Efficient petawatt beam redirection for GeV class laser plasma accelerated electron beams using thin film liquid crystal plasma mirrors

ORAL

Abstract

State-of-the-art laser-plasma accelerators (LPA's) can routinely produce GeV electron beams. Further development of this technology requires better control of the petawatt beam near the LPA, including beam redirection into and out of the electron beamline via ultrathin plasma mirrors. Here we report on an experiment done at the BELLA PW facility that achieved 94{\%} attenuation via beam redirection and absorption using \textasciitilde 30 nm thick liquid crystal plasma mirrors. Liquid crystal films were formed in situ on-demand and successfully used to protect an active plasma lens placed about 20 cm downstream. Additionally, emittance degradation arising from well-known Coulomb scattering interactions is intrinsically suppressed due to the nm scale thicknesses of the films. We describe the device capabilities and associated diagnostics developed, film survival tests in the LPA environment, and the transmittance as a function of intensity. We describe a simple model of plasma mirror performance at high intensities.

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Authors

  • A Zingale

    The Ohio State University

  • N. A. Czap

    The Ohio State University

  • S. K. Barber

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

  • Jianhui Bin

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • Jeroen van Tilborg

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • Anthony Gonsalves

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBL, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • Fumika Isono

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • Kei Nakamura

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • S. Steinke

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

  • C. G. R. Geddes

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

  • Carl Schroeder

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • Eric Esarey

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA

  • Douglass Schumacher

    Ohio State University, The Ohio State University, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA