DOE OSTI · 3024186
Diagnostic x-ray source using electrons produced by a 100 J-class picosecond laser
Abstract
Many laser-based high-energy-density science (HEDS) facilities have one or more short-pulse (sub- to few-picosecond) laser beams for diagnostics. For the past decade, we have been developing a novel x-ray probing capability using such picosecond lasers interacting with an underdense plasma to produce relativistic electrons. The ultimate goal of these experiments is to demonstrate a new type of x-ray backlighter using the short-pulse ARC laser at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Before this diagnostic is fielded at the NIF, it is critical to demonstrate the viability and reproducibility of the x-ray source on comparable high-power short-pulse laser systems. We present experiments that were carried out with the OMEGA EP laser at the University of Rochester’s laboratory for laser energetics. In these experiments, high-energy electrons are produced through a combination of the self-modulation instability and direct laser acceleration in an underdense gas jet. These electrons generate directional x-rays with characteristic energies up to several tens of keV as they execute betatron motion in the ion channel, and the inverse Compton scattering process generates even harder x-rays, with characteristic photon energies of 60–240 keV. When implemented on the OMEGA EP laser(s), this x-ray source yields results that are comparable to those obtained recently on the short-pulse Titan laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, after accounting for differences in laser energy, peak intensity, focusing f/#, and plasma source. Applications of such an x-ray source for HEDS experiments are discussed.
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Sinclair, Mitchell [University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000227234881), Pagano, Isabella [University of Texas at Austin, TX (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000161032389), Lemos, Nuno [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000267815672), Arrowsmith, Charles D. [University of Oxford (United Kingdom); Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000161862227), Shaw, Jessica L. [University of Rochester, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000211188921), Miller, Kyle G. [University of Rochester, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000348269001), King, Paul M. [University of Texas at Austin, TX (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000334246386), Aghedo, Adeola [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000199092213), Marsh, Kenneth A. [University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000229293682), Gregori, Gianluca [University of Oxford (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000241530628), Albert, Félicie [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000246128240), Joshi, Chan [University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000216969751). 2026-02-27. Diagnostic x-ray source using electrons produced by a 100 J-class picosecond laser. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587%2Fae41e4
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