Laser-driven 3-kA x-ray source.

An x‐ray source driven by a 10‐pps Nd–YAG laser is described which, because of its high peak power and automatic synchronization to the laser, is especially suited for the study of x‐ray optical interactions. The device is of very simple construction, is based upon a 1‐m‐long 3‐Ω coaxial transmission line charged to 40 kV, and delivers 20‐ns wide pulses at peak currents of ∼3 kA. A simple analysis which is in good agreement with experiment predicts that a 1‐Ω line charged to 60 kV should yield peak currents of ∼15 kA.