Laser-wakefield accelerators for high-resolution X-ray imaging of complex microstructures

A. E. Hussein*, N. Senabulya, Y. Ma, M. J. V. Streeter, B. Kettle, S. J. D. Dann, F. Albert, N. Bourgeois, S. Cipiccia, J. M. Cole, O. Finlay, E. Gerstmayr, I. Gallardo González, A. Higginbotham, D. A. Jaroszynski, K. Falk, K. Krushelnick, N. Lemos, N. C. Lopes, C. LumsdonO. Lundh, S. P. D. Mangles, Z. Najmudin, P. P. Rajeev, C. M. Schlepütz, M. Shahzad, M. Smid, R. Spesyvtsev, D. R. Symes, G. Vieux, L. Willingale, J. C. Wood, A. J. Shahani, A. G. R. Thomas

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Citations (Scopus)
32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) are high acceleration-gradient plasma-based particle accelerators capable of producing ultra-relativistic electron beams. Within the strong focusing fields of the wakefield, accelerated electrons undergo betatron oscillations, emitting a bright pulse of X-rays with a micrometer-scale source size that may be used for imaging applications. Non-destructive X-ray phase contrast imaging and tomography of heterogeneous materials can provide insight into their processing, structure, and performance. To demonstrate the imaging capability of X-rays from an LWFA we have examined an irregular eutectic in the aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) system. The lamellar spacing of the Al-Si eutectic microstructure is on the order of a few micrometers, thus requiring high spatial resolution. We present comparisons between the sharpness and spatial resolution in phase contrast images of this eutectic alloy obtained via X-ray phase contrast imaging at the Swiss Light Source (SLS) synchrotron and X-ray projection microscopy via an LWFA source. An upper bound on the resolving power of 2.7 ± 0.3 μm of the LWFA source in this experiment was measured. These results indicate that betatron X-rays from laser wakefield acceleration can provide an alternative to conventional synchrotron sources for high resolution imaging of eutectics and, more broadly, complex microstructures.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3249
Number of pages13
JournalScientific Reports
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2019

Keywords

  • laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs)
  • particle accelerators
  • electron beams
  • non-destructive X-ray phase

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Laser-wakefield accelerators for high-resolution X-ray imaging of complex microstructures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this