Divergence Measurements of Soft—X-Ray Laser Beam

Abstract

The divergence of the C VI 182-\AA{} lasing line generated in a rapidly recombining, magnetically confined plasma column was measured with soft---x-ray spectrometers equipped with multichannel detectors. In addition to measurements of the relative divergence, an absolute divergence of \ensuremath{\sim}9 mrad at a magnetic field of 20 kG and \ensuremath{\sim}5 mrad at a magnetic field of 35 or 50 kG was obtained by a direct scan of the 182-\AA{} axial radiation. Based on these data a peak 182-\AA{} power of \ensuremath{\sim}100 kW is obtained. Calculations of the spatial distribution of gain in the plasma were in very good agreement with the experimental data.