Theoretical and experimental studies of electron deposition in thin targets

Experiments performed on CHANTECLAIR to study the absorption of relativistic electron beams in thin foils are discussed. High z target REB interaction is simulated with the TRAJEC code coupled to an hydrodynamic code. TRAJEC calculates electron trajectories in the target´s region resulting from macroscopic self beam and diode fields and magnetic field diffused in the target plasma; in this treatment, magnetic field and particle motion are self consistent and the energy deposition at each electron pass through the target is calculated. These simulations indicate that a deposition enhancement factor of about 2 to 3 is obtained in our experiments, with a rear side temperature of 15–25 ev, in good agreement with experimental data.