ABSTRACT
The Linac Coherent Light Source is an x-ray free-electron laser that recently demonstrated lasing in the 1.5-15 Å wavelength range. We report on luminescence measurements of a molecular nitrogen gas irradiated by â¼2 mJ, 80 fs x-ray pulses at energies of 0.83, 2.7, and 8.3 keV. These results provide a direct test of our current understanding of photoabsorption, electron dynamics, and fluorescence processes for such intense, ultrashort x-ray pulses. At 0.83 keV, the duration of the fluorescence signal depends strongly on space-charge effects. At 8.3 keV, space-charge effects are weak, and the signal duration is determined by the Auger electron dynamics.
ABSTRACT
The first X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) at keV energies will be the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), located at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Scheduled to begin operation in 2009, this first-of-a-kind X-ray source will produce ultra-short X-ray pulses of unprecedented brightness in the 0.8 to 8 keV first harmonic photon energy regime. Much effort has been invested in predicting and modeling the XFEL photon source properties at the undulator exit; however, as most LCLS experiments are ultimately dependent on the beam focal spot properties it is equally as important to understand the XFEL beam at the endstations where the experiments are performed. Here, we use newly available precision surface metrology data from actual LCLS mirrors combined with a scalar diffraction model to predict the LCLS beam properties in the experiment chambers.
ABSTRACT
At the recently built FLASH x-ray free-electron laser, we studied the reflectivity of Si/C multilayers with fluxes up to 3 x 10(14) W/cm2. Even though the nanostructures were ultimately completely destroyed, we found that they maintained their integrity and reflectance characteristics during the 25-fs-long pulse, with no evidence for any structural changes over lengths greater than 3 A. This experiment demonstrates that with intense ultrafast pulses, structural damage does not occur during the pulse, giving credence to the concept of diffraction imaging of single macromolecules.
