Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Article number | 053016 |
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 9/05/2013 |
<mark>Journal</mark> | New Journal of Physics |
Volume | 15 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Publication Status | Published |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
We report on an experimental demonstration of laser wakefield electron acceleration using a sub-TW power laser by tightly focusing 30 fs laser pulses with an 8 mJ pulse energy on a 100 mu m scale gas target. The experiments are carried out at an unprecedented 0.5 kHz repetition rate, allowing 'real-time' optimization of accelerator parameters. Well-collimated and stable electron beams with quasi-monoenergetic peaks in the 100 keV range are measured. Particle-in-cell simulations show excellent agreement with the experimental results and suggest an acceleration mechanism based on electron trapping on the density downramp, due to the time-varying phase velocity of the plasma waves.