Eur. Phys. J. D (2014) 68: 283
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2014-50339-4

Regular Article

Enhancing Bremsstrahlung production from ultraintense laser-solid interactions with front surface structures^*

Physics Department, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

^a e-mail: jiang.168@buckeyemail.osu.edu

Received: 30 April 2014
Received in final form: 25 July 2014
Published online: 2 October 2014

Abstract

We report the results of a combined study of particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo modeling that investigates the production of Bremsstrahlung radiation produced when an ultraintense laser interacts with a tower-structured target. These targets are found to significantly narrow the electron angular distribution as well as produce significantly higher energies. These features combine to create a significant enhancement in directionality and energy of the Bremstrahlung radiation produced by a high-Z converter target. These studies employ short-pulse, high intensity laser pulses, and indicate that novel target design has potential to greatly enhance the yield and narrow the directionality of high energy electrons and γ-rays. We find that the peak γ-ray brightness for this source is 6.0 × 10¹⁹ s^-1 mm^-2 mrad^-2 at 10 MeV and 1.4 × 10¹⁹ s^-1 mm^-2 mrad^-2 at 100 MeV (0.1% bandwidth).