Single-pulse coherent diffraction imaging using soft x-ray laser

We report a coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) using a single 8 ps soft x-ray laser pulse at a wavelength of 13.9 nm. The soft x-ray pulse was generated by a laboratory-scale intense pumping laser providing coherent x-ray pulses up to the level of 10(11) photons/pulse. A spatial resolution below 194 nm was achieved with a single pulse, and it was shown that a resolution below 55 nm is feasible with improved detector capability. The single-pulse CDI might provide a way to investigate dynamics of nanoscale molecules or particles.     

Nanometer-scale ablation with a table-top soft x-ray laser

Ablation of holes with diameters as small as 82 nm and very clean walls was obtained in poly(methyl methacrylate) focusing pulses from a Ne-like Ar 46.9 nm compact capillary-discharge laser with a freestanding Fresnel zone plate diffracting into third order. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using focused soft x-ray laser beams for the direct nanoscale patterning of materials and the development of new nanoprobes.     

Electromagnetic-field distribution measurements in the soft x-ray range: full characterization of a soft x-ray laser beam

We report direct measurement of the electromagnetic-field spatial distribution in a neonlike Ar capillary discharge-driven soft x-ray laser beam. The wave front was fully characterized in a single shot using a Shack-Hartmann diffractive optics sensor. The wave front was observed to be dependent on the discharge pressure and capillary length, as a result of beam refraction variations in the capillary plasma. The results predict approximately 70% of the laser beam energy can be focused into an area 4 times the size of the diffraction-limited spot, reaching intensities of approximately 4 x 10(13) W/cm(2).     

Highly coherent injection-seeded 13.2 nm tabletop soft x-ray laser

We report a dramatic improvement of the spatial coherence and beam divergence (0.66 mrad) of a 13.2 nm wavelength Ni-like Cd tabletop laser by injection seeding the soft x-ray laser amplifier with high-harmonics pulses generated in a Ne gas jet. This phase coherent laser is an attractive light source for at-wavelength interferometry of extreme ultraviolet lithography optics and other applications.     

预脉冲在毛细管快放电软x射线激光中的作用

在一台毛细管快放电软x射线激光实验装置上，在相同主脉冲条件下（电流峰值18—30kA，半周期80ns），通过观测放电产生的软x射线辐射，研究了该装置固有的高幅值（2—5kA）和外加的低幅值（10—20A）两种预脉冲，对聚乙烯毛细管和高纯度陶瓷毛细管（99.9%）放电的管壁烧蚀及等离子体状态的影响.采用装置固有的几kA预脉冲和聚乙烯毛细管，放电 过程中产生了大量的管壁烧蚀，并且这种情况下的等离子体均匀性差，没有可能获得激光输 出.而采用20A的预脉冲和高纯度陶瓷毛细管，管壁烧蚀量大大减少，预电离等离子体的均匀 性好，在这种情况下，实验上利用x射线二极管观测到了激光尖峰信号. 关键词： 预脉冲 毛细管放电 软x射线激光     

Ultrafast x-ray pulses emitted from a liquid mercury laser target

We report the generation of ultrashort, hard-x-ray pulses from a liquid mercury target irradiated by 5 kHz laser pulses. The new x-ray source is designed for time-resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy as well as imaging applications. This marks the first laser-driven plasma x-ray source that continuously recycles the target material, facilitating maintenance-free operation. Theoretical calculations show mercury targets emit shorter x-ray pulses than targets of lighter elements under identical illumination and x-ray detection conditions.     

High-resolution spatial characterization of laser produced plasmas at soft x-ray wavelengths

In this article, we describe the setup and application of a system for the spatial characterization of laser-produced plasma x-ray sources. While pinhole cameras are normally used for this purpose, we employed a zone plate to act as the x-ray lens. Together with an x-ray CCD camera as the detector, a spatial resolution of up to 2 m was achieved. Due to the wavelength-dependent focal length of a zone plate, the monochromaticity of the image was better than /=150, and the large aperture of the zone plate allowed single-laser-shot images to be collected. Methanol and ethanol were used as liquid-jet target systems. Two different Nd:YAG lasers with pulse durations of 3 ns and 10 ns produced the plasmas. Our measurements concentrated on the line emission of carbon in the soft x-ray spectral range, namely, the hydrogen-like -line at 3.37 nm and the helium-like -line at 4.03 nm. We investigated the influence of different nozzle sizes, laser energies, and pulse durations on the source size of the plasma. Depending on the experimental conditions, plasma diameters of 17–60 m were measured. PACS 41.50.+h; 52.38.-r; 52.70.La     

Extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray laser emission from Ni-like Nd ions

We use the energy levels, transition probabilities, and effective collision strengths for the states 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ and 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d⁹ 4 l (l = s, p, d, and f) of a nickel-like Nd ion to determine reduced population for 55 fine-structure levels over a wide range of electron density values (from 10²⁰ to 4 · 10²² cm ⁻³) at various electron plasma temperatures in the range of 1–2 keV. We find the gain coefficients for those transitions with the positive population inversion factor and show their dependences on the electron density.     

毛细管放电激励软x射线激光的产生时间

利用x射线二极管(XRD)，实验上测量了毛细管放电激励下类氖氩469nm软x射线激光的尖 峰信号. 改变毛细管的充气气压和主脉冲放电电流，研究了激光尖峰的产生时间随实验参数 的变化情况. 实验结果表明，激光产生于主脉冲电流波形的前沿，此时的主脉冲电流是其峰 值的65%—75%. 增加毛细管充气气压或者减小主脉冲峰值电流，激光的产生时间将会稍有延 迟. 同时改变毛细管充气气压时，激光尖峰信号在42Pa存在最大值. 关键词： 毛细管放电 软x射线激光 激光产生时间     

Sequential single-shot imaging of nanoscale dynamic interactions with a table-top soft x-ray laser

We demonstrate the first real-space recording of nanoscale dynamic interactions using single-shot soft x-ray (SXR) full-field laser microscopy. A sequence of real-space flash images acquired with a table-top SXR laser was used to capture the motion of a rapidly oscillating magnetic nanoprobe. Changes of 30 nm in the oscillation amplitude were detected when the nanoprobe was made to interact with stray fields from a magnetic sample. The table-top visualization of nanoscale dynamics in real space can significantly contribute to the understanding of nanoscale processes and can accelerate the development of new nanodevices.     

Demonstration of a Ni-like Kr optical-field-ionization collisional soft x-ray laser at 32.8 nm

We report the first experimental demonstration of a Ni-like optical-field ionization collisional soft x-ray laser. The amplifying medium is generated by focusing a circularly polarized 760 mJ, 30 fs, 10-Hz Ti:sapphire laser beam in a few mm cell filled with krypton. We have measured a gain coefficient of 78 cm(-1) on the 3d(9)4d 1S0-3d(9)4p(1)P1 transition at 32.8 nm, which is here amplified for the first time. This radiation source represents the shortest wavelength optical-field ionization collisional soft x-ray laser ever produced. The influence of the gas pressure and the pumping energy on the lasing output are also presented.     

Optimization of soft x-ray line emission from laser-produced carbon plasma with laser intensity

Absolute measurement for He-α resonance (1s^{2 1}S₀?1s2p¹ P ₁, at 40.2 Å) line emission from a laser-produced carbon plasma has been studied as a function of laser intensity. The optimum laser intensity is found to be ≈1.3×10¹² W/cm² for the maximum emission of 3.2 × 10¹³ photons sr^?1 pulse^?1. Since this line lies in the water window spectral region, it has potential application in x-ray microscopic imaging of biological sample in wet condition. Theoretical calculation using corona model for the emission of this line is also carried out with appropriate ionization and radiative recombination rate coefficients     

Threshold evaluations for an x-ray laser

Photoelectric pumping of inner shells of intermidiate Z materials is shown to be efficient for inverting the population of radiative transitions around 1 keV. Non-radiative processes are shown to be essential for achieving a stationary inversion. Reported intense X-ray bursts from plasmas generated by laser radiation suggest the use of a Nd laser as exciting source. Threshold evaluations show that a mirrorless X-ray laser is possible by use of nowadays available Nd lasers.     

Electric-discharge XeCl laser for spectroscopic investigations

Journal of Applied Spectroscopy -     

Effect of laser focus in two-color synthesized waveform on generation of soft x-ray high harmonics

Synthesis of multi-color laser pulses has been developed as a promising way to improve low conversion efficiency of high-order harmonic generation (HHG). Here we systematically study the effect of laser focus in a two-color waveform on generation of macroscopic HHG in soft x-rays. We find that the dependence of HHG yields on laser focus at low or high gas pressure is sensitive to the characteristics of single-atom harmonic response, in which "short"-or "long"-trajectory emissions can be selectively controlled by changing the waveform of two-color synthesized laser pulse. We uncover the phase-matching mechanism of HHG in the gas medium by examining the propagation of the two-color waveform and the evolution of time-frequency emissions of high-harmonic field. We further reveal that the nonlinear effects, such as geometric phase, atomic dispersion, and plasma defocusing, are responsible for modification of two-color waveform upon propagation. This work can be used to find better macroscopic conditions for generating soft x-ray HHG by employing two-color optimized waveforms.     

Demonstration of soft x-ray laser of Ne-like Ar at 69.8 nm pumped by capillary discharge

The demonstration of a 69.8?nm laser on 3p 3P2 - 3s 1P1 (J=2-1) transition of Ne-like Ar pumped by capillary discharge is reported in this Letter. A main current of 12?kA with rise time of 43?ns was chosen to generate the plasma in a 35?cm long capillary filling with pressure of Ar as low as 11?Pa, resulting in a gain coefficient of 0.34?cm(-1) and gain-length product of 11 at 69.8?nm. Also observed is a weak laser on 3p 3D2 - 3s 3P1 (J=2-1) transition of Ne-like Ar at 72.6?nm in the same condition. In addition, multiwavelength lasing at 46.9, 69.8, and 72.6?nm was simultaneously realized in a capillary discharge plasma column, conditioning the pressure of Ar to 13?Pa.     

Numerical study of picosecond soft x-ray enhancement from porous targets irradiated by double laser pulses

Simulations show enhanced free-free and free-bound x-ray emission from laser-produced plasmas for both porous and solid targets irradiated by picosecond laser pulses under different prepulse conditions. The porous targets are modeled as a thick solid substrate over-coated with a thin porous layer. Using porous targets and prepulses shows that x-ray yields can be enhanced significantly over single pulses on solid density targets. The optimum conditions of prepulse and porous layer density are investigated by simulations with a fluid and atomic physics code.