Applications of laser-fabricated plasma structures in laser-wakefield accelerators, X-ray lasers and plasma nonlinear optics

C. T. Hsieh, M. W. Lin, C. L. Chang, Y. C. Ho, S. Y. Chen, J. Wang, M. C. Chou, J. Y. Lin, C. H. Pai, P. H. Lin, L. C. Tai, S. H. Chen, G. Y. Tsaur, C. C. Kuo, T. Y. Chien

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

A general method for fabricating transient plasma structures with high-intensity laser pulses is developed to gain fine control over laser-plasma interactions. These structures have been used as programmable photonic devices in the development of laser-wakefield accelerators, soft X-ray lasers and plasma nonlinear optics driven by multi-terawatt laser pulses. Plasma ramps are used to control electron injection in laser-wakefield accelerators, plasma waveguides are used to enhance the efficiency of soft X-ray lasers by orders of magnitude and periodic plasma structures are used to achieve quasi-phase matching in relativistic harmonic generation. By scanning the interaction length with the same plasma-fabrication method, tomographic measurements are carried out to resolve the injection/acceleration process in laser-wakefield accelerators and amplification processes in X-ray lasers and relativistic harmonic generation. A theoretical analysis and a computer simulation are also carried out to provide insightful pictures of these processes. These research works show that by controlling plasma structures with optical fabrication methods, laser-plasma interaction can be engineered to expand and enrich the frontier of high-field physics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3719-3725
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of the Korean Physical Society
Volume53
Issue number6 PART 1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2008

Keywords

  • High-field physics
  • Laser-wakefield accelerator
  • Plasma nonlinear optics
  • X-ray laser

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