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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 98 » Issue 14
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 145001 (2007) [4 pages]

Lateral Electron Transport in High-Intensity Laser-Irradiated Foils Diagnosed by Ion Emission

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P. McKenna1,2,*, D. C. Carroll1, R. J. Clarke2, R. G. Evans2,5, K. W. D. Ledingham1,†, F. Lindau3, O. Lundh3, T. McCanny1, D. Neely2, A. P. L. Robinson2, L. Robson1,†, P. T. Simpson4, C.-G. Wahlström3, and M. Zepf4
1SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
2CCLRC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX14 0QX, United Kingdom
3Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, S-22100 Lund, Sweden
4Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
5Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

Received 16 December 2006; published 4 April 2007

An experimental investigation of lateral electron transport in thin metallic foil targets irradiated by ultraintense (≥1019  W/cm2) laser pulses is reported. Two-dimensional spatially resolved ion emission measurements are used to quantify electric-field generation resulting from electron transport. The measurement of large electric fields (∼0.1  TV/m) millimeters from the laser focus reveals that lateral energy transport continues long after the laser pulse has decayed. Numerical simulations confirm a very strong enhancement of electron density and electric field at the edges of the target.

© 2007 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.145001
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.145001
PACS:
52.50.Jm, 41.75.Jv, 52.70.Nc

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Email address: p.mckenna@phys.strath.ac.uk

†Also at AWE plc, Aldermaston, Reading, RG7 4PR, UK.

 
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