The possibility of generating short wavelength laser action in plasma is considered by two different methods. In the first we examine the conditions under which laser action can be generated using laser heating of thin foils of materials with a high atomic number. It is shown that there is a way forward using reasonable pump laser energies tailored to the specific x-ray wavelength and material. Recombination lasers, in principle, have a high quantum efficiency, particularly if transitions to the ground state can be used. ATI offers a possible means to achieve this objective. We examine the conditions under which such inversion can be generated. Some simple scalings for the density and temperature are derived.

Date Published: 13 September 2007
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 6702, Soft X-Ray Lasers and Applications VII, 670208 (13 September 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.739058

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6702:
Soft X-Ray Lasers and Applications VII
Gregory J. Tallents; James Dunn, Editor(s)