Speaker
Description
Precise knowledge of the temporal and spatial evolution of the plasma density within plasma targets is important for realising high quality accelerated beams in plasma wakefield accelerators like FLASHForward. A plasma target characterisation setup was assembled for the purpose of measuring the electrical discharge-generated plasma density in the different types of gas-filled targets used at FLASHForward. Three diagnostics are presently being commissioned: a common-path two-colour laser interferometer for measuring the average longitudinal plasma density with a time resolution of tens of picoseconds; a transversely aligned spectrometer for analysing Stark broadened line emission profiles with the flexibility to measure transverse and longitudinal density profiles with a spatial resolution of tens of microns and a temporal resolution of ~5ns; a transversely aligned Michelson interferometer with a spatial resolution of a few microns and a temporal resolution in the tens of femtosecond regime. A summary of the latest complementary measurements and results is presented.
