A high-resolution coherent transition radiation diagnostic for laser-produced electron transport studies (invited)

High-resolution images of the rear-surface optical emission from high-intensity (I∼1019W∕cm2) laser illuminated metal foils have been recorded using coherent transition radiation (CTR). CTR is generated as relativistic electrons, generated in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions, exit the target’s rear surface and move into vacuum. A transition radiation diagnostic (TRD) records time-integrated images in a 24nm bandwidth window around λ=529nm. The optical transmission at λ=1053nm, the laser wavelength, is 15 orders of magnitude lower than the transmission at the wavelength of interest, λ=527nm. The detector is a scientific grade charge-coupled device (CCD) camera that operates with a signal-to-noise ratio of 103 and has a dynamic range of 104. The TRD has demonstrated a spatial resolution of 1.4μm over a 1mm field of view, limited only by the CCD pixel size.