Lateral propagation of MeV electrons generated by femtosecond laser irradiation

The propagation of MeV electrons generated by intense (≈ 10²⁰ W/ cm²) femtosecond laser irradiation, in the lateral direction perpendicular to the incident laser beam, was studied using targets consisting of irradiated metal wires and neighboring spectator wires embedded in electrically conductive (aluminum) or resistive (Teflon) substrates. The K shell spectra in the energy range 40-60 keV from wires of Gd, Dy, Hf, and W were recorded by a transmission crystal spectrometer. The spectra were produced by 1s electron ionization in the irradiated wire and by energetic electron propagation through the substrate material to the spectator wire of a different metal. The electron range and energy were determined from the relative K shell emissions from the irradiated and spectator wires separated by varying substrate lateral distances of up to 1 mm. It was found that electron propagation through Teflon was inhibited, compared to aluminum, implying a relatively weak return current and incomplete space-charge neutralization. The energetic electron propagation in the direction parallel to the electric field of the laser beam was larger than perpendicular to the electric field. Energetic electron production was lower when directly irradiating aluminum or Teflon compared to irradiating the heavy metal wires. These experiments are important for the determination of the energetic electron production mechanism and for understanding lateral electron propagation that can be detrimental to fast-ignition fusion and hard x-ray backlighter radiography.