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| Home > Publications database > Stability Demands for Laser-systems in Plasma Acceleration |
| Home > Publications database > Stability Demands for Laser-systems in Plasma Acceleration |
| Poster | PUBDB-2020-05270 |
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2019
Abstract: The LUX laser-plasma-accelerator [1], built in close collaboration of the University of Hamburg and DESY, isdesigned to provide plasma electron beams with enhanced stability as a driver for future compact light sources.After significant in-house development of the driving 200 TW ANGUS laser system, the laser has reached anoperational stability, that enables us to repeatedly demonstrate day-long operation of the laser-plasma acceleratorwith several 10k consecutive electron beams and high availability. The electron beam quality is sufficient to drivea miniature undulator, generating synchrotron-type undulator radiation at wavelengths well below 9 nm.We report on experimental results of the long-term stability of the ANGUS laser system with sub 2% energystability over a full day, and pulse duration stability on the 1% level, that have been enabled through activefeedback loops at various stages within the amplification chain. Coupled with a comprehensive diagnostics andcontrol system, that contributes to operational necessities such as short daily startup times and optimizedmaintenance procedures, the system has enabled us to gather statistical data of the accelerator performance, whichis a crucial step for the accelerator community.These day-long experimental campaigns have indicated, that the stability of the accelerator performance islimited by both fast fluctuations and slow drifts, of the spectral and spatial properties of the laser pulses. Theselimitations are inherent to the complex amplification chains and system architecture of most PW class lasersystems, with long beam-paths and numerous optical components, that each contribute to the degradation of laserstability [2]. To further enhance the capabilities of laser-based plasma accelerators it is therefore crucial toovercome these inherent challenges of the technology and to investigate new approaches combining high gain andthe passive stability. We are therefore investigating OPCPA-based pulses as seeds for our main amplification chainin order to generate ultrafast laser pulses tailored for stable long-term plasma accelerator operation as the primaryfocus.In this contribution we will discuss the strict stability demands of laser systems for laser-plasma particleacceleration with the example of the performance of the 200TW ANGUS laser system. Besides reviewing thecurrent capabilities of the laser and their influence on the accelerator, we will suggest new approaches forovercoming the inherent limitations of Ti:Sapphire technology, with a focus on the potential capabilities of whitelight seeded optical parametric amplifiers driven by highly reliable industrial femtosecond pump lasers.[1] N. Delbos, C. Werle, I. Dornmair, T. Eichner, L. Hübner, S. Jalas, S. W. Jolly, M. Kirchen, V. Leroux, P. Messner, M. Schnepp, M. Trunk, P.A. Walker, P. Winkler, A. R. Maier, "LUX -- A Laser-Plasma Driven Undulator Beamline", Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res. A 909, 318 (2018)[2] V. Leroux, S. Jolly, M. Schnepp, T. Eichner, S. Jalas, M. Kirchen, P. Messner, C. Werle, P. Winkler, and A. Maier, "Wavefront degradationof a 200 TW laser from heat-induced deformation of in-vacuum compressor gratings", Opt. Express 26, 13061-13071 (2018)
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