Modular supersonic nozzle for the stable laser-driven electron acceleration

Zhenzhe Lei; Zhan Jin; Yan-Jun Gu; Shingo Sato; Alexei Zhidkov; Alexandre Rondepierre; Kai Huang; Nobuhiko Nakanii; Izuru Daito; Masaki Kando; Tomonao Hosokai

doi:10.1063/5.0181414

Modular supersonic nozzle for the stable laser-driven electron acceleration

Rev Sci Instrum. 2024 Jan 1;95(1):015111. doi: 10.1063/5.0181414.

Authors

Zhenzhe Lei^{1

2

3}, Zhan Jin^{1

2

3}, Yan-Jun Gu^{1

2}, Shingo Sato^{1

2

3}, Alexei Zhidkov^{1

2}, Alexandre Rondepierre^{1

2}, Kai Huang^{2

4}, Nobuhiko Nakanii^{2

4}, Izuru Daito⁴, Masaki Kando^{1

2

4}, Tomonao Hosokai^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ SANKEN, Osaka University, Mihogaoka 8-1, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan.
² Laser Accelerator R&D, Innovative Light Sources Division, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Kouto 1-1-1, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, 1-1 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.
⁴ Kansai Institute for Photon Science (KPSI), National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto 619-0215, Japan.

PMID: 38259162
DOI: 10.1063/5.0181414

Abstract

The sharp density down-ramp injection (shock injection) mechanism produces the quasi-monoenergetic electron beam with a bunch duration of tens of femtoseconds via laser wakefield acceleration. The stability of the accelerated electron beam strongly depends on the stability of the laser beam and the shock structure produced by the supersonic gas nozzle. In this paper, we report the study of a newly designed modular supersonic nozzle with a flexible stilling chamber and a converging-diverging structure. The performance of the nozzle is studied both numerically and experimentally with the computational fluid dynamics simulation and the Mach-Zehnder interferometry method. The simulation results and the experimental measurements are well consistent, and both prove the effectiveness of the stilling chamber in stabilizing the gas flow.