Fast Electron Heating in Cone-wire Targets

We present results of fast electron heating of 10$\mu $m diameter, 1mm Cu wires. In the experiments, an 80J, 1ps, 1053nm pulse is focused into a Au cone, generating energetic electrons which heat the wire. 68eV XUV images obtained with a multilayer spherical mirror are compared with simulations to indicate peak wire heating of $\sim $350eV near the cone tip falling with a scalelength of $\sim $100$\mu $m. K$\alpha $ linewidth measurements were compared to simulations of K$\alpha $ broadening to estimate average wire temperatures of $\sim $160eV. LSP simulations predict a cone tip temperature of $\sim $350eV and a 120$\mu $m scalelength of heating along the wire. This work is consistent with an ohmic limiting of the electron penetration to the observed 100$\mu $m scalelength.