Diffusion-viscosity decoupling in supercooled aqueous trehalose solutions

The diffusional mobility of disodium fluorescein has been measured in supercooled aqueous solutions of trehalose, a widely used cryoprotectant disaccharide. The results were analyzed on the basis of the classical continuum hydrodynamic theory (Stokes-Einstein relationship) and compared with results for the diffusion and electrical conductivity of other ionic and nonionic solutes in trehalose and sucrose aqueous solutions. Disodium fluorescein obeys the classical model over a restricted range of inverse reduced temperatures, T g/ T, scaled by the glass transition temperature. Decoupling in neutral solutes takes place at higher values of T g/ T, while in ionic solutes it occurs all over the range of T g/ T studied, as observed for the water mobility in supercooled sugar solutions.     

Continuous high-repetition-rate operation of collisional soft-x-ray lasers with solid targets

We have generated a laser average output power of 2 microW at a wavelength of 13.9 nm by operating a tabletop laser-pumped Ni-like Ag laser at a 5 Hz repetition rate, using a solid helicoidal target that is continuously rotated and advanced to renew the target surface between shots. More than 2 x 10(4) soft-x-ray laser shots were obtained by using a single target. Similar results were obtained at 13.2 nm in Ni-like Cd with a Cd-coated target. This scheme will allow uninterrupted operation of laser-pumped tabletop collisional soft-x-ray lasers at a repetition rate of 10 Hz for a period of hours, enabling the generation of continuous high average soft-x-ray powers for applications.     

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.