Second generation X-ray lasers

Marta Fajardo (1) , Philippe Zeitoun (2) , Gabriel Faivre (2) , Stéphane Sebban (2) , T. Mocek (2) , A. Hallou (2) , D. Aubert (2) , Philippe Balcou (2) , F. Burgy (2) , D. Douillet (2) , P. Mercere (3) , Anne-Sophie Morlens (2) , Jean-Philippe Rousseau (2) , C. Valentin (2) , S. Kazamias (4) , G. De Lachèze-Murel (5) , T. Lefrou (6) , H. Merdji (5) , S. Le Pape (6) , Marie-Françoie Ravet (7) , Franck Delmotte (7) , Julien Gautier (7)

1 GoLP/Instituto Superior Tecnico
2 LOA - Laboratoire d'optique appliquée
3 Imagine Optic
4 LIXAM - Laboratoire d'interaction du rayonnement X avec la matière
5 DPTA - Département de Physique Théorique et Appliquée
6 LULI - Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des lasers intenses
7 Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Scop

High harmonic amplification is shown in an optical-field ionized X-ray laser. The 4d–4p X-ray line of Kr^8+ at 32.8 nm, which has a close match to the 25th harmonic of the infrared laser, was amplified up to 200 times. The energy-extraction regime was also achieved, which depended on the level of seeding. This second-generation X-ray laser is fully polarized, has low divergence and shows a high degree of coherence. The duration is also expected to be short, fulfilling the requirements for an ultra-intense tabletop X-ray laser. Conditions for higher energy output are also suggested.

Keywords: X-ray laser; Amplification; High harmonic generation; Optical field ionization

Domains: Optics [physics.optics]

Marta Fajardo, Philippe Zeitoun, Gabriel Faivre, Stéphane Sebban, T. Mocek, et al.. Second generation X-ray lasers. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 2006, 99 (1-3), pp.142-152. ⟨10.1016/j.jqsrt.2005.05.011⟩. ⟨hal-00521037⟩