Efficient generation of highly ionized calcium and titanium plasma columns for collisionally excited soft-x-ray lasers in a fast capillary discharge

Abstract

Fast discharges through 1.5-mm-diam capillaries have produced dense Ca and Ti plasma columns with an abundance of Ne-like ions, which are of interest for the development of small-scale, collisionally excited soft-x-ray lasers. Current pulses of 30 ns full width at half maximum and peak currents of less than 70 kA produced plasmas with line emission from ions with charge up to the F-like state. Line emission at the wavelengths of the 3p-3s and 3d-3p transitions of the Ne-like ions has been observed.