Development of control mechanisms for a laser wakefield accelerator-driven bremsstrahlung x-ray source for advanced radiographic imaging

Abstract

Abstract A high power laser was used to accelerate electrons in a laser-driven wakefield accelerator. The high energy electrons were then used to generate an x-ray beam by passing them through a converter target. This bremsstrahlung source was characterised and used to perform penetrative imaging of industrially relevant samples. The photon spectrum had a critical energy in excess of 100 MeV and a source size smaller than the resolution of the diagnostic ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> </mml:math> 150 µ m). Simulations indicate a significantly smaller source is achievable. Variations in the x-ray source characteristics were realised through changes to the plasma and converter parameters while simulations confirm the adaptability of the source. Imaging of high areal density objects with 150 µ m resolution was performed, demonstrating the unique advantages of this novel source.