Using the X-ray free-electron laser to drive a photo-pumped helium-like neon X-ray laser at 23 nm
Abstract
Nearly four decades ago resonantly photo-pumped laser schemes based on hydrogen-like and helium-like ions were proposed for producing X-ray lasers. These schemes have yet to be demonstrated because of the difficulty of finding a strong pump line with an adequate resonance to pump the laser transition. With the construction of the X-ray free-electron laser (X-FEL) at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) researchers now have a very bright tunable X-ray laser source that can be used to replace the pump line in previously proposed laser schemes and allow one to study the physics and feasibility of photo-pumped laser schemes. In this paper we model the sodium-pumped neon X-ray laser scheme that was proposed and studied many years ago by replacing the Na He-α pump line at 1127 eV with the X-FEL. Using the X-FEL to photo-ionize Ne down to He-like Ne and then photo-pump the He-γ line we predict gains greater than 400 cm -1 on the 4f - 3d transition at 23.1 nm in He-like Ne. The 4d - 3p line at 23.16 nm and the 4p - 3s line at 22.27 nm are also predicted to lase strongly.
- Publication:
-
High Energy Density Physics
- Pub Date:
- March 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.hedp.2010.12.001
- Bibcode:
- 2011HEDP....7....6N