ALP Seminar: Improving and imaging laser-based radiation sources

The generation of electron beams through laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) has advanced significantly over the last 20 years.  Many good examples of applications have been demonstrated, particularly in the realm of keV x-ray imaging.  With electron beams extending beyond a GeV, there is an opportunity to generate far higher energy photon sources which may have applications in heavy industry due to their higher penetration depth.  Two hurdles to improving the utility of such sources include stabilising the electron beam, and imaging the resulting source.
Here I will present experimental and simulation results illustrating the challenges associated with electron beam stability, and some examples of multi-MeV photon sources with some observations on current limitations. I will then show how coded apertures which are imperfectly opaque can still be used to gain spatial information about MeV photon sources and also highlight their application to fusion neutrons.