Injection Threshold in Laser Wakefield Accelerators

S. Kuschel, M. B. Schwab, M. Yeung, D. Hollatz, A. Seidel, W. Ziegler, A. Sävert, M. C. Kaluza, and M. Zepf
Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 154801 – Published 8 October 2018

Abstract

Controlling the parameters of a laser plasma accelerated electron beam is a topic of intense research with a particular focus placed on controlling the injection phase of electrons into the accelerating structure from the background plasma. An essential prerequisite for high-quality beams is dark-current free acceleration (i.e., no electrons accelerated beyond those deliberately injected). We show that small-scale density ripples in the background plasma are sufficient to cause the uncontrolled (self-)injection of electrons. Such ripples can be as short as 50μm and can therefore not be resolved by standard interferometry. Background free injection with substantially improved beam characteristics (divergence and pointing) is demonstrated in a gas cell designed for a controlled gas flow. The results are supported by an analytical theory as well as 3D particle in cell simulations.

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  • Received 21 May 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.154801

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nonlinear DynamicsPlasma PhysicsAccelerators & Beams

Authors & Affiliations

S. Kuschel1,2, M. B. Schwab1,2, M. Yeung1, D. Hollatz2, A. Seidel2, W. Ziegler1,2, A. Sävert1,2, M. C. Kaluza1,2, and M. Zepf1,2,3

  • 1Helmholtz Insitute Jena, Fröbelstieg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
  • 2Institute of Optics and Quantumelectronics, University of Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
  • 3School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 121, Iss. 15 — 12 October 2018

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