High-repetition-rate, all-reflective optical guiding and electron acceleration in helium using an off-axis axicon
Authors
Jiří Šišma
Michal Nevrkla
Filip Vitha
Sebastian Lorenz
Illia Zymak
Alžběta Špádová
Andrea Kollárová
Matěj Jech
Alexandr Jančárek
Davorin Peceli
Carlo M. Lazzarini
Leonardo V. N. Goncalves
Gabriele M. Grittani
Sergei V. Bulanov
Jaron E. Shrock
Ela Rockafellow
Ari J. Sloss
Bo Miao
Scott W. Hancock
Howard M. Milchberg
Abstract
We present recent results on high-power guiding and laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) in the ELBA beamline at ELI Beamlines, using the L3-HAPLS laser system (13 J, 30 fs, 0.2 Hz). By employing self-waveguiding in a 20 cm plasma channel in helium, we achieved stable acceleration of electron beams to energies approaching 5 GeV. A novel all-reflective optical setup, including an off-axis reflective axicon, enabled efficient acceleration at 0.2 Hz and guiding at repetition rates up to 3.3 Hz. This compact single laser, single compressor implementation of plasma channels for electron acceleration stabilizes electron pointing and enhances energy gain without requiring modifications to the laser system, paving the way for broader adoption of the technology across user facilities.
