Transport of fast electrons in a nanowire array with collisional effects included

The transport of picosecond laser generated fast electrons in a nanowire array is studied with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Our simulations show that a fast electron beam is initially guided and collimated by strong magnetic filaments in the array. Subsequently, after the decomposition of the structure of nanowire array due to plasma expansion, the beam is still collimated by the resistive magnetic field. An analytical model is established to give a criterion for long-term beam collimation in a nanowire array; it indicates that the nanowire cell should be wide enough to keep the beam collimated in picosecond scale.