G Lambert et al 2009 New J. Phys. 11 083033 doi:10.1088/1367-2630/11/8/083033
G Lambert1,4, J Gautier1, C P Hauri2, Ph Zeitoun1, C Valentin1, T Marchenko1, F Tissandier1, J Ph Goddet1, M Ribiere1, G Rey1, M Fajardo3 and S Sebban1
Show affiliationsFree-electron lasers (FEL) and plasma-based soft x-ray lasers (PSXL) have been recently evolving very fast from the vacuum ultraviolet to the soft x-ray region. Once seeded with high harmonics, these schemes are considered as the next generation soft x-ray light sources delivering ultrashort pulses with high temporal and spatial coherence. Here, we present a detailed experimental study of a kHz two-colour high harmonic generation performed in various gases and investigate its potential as a suitable evolution of the actual seeding sources. It turns out that this double harmonic content source is highly tuneable, controllable and delivers intense radiation (measured here with a calibrated photodiode) with only one order of magnitude difference in the photon yield from 65 to 13 nm. Then, first and foremost, injections could be achieved at wavelengths shorter than what was previously accessible in FEL and PSXL and/or additional energy could be extracted. Also, such a strong and handy seed could allow the saturation range of FEL devices to be greatly extended to shorter wavelengths and would bring higher spectral as well as intensity stabilities in this spectral zone.
52.38.Ph X-ray, gamma-ray and particle generation
42.60.Jf Beam characteristics: profile, intensity, and power; spatial pattern formation
Accelerators, beams and electromagnetism
Issue 8 (August 2009)
Received 31 March 2009
Published 28 August 2009
G Lambert et al 2009 New J. Phys. 11 083033
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