Abstract

Several vacuum ultraviolet lasers excited by the soft x-ray emissions from a laser-produced plasma have been demonstrated.¹ Schemes in xenon and krypton demonstrated by the authors are discussed, and the extension of photoionization-pumped laser systems to shorter wavelengths is considered. It is shown that shorter wavelengths favor the use of ultrashort pulse lasers as excitation sources. A possible system using ultrashort pulse x rays to pump inner-shell-excited atomic states which are rapidly depleted through Auger decay is proposed and the technological requirements for its implementation are examined. Recent advances in laser technology make such schemes technologically feasible using relatively small scale lasers. Our progress in developing the required laser systems and experiments relating to the basic physics of the scheme are discussed.

© 1988 Optical Society of America