Laser-driven electron beam and radiation sources for basic,medical and industrial sciences

To date active research on laser-driven plasma-based accelerators have achieved great progress on production of high-energy, high-quality electron and photon beams in a compact scale. Such laser plasma accelerators have been envisaged bringing a wide range of applications in basic, medical and industrial sciences. Here inheriting the groundbreaker’s review article on “Laser Acceleration and its future” [Toshiki Tajima, (2010)],¹⁾ we would like to review recent progress of producing such electron beams due to relativistic laser-plasma interactions followed by laser wakefield acceleration and lead to the scaling formulas that are useful to design laser plasma accelerators with controllability of beam energy and charge. Lastly specific examples of such laser-driven electron/photon beam sources are illustrated.     

激光离子加速研究与应用展望

激光离子加速是近年来激光等离子体领域兴起的研究热点之一。激光产生的高能离子束具有高亮度、小尺寸、脉宽窄和方向性好等特点,具有很多潜在的应用。概述了几种常见的激光离子加速物理机制,对一系列激光离子加速实验进展进行了归纳总结,最后介绍了几种激光驱动离子束的潜在应用。     

激光驱动强流电子束产生和控制

在惯性约束聚变（ICF）电子束快点火物理方案中,需要超强拍瓦激光脉冲驱动MeV能量的强流电子束,并沉积数十kJ能量到压缩氘氚芯区。强流电子束的束流品质是影响点火成功的关键因素之一,为深入了解强流电子束产生物理过程,研制成了三维高性能、适应上万CPU核规模的并行粒子模拟程序,并开展了大规模数值模拟研究,探索了强流电子束的产生机制和输运规律。回顾了近几年来快点火研究团队围绕强流电子束产生和控制开展的研究,介绍了导致束流品质差的两大物理原因：预等离子体效应和束流不稳定性磁场的随机散射。针对这两个物理原因,提出了四种提高强流电子束品质的方法：（1）双层金锥靶减弱预等离子体的负面效应;（2）输运丝产生环向磁场准直强流电子束;（3）外加磁场导引强流电子束提高耦合效率;（4）抑制束流不稳定性以降低随机磁场对电子束流的散射。     

Anomalous behaviour of laser cooled fast ion beams

We have observed a sudden disappearance of intrabeam scattering in a laser cooled stored ⁹Be⁺ beam at the Heidelberg Test Storage Ring. The transition takes place at about 10⁶ ions corresponding to a mean ion distance of ≃50c μm. The disappearance of IBS is accompanied by a decrease of the longitudinal temperature by more than two orders of magnitude. At the same time, the transverse width of the ion beam shows an increase which is limited to the diameter of the laser beam. Experimental signatures of this anomalous beam behaviour are described, and possible interpretations are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Three-half harmonic generation in laser-plasma interaction: Evidence for plasmon propagation

Summary Side emitted 3ω/2 radiation was studied by interacting 1.064 μm laser light with plasmas obtained from exploding thin foils. Both focusing (f/8) and collecting (f/7) optics were designed in order to reduce the instrumental bandwidth of the 3ω/2 spectrum. Time-resolved spectra and time-resolved images were obtained and analysed. All the observed spectral features, including the substantial lack of a ?blue? component, the amount of red shift and bandwidth, are consistent with the Karttunen theory of half-integer harmonics generated in plasmas. This theory takes into account the propagation of ω/2 plasmons produced by ?two plasmon decay? and their coupling with laser light.     

Development of a RILIS ionisation scheme for gold at ISOLDE, CERN

At the ISOLDE on-line isotope separation facility, the resonance ionisation laser ion source (RILIS) can be used to ionise reaction products as they effuse from the target. The RILIS process of laser step-wise resonance ionisation of atoms in a hot metal cavity provides a highly element selective stage in the preparation of the radioactive ion beam. As a result, the ISOLDE mass separators can provide beams of a chosen isotope with greatly reduced isobaric contamination. With the addition of a new three-step ionisation scheme for gold, the RILIS is now capable of ionising 26 of the elements. The optimal scheme was determined during an extensive study of the atomic energy levels and auto-ionising states of gold, carried out by means of in-source resonance ionisation spectroscopy. Details of the ionisation scheme and a summary of the spectroscopy study are presented.     

Plasma Photocathodes

Plasma wakefield accelerators offer accelerating and focusing electric fields three to four orders of magnitude larger than state-of-the-art radiofrequency cavity-based accelerators. Plasma photocathodes can release ultracold electron populations within such plasma waves and thus open a path toward tunable production of well-defined, compact electron beams with normalized emittance and brightness many orders of magnitude better than state-of-the-art. Such beams will have far-reaching impact for applications such as light sources, but also open up new vistas on high energy and high field physics. This paper reviews the innovation of plasma photocathodes, and reports on the experimental progress, challenges, and future prospects of the approach. Details of the proof-of-concept demonstration of a plasma photocathode in 90° geometry at SLAC FACET within the E-210: Trojan Horse program are described. Using this experience, alongside theoretical and simulation-supported advances, an outlook is given on future realizations of plasma photocathodes such as the upcoming E-310: Trojan Horse-II program at FACET-II with prospects toward excellent witness beam parameter quality, tunability, and stability. Future installations of plasma photocathodes also at compact, hybrid plasma wakefield accelerators, will then boost capacities and open up novel capabilities for experiments at the forefront of interaction of high brightness electron and photon beams.     

XUV generation from plasma produced by a XeCl excimer laser on a Cu target

Summary We present a detailed study of XUV and soft X-ray emission from Cu plasma produced by an excimer laser at intensitiesI _L≦8·10¹¹ W/cm². The XeCl excimer laser (ψ≈308 nm) delivers pulses with energyE _L≈2.3 J, temporal durationt _L≈100 ns and brightnessB≧10¹⁴ W/cm² sr. We recorded a spectral conversion efficiency η=0.5% eV⁻¹ forI _L=4·10¹¹W/cm² in the aluminium window at 73eV with a harder X-ray tail around ≈400eV. We also measured the dependence of X-ray signal on laser intensity and viewing angle. Experimental results have been compared with some analytical laser-plasma interaction models.     

驱动激光束间相干性以及对背向散射影响的研究

早期的研究表明, 束匀滑技术能够有效地抑制高功率激光与等离子体相互作用中产生的各种参量不稳定性, 大大减少受激布里渊散射和受激拉曼散射. 但在NIF最近的实验研究中发现, 受激布里渊散射和受激拉曼散射份额远远高于预期, 原因可能与驱动激光束间的相干性有关. 本文利用"神光II"装置两路倍频纳秒激光辐照金平面靶, 研究了小口径取样情况下两者背向散射的能量和光谱在不同驱动激光相干条件下的变化情况. 初步结果表明, 激光束间存在着较强的相干性, 并且随着束间相干程度的增加, 背向散射也逐渐增强.     

Refractive system for generation of high-power diffraction-free laser beams

A refractive system is designed to convert a high-power annular beam into a circular Bessel beam. The input and output surface of the proposed system is derived. We provide cubic polynomial approximation of the surface profiles. A ray tracing through the complete system is provided to verify the design. The design parameters can be selected to choose the desired beam power in the central lobe and length of the refractive system.     

Skin-Depth Theory Explaining Anomalous Picosecond-Terawatt Laser Plasma Interaction II

The anomaly of ion emission at laser irradiation of targets measured by Badziak et al. was analyzed on the background of the extensive research in the past. In contrast to the irradiation with lasers of longer than 100 ps pulse duration, a drastic decrease of the maximum ion energies was measured with ps pulses. Very strange was the observation that the number of emitted fast ions was intensity independent. The usual ponderomotive or relativistic self-focusing theory and related processes could not explain the results. Instead a direct interaction within the skin depth of the irradiated target was concluded. This model confirms the plane geometry nonlinear force interaction in the ps range producing fast plasma blocks moving perpendicular off or into the target. The block moving into the target opens a new scheme of laser fusion by modifying the experiments of Norreys et al. The use of relatively low subrelativistic laser intensities for the new scheme of laser fusion is evaluated on the background of the long years studies of nonlinear force driven plasma blocks and earlier interpenetration fusion reactions for providing the parameters for expected fusion gains much higher than the experiment of Norreys et al. for a fusion power scheme.     

第三代和第四代ECR离子源:未来展望

Since the end of’70s the Electron Cyclotron Resonance ion sources(ECRIS)allowed to increase both the energy and intensity of the beams available from different types of accelerators;perspectives for the future are still optimistic.It is commonly agreed that only some ECRIS parameters have been fully exploited, whether some others are still not efficiently used,or not understood.The developments in the last 20 years have followed the so called Standard Model and the availability of higher frequency generators and higher field magnets have permitted relevant increase;the use of Nb_3Sn may extend the range.The availability of new schemes of microwave coupling to plasma is promising,and the focusing of the electromagnetic wave towards the chamber axis may improve the density of warm electron population.The paper will also describe some critical point of the 3~(rd) generation ECRIS(including technological troubles and limits)and the scenario for future 4~(th) generation ECRIS,operating at f=56—75GHz,to be built in 2010s.     

超强激光驱动的辐射反作用力效应与极化粒子加速

光强超过10~(22) W/cm~2的极端超强激光将光与物质的相互作用推进到辐射主导区域,激发高能伽马光子辐射,产生明显的辐射反作用力效应.辐射反作用力可以显著影响强场中带电粒子的动力学行为,并从根本上改变了极端强场区域的激光等离子体相互作用规律.如何理解和验证辐射反作用力效应是强场物理研究的核心内容之一.本文结合该方向的国内外研究进展,论述了辐射反作用力的经典形式与强场量子电动力学的理论计算与模拟方法,详细讨论了单粒子在强场中的反射、量子随机辐射、自旋-辐射耦合等效应,介绍了激光等离子体相互作用中的电子冷却、辐射俘获、高效伽马辐射等机制,并给出了目前辐射反作用力效应的实验验证方法与进展.针对自旋在强场量子电动力学方面的效应,介绍了激光加速产生极化粒子源的方法.     

New fast spectral analysis method for solid materials

We propose a new fast method for direct spectral analysis of solid materials based on laser ablation of the sample in deionized water and real-time transport of the aqueous suspension of nanoparticles into the inductively coupled plasma of an emission spectrometer. As a result, we have all the instrumental and methodological advantages of standard equipment, along with calibration of the spectrometer using standard aqueous solutions. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 3, pp. 281–282, May–June, 2007.     

Generation of ultra-intense ion beams by a short-pulse laser

This paper summarizes briefly the main experimental and numerical results of the IPPLM team studies on the generation of ultra-intense ion beams by a short (≤1?ps) laser pulse. Basic laser-driven ion acceleration schemes capable of generating such ion beams are described including the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) scheme, the skin-layer ponderomotive acceleration (SLPA) scheme and the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration (LICPA) scheme. It is shown that an efficient way for achieving high ion beam intensities and fluencies lies in using a short-wavelength laser driver of circular light polarization. In such a case, SLPA clearly dominates over TNSA, and dense and compact ion bunch is generated with high energetic efficiency. The LICPA scheme operating in the photon (radiation) pressure regime can be even more efficient than SLPA. As it is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations, the LICPA accelerator with a picosecond, circularly polarized laser driver of intensity ～ 10²¹_?W/cm² can produce sub-picosecond light ion beams of intensity ～ 10²²?W/cm² and fluence?>?1?GJ/cm² with the energetic efficiency of tens of percent. Laser-driven ion beams of such extreme parameters could open up new research areas in high-energy-density science, inertial fusion or nuclear physics.     

Dressed ion acoustic solitary waves in quantum plasmas with two polarity ions and relativistic electron beams

A theory for dressed quantum ion acoustic waves (QIAWs), which includes higher-order corrections when QIAWs are investigated by the reductive perturbation method, is presented for unmagnetized plasmas containing positive and negative ions and weakly relativistic electron beams. The properties of the QIAWs are investigated using a quantum hydrodynamic model, from which a Korteweg–de Vries equation is derived using the reductive perturbation method. An equation including higher-order dispersion and nonlinearity corrections is also derived, and the physical parameter space is discussed for the importance of these corrections.     

Charge state distribution analysis of AI and Pb ions from the laser ion source at IMP

A prototype laser ion source that could demonstrate the possibility of producing intense pulsed high charge state ion beams has been established with a commercial Nd：YAG laser （E =3 J, 1064 rim, ~ 10 ns） to produce laser plasma for the research of Laser Ion Source （LIS）. At the laser ion source test bench, high purity （99.998%） aluminum and lead targets have been tested for laser plasma experiment. An Electrostatic Ion Analyzer （EIA） and Electron Multiply Tube （EMT） detector were used to analyze the charge state and energy distribution of the ions produced by the laser ion source. The maximum charge states of A112＋ and Pb7＋ were achieved. The results will be presented and discussed in this paper.     

喷气式Z箍缩等离子体发射离子束能谱的研究

使用紧凑型汤姆生离子谱仪对喷气式Z箍缩（Z-pinch）等离子体发射的离子束能谱进行了实 验研究.紧凑型汤姆生离子谱仪由入射窗、偏转电磁场、后置针孔及CR-39探测板组成.等离 子体发射的离子束经前置针孔、谱仪入射窗准直后进入偏转电磁场偏转,由后置针孔射出轰 击探测板形成可分辩的抛物线簇.对抛物线簇进行分析处理,得到了等离子体辐射的离子束 能谱及能谱随箍缩状况的变化趋势. 关键词： Z箍缩等离子体 紧凑型汤姆生谱仪 离子束能谱     

Analysis of generation of terahertz radiation by nonlinear mixing of laser frequencies in GaAs crystal

Generation of terahertz (THz) radiation by nonlinear mixing of laser frequencies in GaAs crystal is considered for the case of free and guided propagation of THz waves. In the first case the strong diffraction of the THz radiation leads to the deviation from the known square-law growth of the generator power with increasing crystal length, In the second case the spatial divergence of the exciting laser beam results in the appearance of a maximum in the generated power dependence on the radius of the nonlinear waveguide. According to estimations, the optimal radius of the laser beam is 18 μm for the waveguide length of 6 mm and the maximal generated THz power is ～27 W at the laser beam power of 10 kW.     

Development Towards a Laser Ion Source Trap for the Production of Exotic Species

A new type of resonance ionization laser ion source (RILIS) is presently being developed and tested at the off-line mass separator at Mainz University for future use at on-line exotic rare isotopes production facilities. For highest isobaric selectivity, this RILIS approach decouples the evaporation and ionization process. A further advantage is the generation of full temporal control of the resulting high quality ion beam. These facts are realized by a combination of atomizer – ion repeller – ion cooler and trap, which is operated together with a state-of-the-art, all solid state laser system. The principle and performance of this laser ion source trap (LIST) system are discussed applying simulation studies for the repeller-trap combination and first measurements for characterization.