High-charge divergent electron beam generation from high-intensity laser interaction with a gas-cluster target

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that high-intensity laser interaction with argon clusters produces high-charge, divergent electron beams suitable for applications like high-resolution radiography, using a compact laser system.

Contribution

First experimental demonstration of high-charge, divergent electron beams generated from high-intensity laser-argon cluster interactions with a table-top system.

Findings

Electron beams with up to 10 nC charge were produced.

The electron beams had moderate energies (~2 MeV) and large divergence.

The beams are suitable for high-resolution radiography applications.

Abstract

We report on an experimental study on the interaction of a high-contrast 40 fs duration 2.5 TW laser pulse with an argon cluster target. A high-charge, homogeneous, large divergence electron beam with moderate kinetic energy (~2 MeV) is observed in the forward direction. The results show, that an electron beam with a charge as high as 10 nC can be obtained using a table-top laser system. The accelerated electron beam is suitable for a variety of applications such as radiography of thin samples with a spatial resolution better than 100 micron.