TY - JOUR
T1 - Demonstration of a compact plasma accelerator powered by laser-accelerated electron beams
AU - Kurz, T.
AU - Heinemann, T.
AU - Gilljohann, M. F.
AU - Chang, Y. Y.
AU - Couperus Cabadağ, J. P.
AU - Debus, A.
AU - Kononenko, O.
AU - Pausch, R.
AU - Schöbel, S.
AU - Assmann, R. W.
AU - Bussmann, M.
AU - Ding, H.
AU - Götzfried, J.
AU - Köhler, A.
AU - Raj, G.
AU - Schindler, S.
AU - Steiniger, K.
AU - Zarini, O.
AU - Corde, S.
AU - Döpp, A.
AU - Hidding, B.
AU - Karsch, S.
AU - Schramm, U.
AU - Martinez de la Ossa, A.
AU - Irman, A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - Plasma wakefield accelerators are capable of sustaining gigavolt-per-centimeter accelerating fields, surpassing the electric breakdown threshold in state-of-the-art accelerator modules by 3-4 orders of magnitude. Beam-driven wakefields offer particularly attractive conditions for the generation and acceleration of high-quality beams. However, this scheme relies on kilometer-scale accelerators. Here, we report on the demonstration of a millimeter-scale plasma accelerator powered by laser-accelerated electron beams. We showcase the acceleration of electron beams to 128 MeV, consistent with simulations exhibiting accelerating gradients exceeding 100 GV m−1. This miniaturized accelerator is further explored by employing a controlled pair of drive and witness electron bunches, where a fraction of the driver energy is transferred to the accelerated witness through the plasma. Such a hybrid approach allows fundamental studies of beam-driven plasma accelerator concepts at widely accessible high-power laser facilities. It is anticipated to provide compact sources of energetic high-brightness electron beams for quality-demanding applications such as free-electron lasers.
AB - Plasma wakefield accelerators are capable of sustaining gigavolt-per-centimeter accelerating fields, surpassing the electric breakdown threshold in state-of-the-art accelerator modules by 3-4 orders of magnitude. Beam-driven wakefields offer particularly attractive conditions for the generation and acceleration of high-quality beams. However, this scheme relies on kilometer-scale accelerators. Here, we report on the demonstration of a millimeter-scale plasma accelerator powered by laser-accelerated electron beams. We showcase the acceleration of electron beams to 128 MeV, consistent with simulations exhibiting accelerating gradients exceeding 100 GV m−1. This miniaturized accelerator is further explored by employing a controlled pair of drive and witness electron bunches, where a fraction of the driver energy is transferred to the accelerated witness through the plasma. Such a hybrid approach allows fundamental studies of beam-driven plasma accelerator concepts at widely accessible high-power laser facilities. It is anticipated to provide compact sources of energetic high-brightness electron beams for quality-demanding applications such as free-electron lasers.
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-23000-7
DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-23000-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 34001874
AN - SCOPUS:85106310926
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 12
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 2895
ER -