Efficient excitation of Ne-like calcium and titanium ions for collisionally excited soft X-ray lasers in a fast capillary discharge

We report the generation of dense calcium and titanium plasma channels with an abundance of neon-like ions by very fast capillary discharges. Only modest currents (40-70kA) are required to ionize these plasma columns to the neon-like state. The first observation of line emission at wavelengths corresponding to the 3p-3s and 3d-3p transitions of neon-like ions in a capillary discharge is reported.<
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