DESY is planning to convert the PETRA III X-ray light source into the ultimate 3D X-ray microscope PETRA IV. A laser-plasma accelerator (LPA) could be a compact and energy-efficient injector for PETRA IV and aligns with the ambitious roadmap towards innovative and sustainable accelerator technology.

In the following more details on the concept of such a plasma injector and on one of our key technology experiments can be found.

Meeting the requirements of a fourth-generation light source like PETRA IV with a plasma injector presents a significant challenge. PETRA IV’s operation demands 6 GeV electron bunches of exceptional quality and stability at a high repetition rate.

Our design for the plasma injector builds upon successful LPA development at LUX and combines it with new laser-guiding technologies to achieve the required beam quality and energy. To ensure efficient and stable charge injection, we include an active energy compression system that delivers unprecedented spectral quality from a plasma accelerator. The high injection rates will be made possible thanks to the laser technology being developed for KALDERA, DESY’s new flagship laser to drive our next-generation laser-plasma accelerators.