Thomson scattering of TW laser from plasma-accelerated electrons: All-optical method to generate femtosecond soft and hard x-rays

Thomson scattering of TW laser from plasma-accelerated electrons: All-optical method to generate femtosecond soft and hard x-rays

We propose a novel experimental scheme for a compact and tunable X-ray source capable of producing X-ray pulses with a few tens of femtosecond duration. The method is based on the Thomson scattering of a terawatt femtosecond laser from a relativistic plasma-accelerated electron beam. We present particle-in-cell simulations for ultrashort e-beam generation from laser-wakeeld accelerator scheme utilizing a plasma density transition as a self-injector; then, we present the basic characteristics of ultrashort X-ray generation.

We propose a novel experimental scheme for a compact and tunable X-ray source capable of producing X-ray pulses with a few tens of femtosecond duration. The method is based on the Thomson scattering of a terawatt femtosecond laser from a relativistic plasma-accelerated electron beam. We present particle-in-cell simulations for ultrashort e-beam generation from laser-wakeeld accelerator scheme utilizing a plasma density transition as a self-injector; then, we present the basic characteristics of ultrashort X-ray generation.