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Surface Wave Electron Acceleration from Flat Foils at Parallel Laser Incidence

A. McCay1,2,*, A. McIlvenny1,†, A. Macchi3,4, L. Romagnani5, P. Martin1, O. Cavanagh1,6, D. P. Molloy1,7, L. Lancia5, T. Dzelzainis6 et al.

H. Ahmed6, J. Sarma1, S. Kar1, D. Margarone2,1, and M. Borghesi1,‡

  • 1Centre for Light-Matter Interactions, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
  • 2ELI Beamlines Facility, The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, Dolní Brežany 252 41, Czech Republic
  • 3National Institute of Optics, National Research Council (CNR/INO), Adriano Gozzini Laboratory, 56124 Pisa, Italy
  • 4Dipartimento di Fisica Enrico Fermi, Universitá di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
  • 5LULI–CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CEA, Universite Paris-Saclay, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
  • 6Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
  • 7HB11 Energy Holdings Pty, Freshwater 2096, Australia

  • *Contact author: amccay06@qub.ac.uk
  • †Present address: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA.
  • ‡Contact author: m.borghesi@qub.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 145001 – Published 1 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/y29y-f63h

Abstract

The acceleration of electrons by surface plasma waves (SPWs) generated during the interaction of ultrashort, linearly polarized, and contrast-enhanced laser pulses at a peak intensity of ∼6×1020  W cm−2 with flat, noncorrugated foils at parallel incidence (with respect to the target surface) is investigated. We experimentally demonstrate the generation of a collimated electron beam (<0.6  mrad) with a non-Maxwellian spectrum, characterized by peaks at superponderomotive energies (30–36 MeV) and total charge ∼120  pC. Through particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we identify the J×B force at the front edge as the primary mechanism for injecting electrons into the SPW, where they are further accelerated. Furthermore, our simulation findings reveal that lateral surface contaminants influence SPW dynamics and give rise to a long-ranging plasmonic mode.

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Corrections

13 November, 2025

Correction: An incorrect value for the laser wavelength was given in the third sentence of the fifth paragraph and has been fixed.

synopsis

A Smooth Plasmon Accelerator

Published 1 October, 2025

Researchers have shown experimentally that ultraintense lasers can drive high-amplitude surface plasma waves without the need for intricate structures.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 145001– Published 1 October, 2025
  • Received 10 December 2024
  • Accepted 15 August 2025
  • Corrected 13 November 2025
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