https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-023-01159-5
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
High-energy betatron source driven by a 4-PW laser with applications to non-destructive imaging
1
Center for Relativistic Laser Science (CoReLS), Institute for Basic Science, 61005, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
2
Department of Physics and Photon Science, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 61005, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
3
Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Teheran, Iran
4
School of Advanced Sciences, Vellore Institute of Technology, 632014, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
5
Advanced Photonics Research Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 61005, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
6
Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, MD, USA
Received:
16
November
2022
Accepted:
3
October
2023
Published online:
28
October
2023
Petawatt-class lasers can produce multi-GeV electron beams through laser wakefield electron acceleration. As a by-product, the accelerated electron beams can generate synchrotron-like radiation known as betatron radiation. In the present work, we measure the properties of the radiation produced from 2 GeV, 215 pC electron beams, which shows a broad radiation spectrum with a critical energy of 515 keV, extending up to MeV photon energies and 10 mrad divergence. Due to its high energy and flux, such radiation is an ideal candidate for 
-ray radiography of dense objects. We employed a compact betatron radiation setup operated at relatively high-repetition rates (0.1 Hz) and used it to scan cm-sized objects: a DRAM circuit, BNC and SMA connectors, a padlock and a gas jet nozzle. GEANT4 simulations were carried out to reproduce the radiograph of the gas jet. The setup and the radiation source can reveal the interior structure of the objects at the sub-mm level, proving that it can further be applied to diagnose cracks or holes in various components. The radiation source presented here is a valuable tool for non-destructive inspection and for applications in high-energy-density physics such as nuclear fusion.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
