Lateral hot electron transport and ion acceleration in femtosecond laser pulse interaction with thin foils

Abstract

In this paper, the lateral electron transport in a thin foil, limited in transverse sizes, is studied by numerical PIC simulations for two linear polarizations (p, s) of femtosecond laser pulse incident on a foil at various angles. The transport is due to hot electron recirculation forth and back and electron guiding on the foil surface by quasi-static magnetic and electric fields. It is demonstrated that the second mechanism takes place for larger incidence angles, although the recirculation is still important. There, ions accelerated from a lateral foil edge, which is out of the laser focal spot, can have higher energies than the ions from the rear foil side. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.