Dielectric laser acceleration of electrons in the vicinity of single and double grating structures-theory and simulations

Dielectric laser acceleration of electrons close to a fused-silica grating has recently been observed (Peralta et al 2013 Nature 503 91, Breuer and Hommelhoff 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 134803). Here we present the theoretical description of the near-fields close to such a grating that can be utilized to accelerate non-relativistic electrons. We also show simulation results of electrons interacting with such fields in a single and double grating structure geometry and discuss dephasing effects that have to be taken into account when designing a photonic-structure-based accelerator for non-relativistic electrons. We further model the space charge effect using the paraxial ray equation and discuss the resulting expected peak currents for various parameter sets.