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V. Tomkus

Publications and source records attributed to V. Tomkus.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Demonstration of ultra-low emittance beams in a kHz laser wakefield accelerator and application to electron diffraction

We present a compact, cost-effective method for measuring the emittance of kHz-repetition-rate laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams using a permanent solenoid. The measured normalized emittance, $\epsilon_n = 124\,\mathrm{nm \cdot rad}$ ($\simeq 0.04 \pi\,\mathrm{mm \cdot mrad}$) at $2.7\,$MeV, is comparable to that of ultra-low emittance radiofrequency guns used for electron diffraction. Leveraging this low emittance, we successfully applied the electron beam to electron diffraction. We demonstrate diffraction images obtained from a single-crystal silicon nanomembrane sample, clearly resolving diffraction peaks across multiple orders.

physics.acc-ph

Optimization and stabilization of a kilohertz laser-plasma accelerator

Laser plasma acceleration at kilohertz repetition rate has recently been shown to work in two different regimes, with pulse lengths of either 30 fs or 3.5 fs. We now report on a systematic study in which a large range of pulse durations and plasma densities were investigated through continuous tuning of the laser spectral bandwidth. Indeed, two LPA processes can be distinguished, where beams of the highest quality, with 5.4 pC charge and a spectrum peaked at 2-2.5 MeV are obtained with short pulses propagating in moderate plasma densities. Through Particle-in-Cell simulations the two different acceleration processes are thoroughly explained. Finally, we proceed to show the results of a 5-hour continuous and stable run of our LPA accelerator accumulating more than $\mathrm{18\times10^6}$ consecutive shots, with 2.6 pC charge and peaked 2.5 MeV spectrum. A parametric study of the influence of the laser driver energy through PIC simulations underlines that this unprecedented stability was obtained thanks to micro-scale density gradient injection. Together, these results represent an important step towards stable laser-plasma accelerated electron beams at kilohertz repetition rate.

physics.acc-ph