Laser-plasma acceleration with self-injection: A test experiment for the sub-PW FLAME laser system at LNF-Frascati

Laser-driven plasma acceleration is now being considered world-wide as a promising technique for the development of a new class of particle accelerators. The INFN-PLASMONX project aims at exploring this scenario using ultra-short laser pulses of the 0.3 PW, Ti:Sa laser system FLAME (Frascati Laser for Acceleration and Multidisciplinary Experiments). A self-injection test experiment (SITE) is being designed and set up to study electron acceleration at the sub GeV energy level. In this paper we describe the planned experiment, including the numerical modelling, the main plasma diagnostics and the electron spectrometer. © Società Italiana di Fisica.