Capillary Discharge X-Ray Laser Driver

A compact x-ray laser driver with a high repetition rate is the subject of this phase I project. Most existing x-ray laser drivers are huge (1000s of square feet of floor space), expensive ($10,000,000+), have a low repetition rate (1/hr), are complex and require several PhDs to keep them working. Thus applications of present x-ray lasers are limited. In contrast, the proposed laser will occupy only a few square feet of floor space, will be light weight, and will have a high repetition rate several pulses/minute). If successful, the proposed laser will have application in space, in biology, in surface analysis, in medicine, x-ray lithography, x-ray holography, x-ray microscopy, atomic spectroscopy, metrology, etc. The driver is based on a capillary plasma discharge. A computer model that calculates ion level's populations in plasma will be developed. Strong laser transitions will be identified and calculated. A preliminary design will be based on calculations. This design will be used for phase II experiments and prototypes.