Characterization of Zn X-Ray Laser at PALS Centre, Its Applications in Dense Plasma Probing and Astrophysics

Abstract

This report presents the results from experiments at PALS Centre using a Zn X-ray laser with the pulse length of 0.15 ns and the wavelength of 21.2 nm, working in single or double pass regime with the output energy of 0.4 mJ or 4 mJ per pulse, respectively. The current X-ray laser was experimentally examined to obtain its temporal coherence and spectral width using a path-difference interferometer. The double pass regime shows that QSS plasma based source-amplifier is promising for “short” fs soft X-ray pulses. The X-ray laser is commonly used for user’s experiments. Its advantages can be shown in applications such as probing of dense plasmas (up to 2.5×10²⁴ cm⁻³) or single shot experiments (4×10¹⁴ photons/pulse). The simple technique based on Talbot effect was used to obtain the gradients of electron densities of line plasmas produced under conditions corresponding to XRL’s amplifiers operating in TCE and QSS regime. To investigate radiative shock wave in laboratory is challenging in aspects of the optimization of experimental parameters. Due to the high electron density (10²² cm⁻³) produced in the gas medium propagated by the shock wave, the velocity of the shock wave, and the absorption losses on optical elements, it is necessary to use the energetic single shot probe.