Abstract

For many applications in VUV and XUV physics, it is desirable to have a technique for creating large densities of highly-energetic atoms or ions. Two techniques for efficiently exciting states with energies in the 10–100 eV range are discussed. Both are based on photoionization of atoms by x-rays from a plasma produced by a laboratory-sized Nd:YAG laser. Inner-shell photoionization by these x-rays has been used to preferentially populate excited ionic states in large densities. For the excitation of atomic transitions, a novel "photoionization electron source" is described which produces high densities (> 16¹⁰ cm⁻³) of hot (~ 45 eV) electrons in a pulse of approximately 600 ps duration.

© 1984 Optical Society of America