Related papers: Optical design for increased interaction length in…
In this paper we describe an ultrafast scanning electron microscope setup developed for the research of inelastic scattering of electrons at optical near-fields of periodic dielectric nanostructures. Electron emission from the Schottky…
We present an experimental demonstration of the efficient acceleration of electrons beyond 60 MeV using micro-channel plasma targets. We employed a high-contrast, 2.5 J, 32 fs short pulse laser interacting with a 5 \mu m inner diameter, 300…
Laser pulses of extreme intensities ($I>10^{22}~ \mathrm{W/cm^2}$) are about to become available in the laboratory. The prepulse of such a laser can induce a plasma expansion that generates a low-density channel in near-critical gas jets.…
We demonstrate that laser reflection acts as a catalyst for superponderomotive electron production in the preplasma formed by relativistic multipicosecond lasers incident on solid density targets. In 1D particle-in-cell simulations, high…
We present a detailed study of the electric and magnetic fields, which are created on plasma vacuum interfaces as a result of highly intense laser-matter-interactions. For the field generation ultra-thin polymer foils were irradiated with…
Recent studies have demonstrated the possibility of accelerating electrons to MeV energies in ambient air using tightly focused laser configurations. In this article, we explore possible strategies to control and optimize the resulting…
Spin-polarized particle beams are of interest for applications like deep-inelastic scattering, e.g. to gain further understanding of the proton's nuclear structure. With the advent of high-intensity laser facilities, laser-plasma-based…
Experimental results, supported by precise modelling, demonstrate optimisation of a plasma-based injector with intermediate laser pulse energy ($<1$ J), corresponding to a normalised vector potential $a_0 = 2.15$, using ionisation injection…
Realizing the full potential of ultrahigh-intensity lasers for particle and radiation generation will require multi-beam arrangements due to technology limitations. Here, we investigate how to optimize their coupling with solid targets.…
Passive optical elements can play key roles in photonic applications such as plasmonic integrated circuits. Here we experimentally demonstrate passive gap-plasmon focusing and routing in two-dimensions. This is accomplished using a high…
Using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we examine how an externally applied strong magnetic impacts proton acceleration in laser-irradiated solid-density targets. We find that a kT-level external magnetic field can sufficiently…
A high repetition rate electron source was generated by tightly focusing kHz, few-mJ laser pulses into an underdense plasma. This high intensity laser-plasma interaction led to stable electron beams over several hours but with strikingly…
We investigated plasma heating enhancement using a high-intensity, high-contrast laser and a cone-attached target. Fast electron spectra and X-ray emission were measured with an electron spectrometer and a Bragg crystal spectrometer. The…
A custom LED driver producing light pulses with very low intensity and O(10 ns) duration was designed and constructed. A microcontroller was employed to handle the amplitudes and the repetition rates of the output pulses. In addition, it…
We report the design of highly efficient optical antennas employing a judicious synthesis of metallic and dielectric materials. In the proposed scheme, a pair of metallic coupled nanoparticles permits large enhancements in both excitation…
In the present design of ILC, $L^*$, the distance between the interaction point (IP) and the front surface of the final focusing magnet (QD0), is 4.1 m. The QD0 is supported from the detector platform by a cantilever type support or from…
Experiments were performed to study electron acceleration by intense sub-picosecond laser pulses propagating in sub-mm long plasmas of near critical electron density (NCD). Low density foam layers of 300-500 um thickness were used as…
The measurement of peak laser intensities exceeding $10^{20} \text{W/cm$^2$}$ is in general a very challenging task. We suggest a simple method to accurately measure such high intensities up to about $10^{23} \text{W/cm$^2$}$, by colliding…
Positron creation and acceleration is one of the major challenges for constructing future lepton colliders. On the one hand, conventional technology can provide a solution, but at a prohibitive cost and scale. On the other hand,…
Laser-driven plasma wakefields can provide hundreds of MeV electron beam in mm-range distances potentially shrinking the dimension of the actual particle accelerators. The plasma density plays a fundamental role in the control and stability…