Few-cycle laser-driven electron acceleration.
We report on an electron accelerator based on few-cycle (8 fs full width at half maximum) laser pulses, with only 40 mJ energy per pulse, which constitutes a previously unexplored parameter range in laser-driven electron acceleration. The produced electron spectra are monoenergetic in the tens-of-MeV range and virtually free of low-energy electrons with thermal spectrum. The electron beam has a typical divergence of 5-10 mrad. The accelerator is routinely operated at 10 Hz and constitutes a promising source for several applications. Scalability of the few-cycle driver in repetition rate and energy implies that the present work also represents a step towards user friendly laser-based accelerators.
Schmid
K
K
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany. karl.schmid@mpq.mpg.de
Veisz
L
L
Tavella
F
F
Benavides
S
S
Tautz
R
R
Herrmann
D
D
Buck
A
A
Hidding
B
B
Marcinkevicius
A
A
Schramm
U
U
Geissler
M
M
Meyer-Ter-Vehn
J
J
Habs
D
D
Krausz
F
F