Abstract

We will summarize previous, as well as ongoing, work whose sole purpose is to demonstrate laser-pumped soft xray laser. We have concentrated our efforts on three possible laser schemes: 1) resonant photoexcitation, 2) collisional excitation, and 3) collisional recombination. Our earliest attempt only demonstrated a small gain of approximately 0.5-1 cm on the recombination scheme. Nevertheless, we have begun a multifaceted experimental program to determine what the crucial physics for all three schemes are, and where our experiments or predictions could have fallen short. We have combined our efforts with other facilities, such as KMS Fusion, Inc., where, with their Chroma Laser Facility, they are performing experiments to 1) test for line coincidences to 3 mA accuracy, 2) validating predicted density and temperature profiles using laser iterferometry and xray spectroscopy, and 3) testing the kinetics of inversion using a specialized experimental setup which is easily diagnosed, yet whose geometry closely resembles an xray laser target.

© 1984 Optical Society of America