Demonstration of a High Average Power Tabletop Soft X-Ray Laser

Abstract

We report the first demonstration of a high average power tabletop soft x-ray laser. An average laser output power of ഠ1 mW ͑.2 3 10 14 photons͞s͒ was generated at 46.9 nm in Ne-like Ar using a very compact tabletop discharge. The spatially coherent average power emitted by this 26.5 eV laser is comparable to that generated at this photon energy in a similar bandwidth ͑Dl͞l 10 24 ͒ by a thirdgeneration synchrotron beam line. Lasing was obtained at a repetition rate of 7 Hz with an average output energy of 135 mJ͞pulse by exciting a plasma column in a ceramic capillary with a fast current pulse. This very compact high-repetition-rate laser source makes intense short-wavelength coherent radiation accessible to a wide variety of new applications. [S0031-9007(98)08022-3]

Applications of high repetition rate tabletop soft X-ray lasers become a reality in several fields

“…The gain media was generated by rapidly exciting a 3.2 mm inside diameter aluminum oxide capillary channel filled with pre-ionized chlorine gas with a fast current pulse. The capillary discharge set up was similar to that previously used to obtain lasing in Ne-like Ar at high repetition rates [3]. Amplification was observed at Cl 2 pressures ranging from 180 to 300 mTorr.…”

“…1sma peak :cent tgcst Figure 4 shows a laser pulse with energy of I 0 fll measured operating the system at a repetition frequency of 0.5 Hz. However, the shot to shot variation in the laser pulse energy was significantly larger than those measured operating the laser at 46.9 nm using Ar [2,3]. The measurement of multiple shots yielded an averaged laser FWHM pulse of 1.46±0.25 ns.…”

“…\!lore than 5000 laser shots were obtained from a single capillary. The full width at half maximum of the corresponding laser pulse is 1.5 ± 0.05 ns, longer than the 1.2 ns pulsewidth that we measured for an 18.2 em long ampli tier [3]. The average peak laser output power obtained with the longest plasma column 1s ~O.…”

“…There has been much progress producing megawatts of stimulate schemes [1][2][3][4]. This opens the microscopy [5], x-radiography [6 ray laser pump sources.…”

Extremely compact soft X-ray lasers based on capillary discharges

“…More than 5000 laser shots were obtained from a single capillary. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the corresponding laser pulse is 1.570.05 ns, longer than the 1.2 ns pulsewidth that we measured for an 18.2 cm long amplifier [3]. The average peak laser output power obtained with the longest plasma column is E0.6 MW.…”