The MIT short-wavelength laser project

The present status of the project follows: the Nd:glass power amplifier was constructed and brought from LLNL to MIT; gain measurements were performed, and work on the associated optics is currently underway. The vacuum chamber was built and successfully tested. The optics for the target alignment system were redesigned, fabricated, and partially assembled; the electronics are now being brought together. EUV spectrometers for use as laser diagnostics are under development; these incorporate both commercially available gratings as well as novel, in-house designs. Work on laser cavities has yielded an greatly improved understanding of the difficulties involved in using whispering gallery optics. An earlier analysis of soft x ray frequency conversion was refined. A numerical study of plasma kinetics has elucidated the physics of transiently pumped x ray lasers.