Tunable energy spectrum betatron x-ray sources in a plasma wakefield

Abstract

X-ray sources with tunable energy spectra have a wide range of applications in different scenarios due to their different penetration depths. However, existing x-ray sources face difficulties in terms of energy regulation. In this paper, we present a scheme for tuning the energy spectrum of a betatron x-ray generated from a relativistic electron bunch oscillating in a plasma wakefield. The center energy of the x-ray source can be tuned from several keV to several hundred keV by changing the plasma density, thereby extending the control range by an order of magnitude. At different central energies, the brightness of the betatron radiation is in the range of 3.7 × 10²² to 5.5 × 10²² photons/(0.1%BW⋅s⋅mm²⋅mrad²) and the photon divergence angle is about 2 mrad. This high-brightness, energy-controlled betatron source could pave the way to a wide range of applications requiring photons of specific energy, such as phase-contrast imaging in medicine, non-destructive testing and material analysis in industry, and imaging in nuclear physics.