Kilohertz-rate plasma photocathode wakefield acceleration

千赫兹速率等离子体光电阴极尾场加速

• 批准号: 2437821
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Strathclyde
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2437821
• 关键词: Kilohertz; rate; plasma; photocathode; wakefield

Plasma wakefield accelerators (PWFA) catapult electrons to tens of Giga-electron-volt energies on metre-scale distance - which would otherwise require multi-km-scale conventional accelerators. In addition, plasma photocathodes have been invented in order to exploit the enormous electric fields in plasmas also to produce electron beams which are 100,000x brighter that state-of-the-art. These can be realized at linac-powered plasma wakefield accelerators as well as at hybrid laser-plasma-accelerators. Plasma photocathodes and preionization stages can be developed and operated by state-of-the-art pulsed laser systems with kilohertz repetition rates, as they do not require the power levels that can be produced only by large, highest power laser systems which operate at sub-10 Hz repetition rates. A combined longer-term goal of these R&D thrusts - each transformative in its own right - is the production of plasma-based electron beams which are 100,000x brighter, 1000x stronger at repetition rates 100x higher than state-of-the-art. The studentship will explore fundamental laser-plasma-physics underlying the operation of plasma accelerators and plasma photocathodes at kilohertz repetition rates. The plasma photocathode afterglow signature will be investigated to explore the recombination and expansion dynamics, and will be exploited for metrology of the interaction process. SCAPA's in-house capabilities will be exploited to address these questions, complemented by experiments at above mentioned linac-powered facilities as well as at leading laser-plasma accelerator laboratories in Europe. Challenges and features of operating plasma accelerators by kilohertz systems at the power threshold e.g. for self-focusing and self-compression, such as high density plasma sources and strong spectral broadening and repeated laser pulse collapse, will be in the focus of the studentship. The above mentioned effects are expected to allow production of relativistic, broadband electron beams with energies up to a few MeV from the interaction of kilohertz-scale laser pulses with plasmas. Such an electron beam output flux is ideally suited for applications such as for space radiation reproduction and radiation hardness assurance of electronic components, e.g. satellite electronics, or for skin cancer treatment. Both applications are driven forward in collaboration with industry. We will demonstrate these technologies and applications at SCAPA, aiming to offer them to a wide range of industrial and medical users. The studentship will be co-funded by Research Center Julich in Germany. In Julich, a unique high-power, kilohertz laser system is available for laser wakefield acceleration and applications. This system, jointly with Strathclyde's kilohertz-laser pulse capabilities, provides a cutting-edge R&D environment for the studentship.

等离子体尾场加速器 (PWFA) 可在米级距离上将电子弹射到数十千兆电子伏特的能量，否则需要数公里级的传统加速器。此外，等离子体光电阴极的发明是为了利用等离子体中的巨大电场来产生比现有技术明亮 100,000 倍的电子束。这些可以通过直线加速器驱动的等离子体尾场加速器以及混合激光等离子体加速器来实现。等离子体光电阴极和预电离级可以通过具有千赫兹重复频率的最先进的脉冲激光系统来开发和操作，因为它们不需要仅由在亚频率下运行的大型、最高功率激光系统才能产生的功率水平。 -10 Hz 重复率。这些研发推动力的综合长期目标（每一项本身都具有变革性）是生产基于等离子体的电子束，其亮度比现有技术高 100,000 倍，强度高 1000 倍，重复率比现有技术高 100 倍。该学生奖学金将探索等离子体加速器和等离子体光电阴极以千赫兹重复率运行的基础激光等离子体物理学。将研究等离子体光电阴极余辉特征以探索复合和膨胀动力学，并将用于相互作用过程的计量。 SCAPA 的内部能力将被用来解决这些问题，并辅之以上述直线加速器驱动设施以及欧洲领先的激光等离子体加速器实验室的实验。通过千赫兹系统在功率阈值（例如功率阈值）运行等离子体加速器的挑战和特点自聚焦和自压缩，例如高密度等离子体源和强光谱展宽以及重复激光脉冲崩溃，将成为学生的重点。上述效应有望通过千赫兹级激光脉冲与等离子体的相互作用产生能量高达几 MeV 的相对论宽带电子束。这种电子束输出通量非常适合诸如空间辐射再现和电子元件（例如电子元件）的辐射硬度保证等应用。卫星电子产品或用于皮肤癌治疗。这两种应用都是与行业合作推动的。我们将在 SCAPA 上展示这些技术和应用，旨在将它们提供给广泛的工业和医疗用户。该学生奖学金将由德国尤利希研究中心共同资助。在尤利希，独特的高功率千赫兹激光系统可用于激光尾场加速和应用。该系统与斯特拉斯克莱德大学的千赫兹激光脉冲能力相结合，为学生提供了尖端的研发环境。