ANALYSIS OF A PICOSECOND-LASER-DRIVEN NE-LIKE TI X-RAY LASER

This paper models recent experiments in which a solid titanium target was illuminated by several joules of combined energy from a nanosecond laser pulse to create a preplasma followed by a picosecond laser pulse to drive the gain. Gains greater than 200 cm{sup {minus}1} are predicted for the Ne-like Ti 3p{sup 1}S{sub 0}{r_arrow}3s{sup 1}P{sub 1} transition at 326 {Angstrom}, which is driven by the monopole collisional excitation. High gain is also predicted for the 3d{sup 1}P{sub 1}{r_arrow}3p{sup 1}P{sub 1} transition at 301 {Angstrom}, which is driven by a combination of collisional excitation and self-photopumping. We also discuss the possibilities for driving a Ne-like Ge laser using this approach. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}