Differential pumping for kHz operation of a Laser Wakefield accelerator based on a continuously flowing Hydrogen gas jet

Laser-Wakefield Accelerators (LWFA) running at kHz repetition rates hold great potential for applications. They typically operate with low-energy, highly compressed laser pulses focused in high-pressure gas targets. Experiments have shown that the best-quality electron beams are achieved using Hydro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Monzac, Joséphine, Smartsev, Slava, Huijts, Julius, Lucas Rovige, Andriyash, Igor A, Vernier, Aline, Tomkus, Vidmantas, Girdauskas, Valdas, Raciukaitis, Gediminas, Mackevičiūtė, Miglė, Stankevic, Valdemar, Cavagna, Antoine, Kaur, Jaismeen, Kalouguine, André, Lopez-Martens, Rodrigo, Faure, Jérôme
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 25.10.2024
Subjects
Compressed gas
Electron beams
Fluid dynamics
Gas jets
High pressure
Hydrogen
Laser pumping
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Summary:Laser-Wakefield Accelerators (LWFA) running at kHz repetition rates hold great potential for applications. They typically operate with low-energy, highly compressed laser pulses focused in high-pressure gas targets. Experiments have shown that the best-quality electron beams are achieved using Hydrogen gas targets. However, continuous operation with Hydrogen requires a dedicated pumping system. This work presents the design of a differential pumping system, enabling, for the first time, continuous operation of our kHz LWFA using a high-pressure Hydrogen gas jet. The system successfully maintained a pressure below 3e-4 mbar, even with a free-flowing gas jet operating at 140 bar backing pressure. Numerical fluid dynamics and optical simulations were used to guide and validate the system's design.
ISSN:2331-8422