The theory and design of a chirped-pulse inverse free-electron laser: An innovative, compact, high-energy, vacuum-based, electron accelerator

As current high-energy accelerator facilities continue to increase in both size and cost, there is a growing need for a relatively small and inexpensive alternative. Numerous experiments over the past decade have shown the inverse free-electron laser (IFEL) to be a feasible laser-driven particle accelerator. In the present work, a new variant of the IFEL is proposed, which uses a short-duration, chirped laser pulse to greatly increase the energy exchange from the drive-laser pulse to the electron bunch. An extensive investigation is then conducted, starting with analytical and numerical studies of the dynamics of an electron interacting with a high-intensity, focused laser pulse. Following a review of the physics behind a free-electron laser (FEL), a detailed analysis of several variants of the IFEL is performed, from which it is determined that an IFEL driven by a chirped laser pulse will not suffer the detrimental effects experienced by other IFEL schemes. The design specifications for the chirped-pulse inverse free-electron laser (CPIFEL) are then obtained from theoretical and computational models of the interaction, which culminates in a device that has an acceleration gradient approaching 1 GeV/m over an interaction distance of less than 5 cm. The acceleration mechanism is very efficient, providing a nearly uniform acceleration to a picosecond-duration charge bunch. The demands on laser technology are stringent, but not extreme. The laser must produce chirped-pulse durations only a few optical cycles long and intensities near 9 × 1016 W/cm2 at the focal plane. The IFEL is also an appealing choice, because it is essentially an FEL functioning in a different operational mode. FEL's are a well-established, familiar technology, routinely and reliably employed in a variety of research facilities throughout the world. Thus, the development of the IFEL has a strong foundation upon which to build, a heritage that will hopefully hasten the realization of a CPIFEL accelerator that shall serve as an affordable research platform for institutions and industries worldwide.