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Updated: May 1, 2026

Investigation of Early Plasma Evolution Induced by Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Published on: July 2, 2012
Plasma devices to guide and collimate a high density of MeV electrons
R Kodama1, Y Sentoku, Z L Chen
1Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, 2-6 Yamada-oka, Suita Osaka 565-0871, Japan. ryo@ile.osaka-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
The development of ultra-intense lasers has facilitated new studies in laboratory astrophysics and high-density nuclear science, including laser fusion. Such research relies on the efficient generation of enormous numbers of high-energy charged particles. For example, laser-matter interactions at petawatt (10(15) W) power levels can create pulses of MeV electrons with current densities as large as 10(12) A cm(-2). However, the divergence of these particle beams usually reduces the current density to a few times 10(6) A cm(-2) at distances of the order of centimetres from the source. The invention of devices that can direct such intense, pulsed energetic beams will revolutionize their applications. Here we report high-conductivity devices consisting of transient plasmas that increase the energy density of MeV electrons generated in laser-matter interactions by more than one order of magnitude. A plasma fibre created on a hollow-cone target guides and collimates electrons in a manner akin to the control of light by an optical fibre and collimator. Such plasma devices hold promise for applications using high energy-density particles and should trigger growth in charged particle optics.
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