Demonstration of the ultrafast nature of laser produced betatron radiation

Abstract : This Letter aims to demonstrate the ultrafast nature of laser produced betatron radiation and its potential for application experiments. An upper estimate of the betatron x-ray pulse duration has been obtained by performing a time-resolved x-ray diffraction experiment: The ultrafast nonthermal melting of a semiconductor crystal (InSb) has been used to trigger the betatron x-ray beam diffracted from the surface. An x-ray pulse duration of less than 1 ps at full width half-maximum (FWHM) has been measured with a best fit obtained for 100 fs FWHM.