Acceleration of Electrons in Gas-Cluster Jets Excited by Subterawatt Femtosecond Laser Pulses

The acceleration of electrons in a laser plasma excited by subterawatt femtosecond pulses in gas-cluster targets of different types has been experimentally studied. The laser–plasma interaction was investigated under different target pumping conditions. A possibility of generating a narrowly directed beam of electron bunches with average electron energy up to 90 keV under excitation of a gas-cluster jet, containing nanoscale sulfur hexafluoride molecular clusters, by laser pulses of subrelativistic intensity (up to 1016–1017 W/cm2) was experimentally demonstrated for the first time. The main characteristics of the pulsed electron beam generated under optimal jet excitation conditions have been measured, and the generation of THz radiation, accompanying the electron acceleration, has been investigated as well.