Spectral methods for measuring ultrashort electron bunch durations from Laser-wakefield accelerators


Spectral methods for measuring ultrashort electron bunch durations from Laser-wakefield accelerators

Debus, A.; Zarini, O.; Bussmann, M.; Couperus, J. P.; Irman, A.; Seidel, W.; Schramm, U.

Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFA) feature electron bunch durations ranging from several fs to tens of fs. Knowledge and control of the electron bunch duration is vital to the design of future table-top, X-ray
light-sources for laser-synchronized pump-probe experiments, ranging from betatron radiation, Thomson scattering to FELs. Due to the nonlinear nature of the laser-wakefield electron injection and small changes in initial experimental conditions the electron bunch properties are often subject to large shot-to-shot variations, which requires diagnostics working not only at ultrashort time-scales but also at single-shot.
We aim for measurements of the LWFA electron bunch duration and bunch substructure at single-shot by analysing the coherent and incoherent transition radiation spectrum. Our ultra-broadband spectrometer ranges from the UV (200 nm) to the mid-IR (12 µm), which allows to resolve time-scales from 0.7 to 40 fs. The prims and grating-based spectrometer divides and maps the spectrum onto three detector systems (UV/VIS;NIR;MIR) of staggered, increasing resolution towards lower wavelengths. Here we present the experimental approach, scope and current status of our spectrometer project.

Keywords: Laser-wakefield acceleration; UV; VIS; NIR; mid-IR; spectrometer; coherent transition radiation

  • Lecture (Conference)
    DPG-Frühjahrstagung, Dresden 2013, 04.-08.03.2013, Dresden, Deutschland

Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-18519
Publ.-Id: 18519