Ultra-short efficient laser-driven hard X-ray source operated at a kHz repetition rate

摘要

Ultra-short bursts of hard X-ray radiation are generated by interaction of high-contrast femtosecond laser pulses with a jet of liquid Ga. The X-ray emission shows a strong dependence on the angle of incidence and polarization of the laser beam, consistent with the processes of resonant absorption and vacuum heating. As much as 60% of the total X-ray emission consists of Ga K_α radiation (9.22-9.25 keV) with a photon flux of 6 x 10~9 photons/(s srad). Using this novel X-ray source, static diffraction patterns from a GaAs(111) crystal were recorded with an acquisition time of 2s.