Improved fast electron transport through the use of foam guides

Abstract

The observation that ultra-intense lasers acting on solid targets results in high absorption is exciting for applications, but the high divergence of the fast electrons carrying this energy remains a key limitation for developing many concepts. We show using three-dimensional simulations how low-density foam filled resistive guide targets lead to fast electron collimation over extended distance. Our analysis shows that long mean free paths of the resistive currents in a foam leads to good collimation. We introduce the use of composite concepts, or hybrid resistive guide target, that couples the advantage of high laser absorption and strong collimation of solid-density guides, with the low-scattering properties and long transport distances of foam-filled guides.