Secondary radiation sources using compact laser plasma accelerators, including narrow bandwidth Thomson gamma ray, femtosecond betatron X-rays, and novel x-ray free-electron lasers, have broad scientific and societal applications. The Thomson gamma ray source up to MeV photon energies developed at the Hundred Terawatt (HTW) line of BELLA Center has been applied in recent experiments like 3D gamma tomography and 3D single view gamma lidar, allowing us to gain insight into its application capabilities ranging from spatial resolution, penetration depth, and single-shot acquisition viability. Recent upgrades on the laser system will be presented in context of accelerator and photon source improvements, such as active laser stabilization, laser mode improvements with a deformable mirror, and temporal shaping concepts.
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