D. J. Gibson

Single-shot dynamic transmission electron microscopy

A dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM) has been designed and implemented to study structural dynamics in condensed matter systems. The DTEM is a conventional in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) modified to drive material processes with a nanosecond laser, “pump” pulse and measure it shortly afterward with a 30-ns-long probe pulse of ∼107 electrons. An image with a resolution of <20nm may be obtained with a single pulse, largely eliminating the need to average multiple measurements and enabling the study of unique, irreversible events with nanosecond- and nanometer-scale resolution. Space charge effects, while unavoidable at such a high current, may be kept to reasonable levels by appropriate choices of operating parameters. Applications include the study of phase transformations and defect dynamics at length and time scales difficult to access with any other technique. This single-shot approach is complementary to stroboscopic TEM, which is capable of much higher temporal resolution ...

PLEIADES: A picosecond Compton scattering x-ray source for advanced backlighting and time-resolved material studies

The PLEIADES (Picosecond Laser-Electron Inter-Action for the Dynamical Evaluation of Structures) facility has produced first light at 70 keV. This milestone offers a new opportunity to develop laser-driven, compact, tunable x-ray sources for critical applications such as diagnostics for the National Ignition Facility and time-resolved material studies. The electron beam was focused to 50 μm rms, at 57 MeV, with 260 pC of charge, a relative energy spread of 0.2%, and a normalized emittance of 5 mm mrad horizontally and 13 mm mrad vertically. The scattered 820 nm laser pulse had an energy of 180 mJ and a duration of 54 fs. Initial x rays were captured with a cooled charge-coupled device using a cesium iodide scintillator; the peak photon energy was approximately 78 keV, with a total x-ray flux of 1.3×106 photons/shot, and the observed angular distribution found to agree very well with three-dimensional codes. Simple K-edge radiography of a tantalum foil showed good agreement with the theoretical divergence-...

Isotope-specific detection of low-density materials with laser-based monoenergetic gamma-rays.

What we believe to be the first demonstration of isotope-specific detection of a low-Z and low density object shielded by a high-Z and high-density material using monoenergetic gamma rays is reported. The isotope-specific detection of LiH shielded by Pb and Al is accomplished using the nuclear resonance fluorescence line of L7i at 478 keV. Resonant photons are produced via laser-based Compton scattering. The detection techniques are general, and the confidence level obtained is shown to be superior to that yielded by conventional x-ray and gamma-ray techniques in these situations.

Solving the accelerator-condenser coupling problem in a nanosecond dynamic transmission electron microscope

We describe a modification to a transmission electron microscope (TEM) that allows it to briefly (using a pulsed-laser-driven photocathode) operate at currents in excess of 10 mA while keeping the effects of condenser lens aberrations to a minimum. This modification allows real-space imaging of material microstructure with a resolution of order 10 nm over regions several microm across with an exposure time of 15 ns. This is more than six orders of magnitude faster than typical video-rate TEM imaging. The key is the addition of a weak magnetic lens to couple the large-diameter high-current beam exiting the accelerator into the acceptance aperture of a conventional TEM condenser lens system. We show that the performance of the system is essentially consistent with models derived from ray tracing and finite element simulations. The instrument can also be operated as a conventional TEM by using the electron gun in a thermionic mode. The modification enables very high electron current densities in microm-sized areas and could also be used in a nonpulsed system for high-throughput imaging and analytical TEM.

Characterization of a bright, tunable, ultrafast Compton scattering X-ray source

The Compton scattering of a terawatt-class, femtosecond laser pulse by a high-brightness, relativistic electron beam has been demonstrated as a viable approach toward compact, tunable sources of bright, femtosecond, hard X-ray flashes. The main focus of this article is a detailed description of such a novel X-ray source, namely the PLEIADES (Picosecond Laser–Electron Inter-Action for the Dynamical Evaluation of Structures) facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. PLEIADES has produced first light at 70 keV, thus enabling critical applications, such as advanced backlighting for the National Ignition Facility and in situ time-resolved studies of high- Z materials. To date, the electron beam has been focused down to σ x = σ y = 27 μm rms, at 57 MeV, with 266 pC of charge, a relative energy spread of 0.2%, a normalized horizontal emittance of 3.5 mm·mrad, a normalized vertical emittance of 11 mm·mrad, and a duration of 3 ps rms. The compressed laser pulse energy at focus is 480 mJ, the pulse duration 54 fs Intensity Full Width at Half-Maximum (IFWHM), and the 1/ e 2 radius 36 μm. Initial X rays produced by head-on collisions between the laser and electron beams at a repetition rate of 10 Hz were captured with a cooled CCD using a CsI scintillator; the peak photon energy was approximately 78 keV, and the observed angular distribution was found to agree very well with three-dimensional codes. The current X-ray dose is 3 × 10 6 photons per pulse, and the inferred peak brightness exceeds 10 15 photons/(mm 2 × mrad 2 × s × 0.1% bandwidth). Spectral measurements using calibrated foils of variable thickness are consistent with theory. Measurements of the X-ray dose as a function of the delay between the laser and electron beams show a 24-ps full width at half maximum (FWHM) window, as predicted by theory, in contrast with a measured timing jitter of 1.2 ps, which contributes to the stability of the source. In addition, K -edge radiographs of a Ta foil obtained at different electron beam energies clearly demonstrate the γ 2 -tunability of the source and show very good agreement with the theoretical divergence-angle dependence of the X-ray spectrum. Finally, electron bunch shortening experiments using velocity compression have also been performed and durations as short as 300 fs rms have been observed using coherent transition radiation; the corresponding inferred peak X-ray flux approaches 10 19 photons/s.

Chirped-pulse amplification with narrowband pulses.

We demonstrate a compact hyperdispersion stretcher and compressor pair that permit chirped-pulse amplification in Nd:YAG. We generate 750 mJ, 0.2 nm FWHM, 10 Hz pulses recompressed to an 8 ps near-transform-limited duration. The dispersion-matched pulse compressor and stretcher impart a chirp of 7300 ps/nm, in a 3 m x 1 m footprint.

Precision linac and laser technologies for nuclear photonics gamma-ray sourcesa)

Tunable, high precision gamma-ray sources are under development to enable nuclear photonics, an emerging field of research. This paper focuses on the technological and theoretical challenges related to precision Compton scattering gamma-ray sources. In this scheme, incident laser photons are scattered and Doppler upshifted by a high brightness electron beam to generate tunable and highly collimated gamma-ray pulses. The electron and laser beam parameters can be optimized to achieve the spectral brightness and narrow bandwidth required by nuclear photonics applications. A description of the design of the next generation precision gamma-ray source currently under construction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is presented, along with the underlying motivations. Within this context, high-gradient X-band technology, used in conjunction with fiber-based photocathode drive laser and diode pumped solid-state interaction laser technologies, will be shown to offer optimal performance for high gamma-ray spe...

High Power Picosecond Laser Pulse Recirculation

We demonstrate a nonlinear crystal-based short pulse recirculation cavity for trapping the second harmonic of an incident high-power laser pulse. This scheme aims to increase the efficiency and flux of Compton-scattering-based light sources. We demonstrate up to 40x average power enhancement of frequency-doubled submillijoule picosecond pulses, and 17x average power enhancement of 177 mJ, 10 ps, 10 Hz pulses.

Commissioning of a high-brightness photoinjector for compton scattering x-ray sources

Compton scattering of intense laser pulses with ultra- relativistic electron beams has proven to be an attractive source of high-brightness x-rays with keV to MeV energies. This type of x-ray source requires the electron beam brightness to be comparable with that used in x-ray free- electron lasers and laser and plasma based advanced accelerators. We describe the development and commissioning of a 1.6 cell RF photoinjector for use in Compton scattering experiments at LLNL. Injector development issues such as RF cavity design, beam dynamics simulations, emit- tance diagnostic development, results of sputtered magnesium photo-cathode experiments, and UV laser pulse shaping are discussed. Initial operation of the photoinjector is described.

Three-dimensional theory of weakly nonlinear Compton scattering

Nonlinear effects are known to occur in light sources when the wiggler parameter, or normalized 4-potential, A=e−AμAμ/m0c, approaches unity. In this paper, it is shown that nonlinear spectral features can appear at arbitrarily low values of A if the fractional bandwidth of the undulator, Δϕ−1, is sufficiently small and satisfies the condition A2Δϕ∼1. Consequences for the spectral brightness of Compton scattering light sources are outlined. Compton and Thomson scattering theories are compared with the Klein–Nishina cross-section formula to highlight differences in the case of narrow band gamma-ray operation. A weakly nonlinear Compton scattering theory is developed in one (plane wave) and three (local plane wave approximation) dimensions. Analytical models are presented and benchmarked against numerical calculations solving the Lorentz force equation with a fourth-order Runge–Kutta algorithm. Finally, narrow band gamma-ray spectra are calculated for realistic laser and electron beams.