Field deployment of a laser wakefield accelerator for on-site application

Abstract

Successive innovations in particle accelerators have continually expanded the frontiers of scientific discovery. Laser wakefield accelerators promise to transform science, medicine, and industry, yet moving them from laboratory demonstrations to reliable real-world operation has remained a central, long-standing challenge. Here we report a field-deployable system that produced 100-MeV-class electron beams with 1%-level energy stability during 72 hours of continuous operation and supported routine full-power use throughout a seven-month field trial in an industrial setting. Applied to in situ micro-nondestructive testing, the system generated tens-of-MeV bremsstrahlung X-rays that enabled three-dimensional microtomography of dense materials at sub-50-μm spatial resolution and revealed 100-μm-scale internal defects in large composite structures, extending the capabilities beyond those of existing high-energy X-ray sources. These results mark a transition of laser wakefield acceleration from laboratory proof of concept toward practical deployment in scientific and industrial applications.