A Conceptual and Technical Design Study of a Ultra Short Pulse CO2 Laser Driven Laser Wakefield Accelerator, as a First Step to Developing a Robust Demonstrator
Abstract
Three major activates were undertaken for the project: i) design of a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) based on a CO2 laser, ii) design of an optically pumped CO2 ultra-short pulsed laser based on direct and indirect pumping, and iii) determine the cost of building an optically pumped CO2 laser prototype and a potential commercial device. This is described in a detailed report that is submitted as part of the overall report. The design studies of the LWFA and optically pumped CO2 laser were undertaken in parallel. The CO2 laser driven LWFA design studies were carried out at the University of Strathclyde, benefitting from an ongoing research programme to develop Ti:sapphire-pumped LWFAs and radiation sources at the University. The design study of the optically pumped CO2 laser was undertaken by IRP Technology LLC, Corrales, NM, USA as a sub-contract. The main people involved in the project were Prof. Dino Jaroszynski and Dr. Enrico Brunetti from Strathclyde, and Dr. Neil Campbell and Mr. Jack Lovell from IRP. Many other people from Strathclyde contributed to the work both directly and indirectly. If the laser energy is increased to 100 J (P = 200 Tera-Watt), the spot size to 100 m, and the plasma length is set to 20 mm, the mean energy of the selection is 560 Mega electron Volts (MeV) with 7% energy spread, 50 nano-coulombs (nC) charge and 15 milli-radian (mrad) r.m.s. divergence. If the laser energy is further increased to 400 J (P = 800 TW), with w0 = 200 m, ne = 2.5 1016 cm3 and a plasma length of 86 mm, the mean energy of the selection is 1.6 GeV with 12% energy spread, 140 nC charge and 6 mrad r.m.s. divergence. The electron bunch energy is 224 J, which results in a conversion efficiency of approximately 56%.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 26, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1165453
Entities
People
- D. A. Jaroszynski
- Enrico Brunetti
- Jack Lovell
- Neil Campbell
Organizations
- University of Strathclyde