Abstract. The possibility of producing femtosecond x-rays through Thomson scattering high power laser beams off laser wakefield generated relativistic electron beams is discussed. The electron beams are produced with either a self-modulated laser wakefield accelerator (SM-LWFA) or through a standard laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) with optical injection. For an SM-LWFA (LWFA) produced electron beam, a broad (narrow) energy distribution is assumed, resulting in x-ray spectra that are broadband (monochromatic). Designs are presented for 3-100 fs x-ray pulses and the expected flux and brightness of these sources are compared.

Keywords: x-ray, femtosecond, laser, electron beam, Thomson scattering, diffraction, laser wakefield acceleration

Print publication: Issue 11 (November 2001)
Received 23 March 2001, accepted for publication 5 June 2001
Published 9 October 2001