<title>Ultrafast x-ray absorption spectroscopy using laser-driven electron x-ray sources (LEXS)</title>

Abstract

A laser driven electron x-ray source (LEXS) using a high repetition rate, terawatt laser system is described. The laser system has adopted design features that make it more suitable for the generation of hard x-ray pulses. These features include a simplified pumping scheme to reduce cost and complexity, a l/4 broadband regenerative amplifier to support high-energy, short optical pulse generation, and a 50-Hz repetition rate to achieve both desired pulse energy and simple compressor design. Preliminary results on x-ray generation using this system are reported. A new method, ultrafast selected energy x-ray absorption spectroscopy (USEXAS), based on this LEXS is discussed.