Analysis of a picosecond-laser-driven Ne-like Ti x-ray laser

This paper models recent experiments in which a solid titanium target was 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 200 cm^-1 are predicted for the Ne-like Ti 3p¹{S}₀→3s{}¹P₁ transition at 326 {}, which is driven by the monopole collisional excitation. High gain is also predicted for the 3d¹{P}₁→3p{}¹P₁ transition at 301 {}, which is driven by a combination of collisional excitation and self-photopumping. We also discuss the possibilities for driving a Ne-like Ge laser using this approach.