Effects of Laser Parameters on Fast Electron Generation in a Multihole Array Target

Abstract

The effects of laser parameters on the production of fast electrons from laser-multihole array target interaction are investigated theoretically via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The results show that the fast electron temperature is scaled by I1/2λ2 with I and λ being the laser intensity and wavelength. When the laser intensity reaches 2.14 × 1020 W·cm−2, a typical bi-Maxwellian energy distribution is observed. The slope temperature of the low-energy component fits the linear scaling Th ∼ I1/2 well. The high-energy component has an increased slope temperature comparable to ponderomotive potential scaling law. In addition, the electron temperature rises linearly with the pulse duration, Th ∼ Δt. The divergence angle of the fast electrons increases with laser intensity and pulse duration, but is independent of laser wavelength.