Brightness and duration of x-ray line sources irradiated with intense 0.53-μm laser light at 60 and 120 ps pulse width

Short, bright pulses of x-ray line emission are needed for flash radiography of laser-fusion targets. The experiments described here were carried out with the nominal laser pulse lengths of 60 and 120 ps. The M spectra were for Y (2. 00--2. 35 keV), Pd (2. 95--3. 46 keV), and Cs (4. 43--5. 15 keV), and the L spectra were for Cl (2. 790 keV), Ti (4. 749 keV), Mn (6. 180 keV), and Ni (7. 804 keV). The L energies are for the 1s2p thinsp;^1P₁1s^2 ^1S₀ transition. Both the duration and the absolute brightness of the x-ray line emission were measured. Even at 60 ps, the x-ray flashes from Y, Pd, and Ti were all bright and of duration comparable to or shorter than the laser pulse length. In particular, the Pd M lines were as bright as 210^12 photons/j? and the Ti L lines as bright as 510^10 photons/j? .