Ultrafast time-resolved 2D imaging of laser-driven fast electron transport in solid density matter using an x-ray free electron laser.

High-power, short-pulse laser-driven fast electrons can rapidly heat and ionize a high-density target before it hydrodynamically expands. The transport of such electrons within a solid target has been studied using two-dimensional (2D) imaging of electron-induced Kα radiation. However, it is currently limited to no or picosecond scale temporal resolutions. Here, we demonstrate femtosecond time-resolved 2D imaging of fast electron transport in a solid copper foil using the SACLA x-ray free electron laser (XFEL). An unfocused collimated x-ray beam produced transmission images with sub-micron and ∼10 fs resolutions. The XFEL beam, tuned to its photon energy slightly above the Cu K-edge, enabled 2D imaging of transmission changes induced by electron isochoric heating. Time-resolved measurements obtained by varying the time delay between the x-ray probe and the optical laser show that the signature of the electron-heated region expands at ∼25% of the speed of light in a picosecond duration. Time-integrated Cu Kα images support the electron energy and propagation distance observed with the transmission imaging. The x-ray near-edge transmission imaging with a tunable XFEL beam could be broadly applicable for imaging isochorically heated targets by laser-driven relativistic electrons, energetic protons, or an intense x-ray beam.