Speaker
Description
Laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) feature an ultrahigh accelerating gradient exceeding 100 GV/m, holding great promise for developing compact particle accelerators and tabletop X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs). Realizing LWFA-driven tabletop FELs has been recognized as one of the major challenges in this field for the coming decade. Although several research groups worldwide have achieved proof-of-principle demonstrations of tabletop FELs, the quality and stability of the electron beams remain inadequate. Consequently, improving the performance of tabletop FELs still faces numerous challenges. This report presents our team's roadmap for developing tabletop FELs. It describes the key physical mechanisms and optimization strategies for generating high-quality electron beams from LWFAs, as well as our latest research progress in LWFA-driven tabletop FELs. Finally, we provide an outlook on future development plans and prospects for tabletop FELs.