Electron Beam Production with an Ultra Short and Intense Laser Pulse: A New Tool for Scientists

Abstract : By focusing a 10 Hz, 30 TW, 30 fs laser beam onto a gas jet, it is now possible to produce an ultra short and high quality electron beam with a maximum energy of up to 200 MeV. The gas is instantaneously ionized by the laser electric field and transformed into plasma, in which accelerating electric fields of the order of 1 TV/m have been generated in the non-linear regime. Some applications of this attractive and compact electron source are presented.