Search Results (5 total)

In this article we demonstrate the net acceleration of relativistic electrons using a direct, in-vacuum interaction with a laser. In the experiment, an electron beam from a conventional accelerator is first energy modulated at optical frequencies in an inverse-free-electron-laser and bunched in a chicane. This is followed by a second stage optical accelerator to obtain net acceleration. The optical phase between accelerator stages is monitored and controlled in order to scan the accelerating phase and observe net acceleration and deceleration. Phase jitter measurements indicate control of the phase to ∼13° allowing for stable net acceleration of electrons with lasers.

We report the production of optically spaced attosecond electron microbunches produced by the inverse free-electron-laser (IFEL) process. The IFEL is driven by a Ti:sapphire laser synchronized with the electron beam. The IFEL is followed by a magnetic chicane that converts the energy modulation into the longitudinal microbunch structure. The microbunch train is characterized by observing coherent optical transition radiation (COTR) at multiple harmonics of the bunching. Experimental results are compared with 1D analytic theory showing good agreement. Estimates of the bunching factors are given and correspond to a microbunch length of 410 attosec FWHM. The formation of stable attosecond electron pulse trains marks an important step towards direct laser acceleration.

We recently achieved the first experimental observation of laser-driven particle acceleration of relativistic electrons from a single Gaussian near-infrared laser beam in a semi-infinite vacuum. This article presents an in-depth account of key aspects of the experiment. An analysis of the transverse and longitudinal forces acting on the electron beam is included. A comparison of the observed data to the acceleration viewed as an inverse transition radiation process is presented. This is followed by a detailed description of the components of the experiment and a discussion of future measurements.

We present the first direct observation of a higher-order inverse-free-electron-laser (IFEL) interaction. Interaction at the fourth, fifth, and sixth harmonics is observed from an IFEL operating at 800 nm. The harmonic spacing, relative harmonic strength, and transverse beam overlap of the interaction are all in good agreement with tracking simulations.

We demonstrate a new particle acceleration mechanism using 800 nm laser radiation to accelerate relativistic electrons in a semi-infinite vacuum. The experimental demonstration is the first of its kind and is a proof of principle for the concept of laser-driven particle acceleration in a structure loaded vacuum. We observed up to 30 keV energy modulation over a distance of 1000λ, corresponding to a 40  MeV/m peak gradient. The energy modulation was observed to scale linearly with the laser electric field and showed the expected laser-polarization dependence. Furthermore, as expected, laser acceleration occurred only in the presence of a boundary that limited the laser-electron interaction to a finite distance.