High resolution, single shot emittance measurement of relativistic electrons from laser-driven accelerator

Ledingham, K.W.D. et al. (2011) High resolution, single shot emittance measurement of relativistic electrons from laser-driven accelerator. In: Laser Acceleration of Electrons, Protons, and Ions; and Medical Applications of Laser-Generated Secondary Sources of Radiation and Particles, Prague, Czech Republic, 18-20 Apr 2011, p. 807909. (doi: 10.1117/12.887175)

Abstract

The normalised transverse emittance is a measure of the quality of an electron beam from a particle accelerator. The brightness, parallelism and focusability are all functions of the emittance. Here we present a high-resolution single shot method of measuring the transverse emittance of a 125 ± 3 MeV electron beam generated from a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) using a pepper-pot mask. An average normalised emittance of εrms,x,y = 2.2 ± 0.7, 2.3 ± 0.6 π-mmmrad was measured, which is comparable to that of a conventional linear accelerator. The best measured emittance was εrms,x,=1.1 ± 0.1 π-mm-mrad, corresponding to the resolution limit of our system. The low emittance indicates that this accelerator is suitable for driving a compact free electron laser.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Additional Information: ISBN: 9780819486691
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Shanks, Dr Richard
• Authors: Ledingham, K.W.D., Manahan, G.G., Brunetti, E., Shanks, R.P., Islam, M.R., Ersfeld, B., Anania, M.P., Cipiccia, S., Issac, R.C., Raj, G., Vieux, G., Welsh, G.H., Wiggins, S.M., Jaroszynski, D.A., Leemans, W.P., Esarey, E., Hooker, S.M., Spohr, K., and McKenna, P.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• ISSN: 0277786X