Progress of compact laser plasma accelerator in Peking University

When ultra short and intense laser interacts with plasma, the accelerating field gradient can be three order of magnitude higher than the conventional accelerator, which can accelerate the ion more efficiently. So the accelerator scale and cost can be reduced greatly. Among the various acceleration mechanisms, target normal sheath acceleration(TNSA) and radiation pressure acceleration(RPA) are the two main mechanisms widely studied. The RPA mechanism can produce energetic ion with higher energy, narrower energy spectrum and higher acceleration efficiency than TNSA. Peking University proposed RPA mechanism in phase stable regime and is building a Compact laser plasma accelerator(CLAPA) basded on this mechanism. This paper presents the progress of laser acceleration research and the development of laser accelerator including theoretical simulation, proof of principle experiments, self-supporting ultra-thin target fabrication and preliminary design of beam line.