Hot electrons in the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with foil targets at a moderate laser intensity

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2001 Oct;64(4 Pt 2):046407. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.64.046407. Epub 2001 Sep 26.

Abstract

Characteristics of hot electrons produced in the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with foil targets were investigated at a moderate laser intensity. Both outgoing and ingoing hot electrons from the femtosecond laser plasma were studied. A collimated jet of outgoing hot electrons was observed in the target normal direction. An ingoing energetic hot-electron beam was found in the laser propagation direction, while the low-energy ingoing electrons spread into wider cone angle due to the collisional effects in the plasma and target material. These observations were supported by three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations. The hot-electron temperature obtained from electron spectra and absorption experiments implies that resonance absorption is partially responsible for the generation of hot electrons.