High brightness laser-plasma X-ray source at IFAM: Characterization and applications

A high brightness laser-plasma X-ray source has been set-up and is presentl y available at IFAM. A wide range of diagnostics has been set up to monitor the properties of the X-ray radiation and to control the main parameters i ncluding photon energy, flux intensity, and pulse duration. A beam extracto r enables access to the X-ray radiation at atmospheric pressure. A simple, easy-to-use projection microscope has been built which is capable of single -shot micron resolution imaging with digital acquisition. Preliminary biome dical experiments show that the X-ray doses available on a single laser sho t exposure of our source fully meet the conditions required for an importan t class of biological experiments based on X-ray induced DNA damage providi ng an ideal alternative to the long time exposures needed with X-ray tubes.