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Spectral phase control for optimized ionization injection in laser wakefield acceleration

M. P. Backhouse1,*, L. T. Dickson2,3, I. Moulanier2, F. Massimo2, C. C. Cobo1,4, F. Filippi5, C. Gustafsson6, E. Lofquist6, K. Svendsen6 et al.

M. J. V. Streeter1,7, R. J. Shalloo1,8, O. Vasilovici2, C. Ballage2, S. J. D. Dann9, C. D. Murphy4, Z. Najmudin1, S. Dobosz Dufrénoy10, O. Lundh6, and B. Cros2

  • *Contact author: michael.backhouse13@imperial.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 28, 121301 – Published 1 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9gjq-htzn

Abstract

Generating narrow energy spread beams from laser wakefield accelerators with minimal dark current is important for many applications. We present an automated experiment using Bayesian optimization to control the laser spectral phase and focal position, achieving significant enhancement of the beam quality. Starting from a broadband spectrum, the optimized configuration achieved low-energy spread with negligible dark current above 20 MeV. Particle-in-cell simulations reveal that fine control over the laser spectral phase, particularly third-order dispersion, directly impacts the timing and localization of ionization injection due to its effect on the initial laser intensity envelope and its subsequent evolution. A positively skewed temporal profile enhances the plasma potential depth at the right location, enabling localized injection and reducing the energy spread and dark current. These findings highlight the impact of algorithmic optimization and the powerful, underutilized role of temporal shaping in beam quality control.

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Phys. Rev. Accel. Beams 28, 121301– Published 1 December, 2025
  • Received 9 May 2025
  • Accepted 31 October 2025
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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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