Developments for High Repetition Rate Operation of Laser-Driven Accelerators

Laser-plasma accelerators have attracted significant interest, particularly thanks to the extreme accelerating fields in the plasma, offering a cost-effective and compact alternative to traditional accelerators. The proof-of-principle demonstration of ionizing radiation generation has been traditionally demonstrated using high-power lasers in single-shot operation. However, real-life applications require the stable and continuous operation of a future laser-based accelerator. In this context, major efforts are being devoted to the development of suitable target systems, that can cope with the repetition rates achievable by state-of-the-art laser systems.

Here, an overview of recent progress on developments towards developing stable, high-repetition-rate laser-driven sources performed at the Laser Laboratory for Acceleration and Applications (L2A2, Spain) will be presented, including the production of multi-Hertz proton beams and kilo-Hertz X-ray sources. These developments have opened the path to demonstrate the viability of using laser-driven sources to complement the capabilities of conventional accelerators in fields such as medicine or industry. For instance, the ongoing efforts to produce radio-isotopes of interest in positron-emission-tomography (PET) using laser-driven proton beams will be introduced, including the recent demonstration of viable production of pre-clinical activities using existing laser systems. Furthermore, the potential use of these X-ray beams for phase-contrast imaging will be discussed, as well as recent experiments exploring the radio-biological effects of irradiating cell cultures using ultra-short X-ray and proton beams.