Radiation properties of Ni-like molybdenum x-ray laser at PALS

Abstract

We present lasing in Ni-like molybdenum x-ray laser (18.9 nm) demonstrated with grazing incidence pumping and complete diagnostics of the generated EUV beam. This source of EUV radiation was the first experimental realization of transient x-ray laser at the PALS laboratory. The experiment was performed on a 10 Hz Ti:Sapphire laser system with highly efficient grazing incidence pumping by single beam with profiled laser pulse which included a long prepulse followed by a short main pump pulse. The plasma column was created by focusing of the pumping laser beam on a slab target by a spherical mirror in two different off-axis configurations. Lasing close to saturation with EUV pulses of energy around 100 nJ was demonstrated with less than 500 mJ pumping energy on target. Experimental data from far-field images were analyzed by applying the generalized Van Cittert-Zernike theorem which in general relates field correlation function at the source with intensity in the far-field and can give information about the source size.