Double-pulse single-beam grazing-incidence pumping

The paper reports on the optimization of a table-top nickel-like molybdenum transient collisionally excited soft x-ray laser (SXRL) at 18.9 nm, performed by double-pulse single beam grazing incidence pumping (DGRIP) [1]. This scheme allows for the first time the full control of the pump laser parameters including the pre-pulse duration, optimally generating the SXRL amplifier under grazing incidence. The single beam geometry of collinear double-pulse propagation guarantees the ideal overlap of the pre- and main pulse from shot to shot, resulting in a more efficient, highly stable SXRL output. SXRL energies up to 2.2 µJ are obtained with a total pump energy less than 1 J for several hours at…

LASERIX: an open facility for developments of Soft X-ray and EUV lasers and applications

In this paper we report the perspectives of the development of the XUV laser sources and applications using High-power laser facilities. We focus our paper on the present status of the French LASERIX facility and more especially about its role in the development of the XUV laser sources considering the French "Institut de la Lumiere Extreme " (ILE) and the potential European project Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI). Finally, we present the scientific perspectives of X-ray laser sources developments using these laser facilities.

Versatile High-Energy and Short-Pulse Operation of PHELIX

PHELIX (Petawatt High Energy Laser for Heavy Ion Experiments) is a hybrid Ti:Sapphire / Nd:Glass laser system using large aperture amplifiers from the former Nova and Phebus laser systems at Livermore and Limeil, respectively, designed to offer pulse energies in access of 2 kJ and output power in the petawatt range. It is aiming mainly on combined experiments in plasma physics [2] and atomic physics [3] together with the GSI accelerator facility, and in preparation for the new FAIR facility for antiproton and ion research. Both nanosecond and sub-picosecond pulses can be supplied. Presently pulse energies up to 500 J are used, at pulse durations between 2 and 25 ns. Compressed pulses down t…

Stable and long-time operation of a soft x-ray laser for user applications experiments

LASERIX is a high-power laser facility leading to High-repetition-rate XUV laser pumped by Titanium:Sapphire laser. The aim of this laser facility is to offer Soft XRLs in the 30-7 nm range and auxiliary IR beam that could also be used to produce synchronized XUV sources. This experimental configuration highly enhances the scientific opportunities of the facility, giving thus the opportunity to realize both X-ray laser experiments and more generally pump/probe experiments, mixing IR and XUV sources. In this contribution, the main results concerning both the development of XUV sources(X-Ray lasers and HHG sources) and their use for applications are presented.

Laser driven X-ray parametric amplification in neutral gases—a new brilliant light source in the XUV

Abstract In this paper we present the experimental setup and results showing a new type of strong-field parametric amplification of high-order harmonic radiation. With a simple semi-classical model, we can identify the most important experimental parameters, the spectral range and the small signal gain in gases. Using a single stage amplifier, a small signal gain of 8000 has been obtained in argon for the spectral range of 40–50 eV, using 350 fs, 7 mJ pulses at 1.05 μm. An outlook for an experiment employing a double stage gas system will be given.

Reply to 'The super-quadratic growth of high-harmonic signal as a function of pressure'

Focusing System for a Non-Normal Incidence Pumped, Sub-10 nm TCE XRL

An extended ray-tracing study of the main pumping pulse (MP) focusing optics was made in order to develop a transient collisionally excited (TCE) x-ray laser (XRL) set-up for sub 10 nm wavelength by using non-normal incidence pumping. The study takes into account limitations determined by the large beam dimensions of the high energy MP. A setup using two off-the-shelf spherical mirrors is proposed, corresponding to a possible realization at the PHELIX laser facility.

Strong field amplification of XUV: phase matching aspects

The dependence of the yield of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) on several important experimental parameters has been successfully modeled in the last 20 years by taking into account the single atom response and propagation effects. We extended this description by adding a stimulated emission process and named it x-ray parametric amplification (XPA). Beyond the super-quadratic increase of the XUV signal, which can be explained only in a limited pressure range by HHG theory, other observed characteristics like exponential growth, gain narrowing, strong blue-shift, beam divergence, etc. and their dependence on laser intensity and gas pressure can be explained accurately only by the new XP…

X-ray imaging of the heating zone of non-normal incidence pumped XRL plasma

Soft x-ray emission, above 600 eV, from a grazing incidence pumped Ni-like Mo x-ray laser (GRIP-XRL) [1] plasma was investigated. Using a pinhole camera looking along the target surface, perpendicular to the direction of the XRL emission, spatially-resolved information was obtained with a resolution which was limited only by the pinhole size of 10 μm. The relative distance from the target surface to the plasma zone heated by th e picosecond pulse was investigated for different GRIP angles, energy ratios and delays between the plasma producing and the plasma heating pulses.

A Non-Normal Incidence Pumped Ni-Like Zr XRL for Spectroscopy of Li-Like Heavy Ions at GSI/FAIR

One of the unique features of the PHELIX laser installation is the combination of the ultra-high intensity laser with the heavy-ion accelerator facility at GSI and its planned extension FAIR. Due to this combination, PHELIX will allow novel investigations in the fields of plasma physics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, and accelerator studies. An important issue within the scientific program is the generation of high quality x-ray laser beams for x-ray laser spectroscopy of highly-charged ions. The long range perspective is the study of nuclear properties of radioactive isotopes within the FAIR [1] project. A novel single mirror focusing scheme for the TCE XRL has been successfully impleme…