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

C. I.D. Underwood; C. D. Baird; C. D. Murphy; C. D. Armstrong; Christopher R Thornton; O. J. Finlay; M. J.V. Streeter; M. P. Selwood; N. Brierley; S. Cipiccia; J. N. Gruse; P. McKenna; Z. Najmudin; D. Neely; D. Rusby; D. R. Symes; C. M. Brenner

doi:10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe

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

C. I.D. Underwood^*, C. D. Baird, C. D. Murphy, C. D. Armstrong, Christopher R Thornton, O. J. Finlay, M. J.V. Streeter, M. P. Selwood, N. Brierley, S. Cipiccia, J. N. Gruse, P. McKenna, Z. Najmudin, D. Neely, D. Rusby, D. R. Symes, C. M. Brenner

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

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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 (≲150 µm). 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 µm resolution was performed, demonstrating the unique advantages of this novel source.

Original language	English
Article number	124002
Journal	Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
Volume	62
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe
Publication status	Published - 29 Oct 2020
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Keywords

Bremsstrahlung source
Laser wakefield acceleration
Non-destructive testing
Radiography
X-ray characterisation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Condensed Matter Physics

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10.1088/1361-6587/abbebeLicence: CC BY

Development of control mechanisms for a laser wakefield accelerator-driven bremsstrahlung x-ray source for advanced radiographic imaging
Copyright 2020 the authors. Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited
Final published version, 2.81 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Underwood, C. I. D., Baird, C. D., Murphy, C. D., Armstrong, C. D., Thornton, C. R., Finlay, O. J., Streeter, M. J. V., Selwood, M. P., Brierley, N., Cipiccia, S., Gruse, J. N., McKenna, P., Najmudin, Z., Neely, D., Rusby, D., Symes, D. R., & Brenner, C. M. (2020). Development of control mechanisms for a laser wakefield accelerator-driven bremsstrahlung x-ray source for advanced radiographic imaging. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 62(12), Article 124002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe

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

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 (≲150 µm). 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 µm resolution was performed, demonstrating the unique advantages of this novel source.",

keywords = "Bremsstrahlung source, Laser wakefield acceleration, Non-destructive testing, Radiography, X-ray characterisation",

author = "Underwood, {C. I.D.} and Baird, {C. D.} and Murphy, {C. D.} and Armstrong, {C. D.} and Thornton, {Christopher R} and Finlay, {O. J.} and Streeter, {M. J.V.} and Selwood, {M. P.} and N. Brierley and S. Cipiccia and Gruse, {J. N.} and P. McKenna and Z. Najmudin and D. Neely and D. Rusby and Symes, {D. R.} and Brenner, {C. M.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK",

year = "2020",

month = oct,

day = "29",

doi = "10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe",

language = "English",

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Underwood, CID, Baird, CD, Murphy, CD, Armstrong, CD, Thornton, CR, Finlay, OJ, Streeter, MJV, Selwood, MP, Brierley, N, Cipiccia, S, Gruse, JN, McKenna, P, Najmudin, Z, Neely, D, Rusby, D, Symes, DR & Brenner, CM 2020, 'Development of control mechanisms for a laser wakefield accelerator-driven bremsstrahlung x-ray source for advanced radiographic imaging', Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, vol. 62, no. 12, 124002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe

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AU - Underwood, C. I.D.

AU - Baird, C. D.

AU - Murphy, C. D.

AU - Armstrong, C. D.

AU - Thornton, Christopher R

AU - Finlay, O. J.

AU - Streeter, M. J.V.

AU - Selwood, M. P.

AU - Brierley, N.

AU - Cipiccia, S.

AU - Gruse, J. N.

AU - McKenna, P.

AU - Najmudin, Z.

AU - Neely, D.

AU - Rusby, D.

AU - Symes, D. R.

AU - Brenner, C. M.

PY - 2020/10/29

Y1 - 2020/10/29

N2 - 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 (≲150 µm). 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 µm resolution was performed, demonstrating the unique advantages of this novel source.

AB - 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 (≲150 µm). 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 µm resolution was performed, demonstrating the unique advantages of this novel source.

KW - Bremsstrahlung source

KW - Laser wakefield acceleration

KW - Non-destructive testing

KW - Radiography

KW - X-ray characterisation

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DO - 10.1088/1361-6587/abbebe

M3 - Article

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SN - 0741-3335

VL - 62

JO - Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion

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M1 - 124002

ER -

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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