X-ray generation from slanting laser–Compton scattering for future energy-tunable Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source

• Published in: Applied physics. B, Lasers and optics Lasers and optics, 2010-12, Vol.101 (4), p.761-771
• Main Authors: Luo, W., Xu, W., Pan, Q. Y., Cai, X. Z., Chen, Y. Z., Fan, G. T., Fan, G. W., Li, Y. J., Liu, W. H., Lin, G. Q., Ma, Y. G., Shen, W. Q., Shi, X. C., Xu, B. J., Xu, J. Q., Xu, Y., Zhang, H. O., Yan, Z., Yang, L. F., Zhao, M. H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Doped-insulator lasers and other solid state lasers; Electrostatic, collective, and linear accelerators; Engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Experimental methods and instrumentation for elementary-particle and nuclear physics; Feasibility; Flux; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Laser optical systems: design and operation; Lasers; Nuclear physics; Optical Devices; Optics; Photonics; Photons; Physical Chemistry; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Q-switching; Quantum Optics; Relativistic electron beams; Scattering; Synchrotron radiation; X- and γ-ray instruments and techniques; X- and γ-ray sources, mirrors, gratings and detectors; X-rays
• ISSN: 0946-2171; 1432-0649
• DOI: 10.1007/s00340-010-4100-0

There is great interest in the generation of energy-tunable, bright, short-pulse X/ γ -ray sources, which are required in various research fields. Laser–Compton scattering (LCS) is considered to be one of the most promising methods to implement this kind of X/ γ -ray source. At the 100-MeV LINAC of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, a 2-J, 8-ns, 1064-nm, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is brought to a slanting collision at 40° (44°) with an 112-MeV, 0.9-ns (rms) relativistic electron beam. We measured the LCS X-ray energy spectrum with a peak energy of 31.73±0.22 stat ±1.64 syst  keV and a peak width (rms) of 0.74±0.26 stat ±0.03 syst  keV. This preliminary investigation was carried out to understand the feasibility of developing an energy-tunable X/ γ -ray source. Based on this study, the future Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source (SLEGS) at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) can be constructed to be not only an energy-tunable γ -ray source by guiding the laser incident angle from laser–Compton scattering, but also a high flux (∼10 10  photons/s or even higher) γ -ray source by adding a laser super-cavity.