title: Near-diffraction-limited laser focusing with a near-critical density plasma lens.
abstract: In this Letter, we investigate the feasibility of focusing relativistic laser pulses toward diffraction limit by near-critical density plasma lenses. A theoretical model is developed to estimate the focal length of the plasma lens. Particle-in-cell simulations with various pulse parameters, such as pulse duration, beam waist, and intensity, are performed to show the robustness of plasma lenses. The results prove that the near-critical density plasma lenses can be deployed to obtain higher laser peak intensities with sub-wavelength focal spots in experiments.
authors.forename: Yinren
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shou
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Ronghao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hongyong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Meilin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xiantu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jia Erh
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xueqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan