Abstract

Although the pulsed nature of the radiation emitted from storage rings has for some time been exploited for studies in the visible vacuum ultraviolet region of the spectrum, only recently have synchrotron radiation users begun experiments that emphasize time resolution. Time-resolved x-ray experiments performed at synchrotron radiation sources fall naturally into two categories, those which do not depend on the actual time structure of the emitted radiation but rather rely on the high flux, and those which take explicit advantage of the modulated or pulsed nature of the x-ray beam. Although not always the case, experiments of the latter group generally have a finer time resolution and it is with these experiments that this presentation is concerned. Pulse durations of 100–1000 ps are most typical for synchrotron radiation sources with repetition rates from 0.5 to 50 MHz. These characteristics combined with the continuous spectral distribution make synchrotron radiation a highly attractive source when compared with other sources of pulsed x rays. In fact synchrotron radiation has been used both as a pump and a probe beam for the study of transient phenomena. Shorter pulses and high flux per pulse may soon be a reality with construction of advanced photon sources planned for the near future.

© 1986 Optical Society of America