Femtosecond Planar Electron Beam Source for
Micron-Scale Dielectric Wake Field Accelerator--Omega-P, Inc., 202008 Yale Station, Suite 100,
New Haven, CT 06520;
203-458-1144
Dr. Jay L. Hirschfield, Principal Investigator, jay@omega-p.com
Mr. George P. Trahan, Business Official, trahan@omega-p.com
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-01ER83243
Amount: $100,000
Lasers play an important role in research seeking new
mechanisms for high-gradient electron acceleration.
This project will develop technology to produce a 90 MeV gyrating
electron beam with particles advancing in phase at the laser frequency,
executing one cycle each 35 fs. A
beam stop with an off-axis channel will transmit a short beam pulse every
optical cycle, thereby producing a train of about 30 one pC microbunches for
each laser pulse. These bunches can
be focused to a few microns width in one transverse direction using a quadrupole
and injected into a planar dielectric-lined waveguide where cumulative buildup
of wakefields can lead to acceleration gradients approaching 1 GV/m.
In Phase I, a practical beam optics arrangement will be devised to direct
a gyrating, finite-emittance beam from a laser-based vacuum accelerator, through
a beam stop with an off-axis channel, through a quadrupole, and into a planar
dielectric-lined waveguide. The
arrangement will be optimized for maximum microbunch charge and minimum
transverse width in the dielectric-lined waveguide.
Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Thousands of inexpensive micro-scale wake field generators could be required for a future collider. Micron-scale electron bunches can also be used in plasma-based accelerators and in the generation of intense bursts of sub-harmonic radiation, required in many areas of research.