Syllabus
1) X-ray domain in the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Coherent and incoherent X-ray sources.
Free-electron lasers. Plasma-based lasers (laser and discharge plasma as an active medium).
High-order harmonics generation. Existing X-ray sources: technical details and parameters. 2) X-ray laser beams and their propagation.
Handling the X-ray laser beams: X-ray mirrors, beam splitters, monochromators, and other optical elements. Numerical laser beam propagation.
Wave-front curvature and focusing performance. Wave-front in the Zernike basis.
Gaussian and non-Gaussian beams. Maréchal condition and Strehl ratio.
Methods of X-ray laser beam characterization: Hartmann sensor, luminescence screens, ablation imprints, and others. 3) X-ray laser-matter interaction: photoelectric effect and Compton scattering. Absorption, reflection, and scattering of X-ray radiation.
X-ray detectors and radiation dosimetry. Measurement of temporal, spectral, and coherence properties of X-ray pulses and beams.
Applications of intense X-ray radiation in diffraction imaging, science, and technology.
Annotation
The main goal of this course is to make students acquainted with X-ray lasers and their optics. During the last decade, the X-ray lasers passed through an extensive development. Due to their unique properties (extremely short wavelengths < 30 nm; ultra-high peak intensitites), the X-ray lasers represent important scientific tools in various fields of research, e.g. material research, warm dense matter, biophysics, and diffraction imaging.
Principles of X-ray lasers, X-ray optics, and applications are the main subjects of this course.