Design of a picosecond-laser-driven Ni-like Mo x-ray laser near 20 nm

Abstract

The gain is predicted for a solid molybdenum target illuminated by several joules of combined energy from a nanosecond laser pulse to create a preplasma followed by a picosecond laser pulse to drive the gain. Gains greater than 300 cm-1 are predicted for the Ni-like Mo 4d 1S0→4p 1P1 transition at 18.9 nm, which is driven by the monopole collisional excitation. High gain is also predicted for a self-photo-pumped 4f 1P1→4d 1P1 transition at 22.0 nm and several other transitions driven by inner shell collisional ionization.