S. Bollanti

Soft x-ray submicron imaging detector based on point defects in LiF

The use of lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals and films as imaging detectors for EUV and soft-x-ray radiation is discussed. The EUV or soft-x-ray radiation can generate stable color centers, emitting in the visible spectral range an intense fluorescence from the exposed areas. The high dynamic response of the material to the received dose and the atomic scale of the color centers make this detector extremely interesting for imaging at a spatial resolution which can be much smaller than the light wavelength. Experimental results of contact microscopy imaging of test meshes demonstrate a resolution of the order of 400nm. This high spatial resolution has been obtained in a wide field of view, up to several mm2. Images obtained on different biological samples, as well as an investigation of a soft x-ray laser beam are presented. The behavior of the generated color centers density as a function of the deposited x-ray dose and the advantages of this new diagnostic technique for both coherent and noncoherent EUV so...

High-resolution x-ray spectrometer based on spherically bent crystals for investigations of femtosecond laser plasmas

Ultrashort-pulse, laser-produced plasmas have become very interesting laboratory sources to study spectroscopically due to their very high densities and temperatures, and the high laser-induced electromagnetic fields present. Typically, these plasmas are of very small volume and very low emissivity. Thus, studying these near point source plasmas requires advanced experimental techniques. We present a new spectrometer design called the focusing spectrometer with spatial resolution (FSSR-2D) based on a spherically bent crystal which provides simultaneous high spectral (λ/Δλ≈104) and spatial resolution (≈10 μm) as well as high luminosity (high collection efficiency). We described in detail the FSSR-2D case in which a small, near point source plasma is investigated. An estimate for the spectral and spatial resolution for the spectrometer is outlined based on geometric considerations. Using the FSSR-2D instrument, experimental data measured from both a 100 fs and a nanosecond pulse laser-produced plasma are pr...

Performance of a ten-liter electron avalanche-discharge XeCl laser device

This paper describes the laser performance of an X-ray preionized ten-liter volume, electron-avalanche discharge XeCl system, operated at dc charging voltages of up to 70 kV both with and without X-ray preionization. An output energy of more than 11J uniformly distributed over a (7×10) cm2 spot size was achieved using a multichannel spark-gap as the main discharge switch. The discharge was also successfully operated in the switchless mode, yielding a 4.8 J output energy and a 0.9% efficiency. The time-resolved gain measurements provided information on the laser discharge evolution.

Compact three-electrodes excimer laser IANUS for a POPA optical system

A novel discharge configuration has been realized with the XeCl laser IANUS, which has been developed at the ENEA Frascati center as a 1:1 laser head prototype for the 1 kW average output power XeCl system EOLUS (EUREKA EU211 Project). The patented design of the discharge region consists of two active zones which are geometrically in parallel and electrically in series. The obvious advantages of this configuration are, the presence of the intermediate high impedance electrode, suitable for prepulse application, then the absence of current return bars, so improving the recirculating gas flow uniformity, and the automatic synchronization of the two discharges very useful for a compact oscillator-amplifier configuration (POPA). A number of measurements have been done on IANUS, to have an almost complete characterization; based on these results a generalized self-filtering unstable resonator (GSFUR) has been designed and realized on the smaller gap, leaving the other active medium for the high optical quality beam amplification, in the scheme of a POPA system. The GSFUR output beam results are 1.5 times the diffraction limit, with an energy of 9 mJ in a 87 ns FWHM pulse.

X-ray radiation from ions with K-shell vacancies

Abstract New types of space resolved X-ray spectra produced in light matter experiments with high intensity lasers have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. This type of spectra is characterised by the disappearance of distinct resonance line emission and the appearance of very broad emission structures due to the dielectronic satellite transitions associated to the resonance lines. Atomic data calculations have shown, that rather exotic states with K-shell vacancies are involved. For quantitative spectra interpretation we developed a model for dielectronic satellite accumulation (DSA-model) in cold dense optically thick plasmas which are tested by rigorous comparison with space resolved spectra from ns-lasers. In experiments with laser intensities up to 10 19 W/cm 2 focused into nitrogen gas targets, hollow ion configurations are observed by means of soft X-ray spectroscopy. It is shown that transitions in hollow ions can be used for plasma diagnostic. The determination of the electron temperature in the long lasting recombining regime is demonstrated. In Light-matter interaction experiments with extremely high contrast (up to 10 10 ) short pulse (400 fs) lasers electron densities of n e ≈3×10 23 cm −3 at temperatures between kT e =200–300 eV have been determined by means of spectral simulations developed previously for ns-laser produced plasmas. Expansion velocities are determined analysing asymmetric optically thick line emission. Further, the results are checked by observing the spectral windows involving the region about the He α -line and the region from the He β -line to the He-like continuum. Finally, plasmas of solid density are characteristic in experiments with heavy ion beams heating massive targets. We report the first spectroscopic investigations in plasmas of this type with results on solid neon heated by Ar-ions. A spectroscopic method for the determination of the electron temperature in extreme optically thick plasmas is developed.

Shadow monochromatic backlighting: Large-field high resolution X-ray shadowgraphy with improved spectral tunability

The shadow monochromatic backlighting (SMB) scheme, a modification of the well-known soft X-ray monochromatic backlighting scheme, is proposed. It is based on a spherical crystal as the dispersive element and extends the traditional scheme by allowing one to work with a wide range of Bragg angles and thus in a wide spectral range. The advantages of the new scheme are demonstrated experimentally and supported numerically by ray-tracing simulations. In the experiments, the X-ray backlighter source is a laser-produced plasma, created by the interaction of an ultrashort pulse, Ti:Sapphire laser (120 fs, 3–5 mJ, 10 16 W/cm 2 on target) or a short wavelength XeCl laser (10 ns, 1–2 J, 10 13 W/cm 2 on target) with various solid targets (Dy, Ni + Cr, BaF 2 ). In both experiments, the X-ray sources are well localized spatially (∼20 μm) and are spectrally tunable in a relatively wide wavelength range (λ = 8–15 A). High quality monochromatic (δλ/λ ∼ 10 −5 –10 −3 ) images with high spatial resolution (up to ∼4 μm) over a large field of view (a few square millimeters) were obtained. Utilization of spherically bent crystals to obtain high-resolution, large field, monochromatic images in a wide range of Bragg angles (35° < Θ < 90°) is demonstrated for the first time.

X-ray contact microscopy using an excimer laser plasma source with different target materials and laser pulse durations

Soft X‐ray contact microscopy (SXCM), using a pulsed X‐ray source, offers the possibility of imaging the ultrastructure of living biological systems at sub‐100 nm resolution. We have developed a table‐top pulsed plasma X‐ray source for this application, generated by a large‐volume XeCl laser, achieving a good conversion efficiency to ‘water‐window’ X‐rays (hν≈280–530 eV).

ACCURATE WAVELENGTH MEASUREMENTS AND MODELING OF Fe XV TO Fe XIX SPECTRA RECORDED IN HIGH-DENSITY PLASMAS BETWEEN 13.5 AND 17 A

Iron spectra have been recorded from plasmas created at three different laser plasma facilities: the Tor Vergata University laser in Rome (Italy), the Hercules laser at ENEA in Frascati (Italy), and the Compact Multipulse Terawatt (COMET) laser at LLNL in California (USA). The measurements provide a means of identifying dielectronic satellite lines from Fe XVI and Fe XV in the vicinity of the strong 2p → 3d transitions of Fe XVII. About 80 Δn ≥ 1 lines of Fe XV (Mg-like) to Fe XIX (O-like) were recorded between 13.8 and 17.1 A with a high spectral resolution (λ/Δλ ≈ 4000); about 30 of these lines are from Fe XVI and Fe XV. The laser-produced plasmas had electron temperatures between 100 and 500 eV and electron densities between 1020 and 1022 cm-3. The Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore Atomic Code (HULLAC) was used to calculate the atomic structure and atomic rates for Fe XV-XIX. HULLAC was used to calculate synthetic line intensities at Te = 200 eV and ne = 1021 cm-3 for three different conditions to illustrate the role of opacity: optically thin plasmas with no excitation-autoionization/dielectronic recombination (EA/DR) contributions to the line intensities, optically thin plasmas that included EA/DR contributions to the line intensities, and optically thick plasmas (optical depth ≈200 μm) that included EA/DR contributions to the line intensities. The optically thick simulation best reproduced the recorded spectrum from the Hercules laser. However, some discrepancies between the modeling and the recorded spectra remain.

Development and characterisation of an XeCl excimer laser-generated soft-X-ray plasma source and its applications

SummaryA large-aperture, long-pulse XeCl excimer laser has been used to generate a soft-X-ray plasma source. Several laser optical configurations have been employed to optimise X-ray emission, including positive-branch unstable resonators and injection by seeding the gain region of the laser with a small commercial excimer laser, resulting in power densities in the range 1012–1014 W cm−2. The characteristics of the plasma source for each different laser configuration and for different target materials are investigated. The most suitable source conditions (spectral energy distribution, time duration, etc.) for specific applications are discussed.

Na-like autoionization states of copper ions in plasma, heated by excimer laser

A 100 ns excimer laser-produced copper plasma was used to investigate the Na-like Cu XIX n = 4-2 satellite emission in a higher density and lower temperature regime than previously studied. Theoretical model calculations were used to identify a number of radiative transitions from autoionizing Na-like copper levels. These transitions were measured with an accuracy of 0.001 A. A comparison of these spectral measurements to spectra obtained from lower density Nd-glass laser-produced copper plsmas demonstrated the changing role of different excitation mechanisms for different plasma conditions.