Measurements and simulation of controlled beamfront motion in the laser controlled collective accelerator

Abstract

In the Laser Controlled Collective Accelerator, an intense electron beam is injected at a current above the vacuum space charge limit into an initially evacuated drift tube. A plasma channel, produced by time-sequenced, multiple laser beam ionization of a solid target on the drift tube wall, provides the necessary neutralization to allow for effective beam propagation. By controlling the rate of production of the plasma channel as a function of time down the drift tube, control of the electron beamfront can be achieved. Recent experimental measurements of controlled beamfront motion in this configuration are presented, along with results of ion acceleration experiments conducted using two different accelerating gradients. These results are compared with numerical simulations of the system in which both controlled beamfront motion and ion acceleration is observed consistent with both design expectations and experimental results.