Intense Laser-Driven Mev X-Ray Radiography

Abstract

MeV X-ray radiography is a critical tool for LANL to meet its missions. Conventional accelerators at ALNL including DARHT, SCORPIUS, Microtron, and Cygnus are the workhorses of LANL x-ray radiography. Petawatt-class short-pulse lasers offer the possibility of generating compact x-ray sources with <100 micron resolution that could enhance the arsenal of tools available for LANL x-ray radiographic capability. Besides being compact, laser beams can be piped over a long distance and the x-ray can be made where it is needed reducing the shielding requirement for some applications. Over the past decade, various groups have demonstrated proof-of-principle laser-driven ~MeV x-ray radiography. In this talk, I will summarize the current state of laser-driven x-ray radiography and highlight the remaining work that needs to be done before it can become an on-demand tool.