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Terawatt-laser-driven electron bunch with energies up to 25 MeV using robust fast self-replenishing liquid jet target

K. A. Ivanov1,2, S. A. Shulyapov1, D. A. Gorlova1, I. P. Tsygvintsev3, I. N. Tsymbalov1,4, A. Yu. Zavorotny1, R. V. Volkov1, and A. B. Savel’ev1,2

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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 29, 061301 – Published 29 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ccf6-tyr4

Abstract

A repetitive source of collimated, high-energy electrons is experimentally demonstrated using a 1.3 TW femtosecond laser pulse. The source is based on the efficient coupling of the pulse with an undercritical plasma slab formed by a nanosecond prepulse-induced breakdown of a thin liquid ethanol microjet. By optimizing the temporal delay between the prepulse and the main pulse, a quasi-Maxwellian electron beam is generated with a divergence below 0.1 rad, a detected energy of ∼25  MeV, and a charge up to 0.25 nC (3.8  nC/J) in the >1  MeV range. Numerical simulations corroborate the experimental results and point to a complex acceleration mechanism involving direct laser acceleration and self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration within a bell-shaped plasma profile. This versatile approach highlights the particular advantages of liquid targets, including robustness, simplicity, and suitability for long-term operation in vacuum, for future high-repetition-rate laser-plasma applications.

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Information

Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 29, 061301– Published 29 June, 2026
  • Received 29 October 2025
  • Accepted 4 May 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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