Dielectric laser acceleration of electrons in the vicinity of single and double grating structures - theory and simulations

TL;DR

This paper provides a theoretical framework and simulation analysis of dielectric laser acceleration of non-relativistic electrons near grating structures, highlighting design considerations and space charge effects for future accelerator development.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical description of near-fields around gratings for electron acceleration and presents simulation results for single and double grating geometries.

Findings

Identification of near-field characteristics suitable for electron acceleration

Simulation results demonstrating electron interactions with grating structures

Analysis of dephasing and space charge effects on accelerator performance

Abstract

Dielectric laser acceleration of electrons close to a fused-silica grating has recently been observed (Peralta et al., Nature 503, 91 (2013); Breuer, Hommelhoff, PRL 111, 134803 (2013)). Here we present the theoretical description of the near-fields close to such a grating that can be utilized to accelerate non-relativistic electrons. We also show simulation results of electrons interacting with such fields in a single and double grating structure geometry and discuss dephasing effects that have to be taken into account when designing a photonic-structure-based accelerator for non-relativistic electrons. We further model the space charge effect using the paraxial ray equation and discuss the resulting expected peak currents for various parameter sets.