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
Current discharge based high pressure, broadband Ultra Short Pulsed Laser CO2 lasers require 100 kV and 100s KAmps of current pulses combined with x ray ionization to seed the discharge resulting in a large system. Laser diode pumping of the vibrational population of N2-CO2 and their isotopes in the USPL CO2 laser, can potentially dramatically reduce the size, weight, and energy (excitation volume) required to develop a USPL CO2 laser. . In addition AFIT will develop hi fidelity models and simulate broadband CO2 laser chemical kinetics and reduce the current and voltage requirements thus increasing the wall plug efficiency and reducing size of the final device. The vibrational lasing states in a CO2 laser actually need a very low electric field-voltage to efficiently pump them. Thus the high voltage and current requirements of traditional CO2 laser are due to maintaining the plasma discharge for creating electrons with less than 0.5 electron Volts of energy to excite very low energy vibrational states in N2-CO2. The eventual goal of this effort, with leveraged funding from the Scottish Enterprise and AFRL, is to develop a 25 Joule USPL CO2 laser at > 10% efficiency (Ti:sapphire USPLs < 0.1 % efficient). A USPL CO2 laser due to the 10.6 micron wavelength produces 100x higher ponder motive force which can produce laser wake field acceleration and beta tron x ray radiation with 1 10 Tera Volt (TV)-m accelerating gradients. The ultimate goal USPL CO2 laser could produce a 10s kAmp electron beam per pulse at 5 GeV energies or betatron x rays at up to 7 MeV and 109 photons-pulse which can be directly generated by the laser.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 14, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95501917046
Entities
People
- D. A. Jaroszynski
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Strathclyde