Chemical structure by laser-produced X-rays

The research conducted under this grant has successfully proven the feasibility of using laser-produced X-rays to perform EXAFS experiments, and has led to the demonstration that well-resolved EXAFS spectra of light elements (such as aluminum and magnesium) can be obtained using a single multi-nanosecond pulse of laser-produced X-rays. In addition, this research has led to the development of the flash-EXAFS technique, in which the transient structural changes which occur upon thermal or optical excitation of a sample can be studied in real time (on a nanosecond time scale) by exploiting the short pulse characteristics of laser-EXAFS. It is realistic to say that an entirely new chapter in the history of structural analysis has been begun by this work, as the detailed structures of transient species can now be probed on a time scale never before possible.