Speakers
Sylvain Fourmaux
The ALLS Laser Wakefield Acceleration beamline is produced by using INRS high-power laser system that allows 145 TW (3.2 J, 22 fs) on target at 2.5 Hz repetition rate. It can typically be used to accelerate electrons up to 400 MeV by focusing the laser into a gas jet. The synchrotron radiation emitted during the acceleration process have a critical energy between 15-25 keV. The resulting X-ray source size is ~ 1 µm with a femtosecond pulse duration. The beamline is being optimized to deliver a stable and homogeneous X-ray beam suitable for imaging applications like phase contrast imaging. Currently the emphasis is made on improving the number of produced photons.
Sylvain Fourmaux is a Research Associate at INRS since 2004. He is working at the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS) facility located in Varennes (Québec). From 2009 until 2014 he built the laser wakefield and Betatron X-ray radiation beam line using the ALLS 80 TW laser system. In 2014-2016 he managed the experimental aspects of the upgrade of the 80 TW laser system up to 150 TW on target. In 2017 the laser based synchrotron radiation beam line was successfully operational with the upgraded laser system and an improved alignment system. Since 2021, he is in charge of providing support to users getting access to the 150 TW facility. His research interests include plasma physics, ultrafast lasers, high intensity laser-matter interaction, particle acceleration (ions and electrons), laser wakefield electron acceleration, ultrafast X-ray sources and their applications.