ABSTRACT
Abstract. We report progress in developing efficient pumping of laserdriven x-ray lasers that opens new possibilities for both high average power x-ray lasers as well as producing progressively shorter wavelength lasers. The new scheme of grazing incidence pumping (GRIP) is described. In essence, a chosen electron density region of a pre-formed plasma column, produced by a longer pulse at normal incidence onto a slab target, is selectively pumped by focusing the short pulse ~ps laser at a determined grazing incidence angle to the target. The controlled use of refraction of the pumping laser in the plasma results in several benefits: The pump laser path length is longer and there is an increase in the laser absorption in the gain region for creating a collisional Ni-like ion x-ray laser. There is also an inherent travelling wave, close to c, that increases the overall pumping efficiency. The scheme requires careful tailoring of the pump and plasma conditions to the specific x-ray laser under investigation but the main advantage is a 3 - 30 times reduction in the laser pump energy for mid-Z materials. We report several examples of this new x-ray laser on two different laser systems. The first demonstrates a 10 Hz x-ray laser operating at 18.9 nm pumped with a total of 150 mJ of 800 nm wavelength from a Ti:Sapphire laser. The second case is shown where the COMET laser is used both at 527 nm and 1054 nm wavelength to pump higher Z materials with the goal of extending the wavelength regime of tabletop x-ray lasers below 10 nm.
