Open AccessDevelopment of control mechanisms for a laser wakefield accelerator-driven bremsstrahlung x-ray source for advanced radiographic imaging
Author(s) -
C. I. D. Underwood,
C. D. Baird,
C. D. Murphy,
Chris Armstrong,
C. Thornton,
Oliver Finlay,
Matthew Streeter,
Matthew Selwood,
Nick Brierley,
Silvia Cipiccia,
J.-N. Gruse,
P. McKenna,
Z. Najmudin,
D. Neely,
Dean Rusby,
D. Symes,
Ceri Brenner
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plasma physics and controlled fusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.328
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1361-6587
pISSN - 0741-3335
DOI - 10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe
Subject(s) - bremsstrahlung , physics , electron , laser , plasma , x ray , cathode ray , resolution (logic) , optics , computational physics , atomic physics , nuclear physics , computer science , artificial intelligence
A high power laser was used to accelerate electrons in a laser-driven wakefield accelerator. The high energy electrons were then used to generate an x-ray beam by passing them through a converter target. This bremsstrahlung source was characterised and used to perform penetrative imaging of industrially relevant samples. The photon spectrum had a critical energy in excess of 100 MeV and a source size smaller than the resolution of the diagnostic ( ≲ 150 µ m). Simulations indicate a significantly smaller source is achievable. Variations in the x-ray source characteristics were realised through changes to the plasma and converter parameters while simulations confirm the adaptability of the source. Imaging of high areal density objects with 150 µ m resolution was performed, demonstrating the unique advantages of this novel source.