Colton Fruhling

High-energy radiography of dense material with high flux Inverse-Compton x-ray source (Conference Presentation)

We report the high energy radiography of dense material using MeV all-optical-driven inverse Compton x-ray source. The properties of the inverse-Compton x-ray source are controlled by means of electron energy, electron charge, scattering beam focal spot size and pulse duration to obtain optimized x-ray energy and high flux for dense material radiography. In this experiment, the x-ray has a photon energy of 8 MeV for maximal steel penetration depth, and a flux of 1011 x-ray photons per shot. With this novel x-ray source, we are able to demonstrate radiography of a 10 cm thick “kite” object through a steel shielding with thickness up to 40 cm in a single exposure. The radiography image of the “kite” object though the 40 cm steel has signal to noise ratio of 2 and image contrast of 0.1, and the “kite” object can be clearly distinguished in the image. Combining its tunability, ultrafast pulse duration and micron meter resolution, the all-optical-driven inverse Compton x-ray source provides unique capacities for flash radiography of dense material, and is of interest for ultrafast nuclear physics study.

High-resolution radiography of thick steel objects using an all-laser-driven MeV-energy x-ray source

The recent development of a high-brightness MeV-photon source based on inverse-Compton scattering (ICS) has opened up exciting new possibilities for high-resolution radiography of dense objects. The x-ray beam is extremely bright, micron-source size, with mrad divergence, and high-spectral density, which makes it ideal for studies where high-resolution is required. The x-ray source is tunable over a wide range of parameters and we will discuss how the adjustable source parameters affect both transverse and longitudinal resolution. We then present results on the radiography of a thick steel object using this ICS source, and demonstrate the capabilities of this source with respect to operation at high photon energy while providing high spatial resolution.

Highly Nonlinear Inverse Compton Scattering

X-rays produced by highly nonlinear scattering of electrons by an ultra-intense electromagnetic field (I = 7×10^20 W cm^-2, a_0 ~ 15) are studied experimentally and compared with simulations.

A system to control the energy of a high-power laser system with application to x-ray generation at ultra-high intensity

We demonstrate a system to control the output energy of a high-energy, ultrashort pulse laser system by an order-of-magnitude. This technique is used to control the brightness of an Inverse-Compton x-ray source.

A high-energy attenuation system and the application to X-ray generation at ultra-high intensity

We demonstrated an energy attenuation system to control the output energy of a high-energy ultrafast pulse laser system by an order-of-magnitude. This technique was used to control the brightness of an Inverse-Compton x-ray source.