Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
| Article number | 174103 |
|---|---|
| <mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 28/04/2014 |
| <mark>Journal</mark> | Applied Physics Letters |
| Issue number | 17 |
| Volume | 104 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Publication Status | Published |
| <mark>Original language</mark> | English |
High intensity, short pulse lasers can be used to accelerate electrons to ultra-relativistic energies via laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) [T. Tajima and J. M. Dawson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 267 (1979)]. Recently, it was shown that separating the injection and acceleration processes into two distinct stages could prove beneficial in obtaining stable, high energy electron beams [Gonsalves et al., Nat. Phys. 7, 862 (2011); Liu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 035001 (2011); Pollock et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 045001 (2011)]. Here, we use a stereolithography based 3D printer to produce two-stage gas targets for LWFA experiments on the HERCULES laser system at the University of Michigan. We demonstrate substantial improvements to the divergence, pointing stability, and energy spread of a laser wakefield accelerated electron beam compared with a single-stage gas cell or gas jet target. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.