Conventional Accelerators and Laser Accelerators

Abstract

Laser-plasma accelerators are compared with conventional accelerators. In a laser-irradiated foil, electron sheaths function as electrodes to accelerate ions based on the principle of electrostatic accelerators such as Cockroft Walton and Van de Graaf accelerators. Laser wake-field electron accelerators belong to a travelingwave type, in which plasma waves are substituted for RF waves. Though the laser-plasma accelerators have high acceleration gradients, their structures are temporal and hard to control.