Soft x-ray pulse generation from femtosecond laser-produced plasma with reduced debris using a metal-doped glass target

We have demonstrated soft x-ray short pulse generation from femtosecond laser-produced plasma with much lower debris using metal-doped glass as a target. Soft x-ray emission (50–200 Å) from a gold-doped glass target was about 40% of that from a solid gold target while the density of gold in the doped-glass was less than 0.001 vol % and the target was transparent at the wavelength of the laser light. Due to the low metal density, the particulate deposition, which is one of the serious obstacles to putting laser-produced plasma x-ray into practical use, was greatly reduced by the use of metal-doped glass as a target. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.