Sustainable High Repetition Rate Plasma Mirrors for Petawatt Lasers

ORAL

Abstract

Free standing liquid crystal films have shown utility as moderate repetition rate plasma mirrors in ultra-high intensity laser matter interactions (Poole et al., Scientific Reports 6, 32041 (2016)). We report the results of a test of film durability in the BELLA gas capillary electron acceleration environment (Leemans, et al., PRL 113, 245002 (2014)). It was found that films as thin as 10 nm can withstand blow-out plasma 6 cm from the capillary discharge as well as the peak of a nanosecond laser pulse with a fluence of ~400 J/cm2 used for heating. These results inform the suitability of liquid crystal films for short laser pulse redirection in wakefield electron accelerators. A new high repetition rate device (> 1 Hz) is described for inserting 10-30 nm thick plasma mirrors with low weak field reflectivity, good film uniformity, flatness, pointing, and low cost. The design innovations necessary to achieve this performance are described.

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Presenters

  • Anthony Zingale

    Ohio State Univ - Columbus

Authors

  • Anthony Zingale

    Ohio State Univ - Columbus

  • Sven Steinke

    Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab

  • Jianhui Bin

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab

  • G. E. Cochran

    Ohio State Univ - Columbus, The Ohio State University

  • Christopher V Pieronek

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, University of California-Berkeley, USA, Univ of California - Berkeley

  • Jeroen van Tilborg

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, LBNL

  • Fumika Isono

    Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, LBNL, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, Univ of California - Berkeley

  • Sam K Barber

    Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab

  • Nicholas Czapla

    Ohio State Univ - Columbus

  • Jordan Purcell

    Ohio State Univ - Columbus

  • P. L. Poole

    Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, LLNL, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Wim Pieter Leemans

    Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, U.C. Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, Univ of California - Berkeley, LBNL, UC Berkeley

  • D. W. Schumacher

    Ohio State Univ - Columbus, Ohio State University, The Ohio State University