Dense quasi-monoenergetic attosecond electron bunches from laser interaction with wire and slice targets

A scheme is proposed to produce high-quality quasi-monoenergetic attosecond electron bunches based on laser ponderomotive-force acceleration along the surface of wire or slice targets. Two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that the electron energy depends weakly on the target density. A simple analytical model shows that the electron energy scales linearly with the laser field amplitude, in good agreement with the simulation results. Electron bunches produced by this scheme are suitable for applications such as coherent x-ray radiation, radiography, and injectors in accelerators, etc. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.