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Plasma-based accelerator technology enables compact particle accelerators. In Laser Wakefield Acceleration, with an ultrafast high-intensity optical laser driver, energy gain of electrons is greater if the electron density is reduced. This is because the energy gain of electrons is proportional to the ratio of laser’s critical density to electron density. However, an alternative path for higher energy electrons is increasing the critical density via going to shorter wavelengths. With the advent of Thin Film Compression, we now see a path to a single cycle coherent X-ray beam. Using this X-ray pulse allows us to increase the plasma density to solid density nanotube (carbon or porous alumina) regime and still be under-dense for a Laser Wakefield Acceleration technique. We will discuss some implications of this below.

With the advent of the Thin Film Compression, high energy single-cycled laser pulses have become an eminent path to the future of new high-field science. An existing CPA high power laser pulse such as a commercially available PW laser may be readily converted into a single-cycled laser pulse in the 10PW regime without losing much energy through the compression. We examine some of the scientific applications of this, such as laser ion accelerator called single-cycle laser acceleration (SCLA) and bow wake electron acceleration. Further, such a single-cycled laser pulse may be readily converted through relativistic compression into a single-cycled, X-ray laser pulse. We see that this is the quickest and very innovative way to ascend to the EW (exawatt) and zs (zeptosecond) science and technology. We suggest that such X-ray laser pulses have a broad and new horizon of applications. We have begun exploring the X-ray crystal (or nanostructured) wakefield accelerator and its broad and new applications into gamma rays. Here, we make a brief sketch of our survey of this vista of the new developments.

With the advent of the Thin Film Compression, high energy single-cycled laser pulses have become an eminent path to the future of new high-field science. An existing CPA high power laser pulse such as a commercially available PW laser may be readily converted into a single-cycled laser pulse in the 10PW regime without losing much energy through the compression. We examine some of the scientific applications of this, such as laser ion accelerator called single-cycle laser acceleration (SCLA) and bow wake electron acceleration. Further, such a single-cycled laser pulse may be readily converted through relativistic compression into a single-cycled, X-ray laser pulse. We see that this is the quickest and very innovative way to ascend to the EW (exawatt) and zs (zeptosecond) science and technology. We suggest that such X-ray laser pulses have a broad and new horizon of applications. We have begun exploring the X-ray crystal (or nanostructured) wakefield accelerator and its broad and new applications into gamma rays. Here, we make a brief sketch of our survey of this vista of the new developments.

Plasma-based accelerator technology enables compact particle accelerators. In Laser Wakefield Acceleration, with an ultrafast high-intensity optical laser driver, energy gain of electrons is greater if the electron density is reduced. This is because the energy gain of electrons is proportional to the ratio of laser’s critical density to electron density. However, an alternative path for higher energy electrons is increasing the critical density via going to shorter wavelengths. With the advent of Thin Film Compression, we now see a path to a single cycle coherent X-ray beam. Using this X-ray pulse allows us to increase the plasma density to solid density nanotube (carbon or porous alumina) regime and still be under-dense for a Laser Wakefield Acceleration technique. We will discuss some implications of this below.