2007 Volume 2 Pages 018
Electron acceleration processes taking place in the interaction of ultra-intense laser pulses with cone targets are studied by using two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations to understand the characteristics of electrons generated from cone targets. It is explained that there are two dominant acceleration processes which are distinctive in the laser-cone interaction. One is the acceleration and transport along the side wall of the cone target, where electrons are guided along the side wall surface towards the cone tip by surface magnetic and electric fields. The second is the ponderomotive acceleration at the cone tip by the laser field which is intensified by cone focusing. The understanding of these acceleration processes helps to design cone targets to control the electron energy characteristics.
