CONTROL OF BRIGHT PICOSECOND X-RAY-EMISSION FROM INTENSE SUBPICOSECOND LASER-PLASMA INTERACTIONS

Using temporally and spectrally resolved diagnostics, we show that the pulse duration of laser-produced soft x rays emitted from solid targe ts can be controlled, permitting a reduction to as short as a few pico seconds. To enable this control, only a single parameter must be adjus ted, namely, the intensity of the high-contrast ultrashort laser pulse (400 fs). These results are found to be in qualitative agreement with a simple model of radiation from a collisionally dominated atomic sys tem.