Compact spectroscopy of keV to MeV X-rays from a laser wakefield accelerator

We reconstruct spectra of secondary X‑rays from a tunable 250–350 MeV laser wakefield electron accelerator from single‑shot X‑ray depth‑energy measurements in a compact (7.5 × 7.5 × 15 cm), modular X‑ray calorimeter made of alternating layers of absorbing materials and imaging plates. X‑rays range from few‑keV betatron to few‑MeV inverse Compton to > 100 MeV bremsstrahlung emission, and are characterized both individually and in mixtures. Geant4 simulations of energy deposition of single‑energy X‑rays in the stack generate an energy‑vs‑depth response matrix for a given stack configuration. An iterative reconstruction algorithm based on analytic models of betatron, inverse Compton and bremsstrahlung photon energy distributions then unfolds X‑ray spectra,
typically within a minute. We discuss uncertainties, limitations and extensions of both measurement and reconstruction methods.