Researchers from three universities in Germany have reportedly demonstrated a new laser-based source of x-rays that are many times brighter than conventional x-rays, and thus enable far more detailed structural analyses. The breakthrough was made by researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), and the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
The researchers say that the technology has produced a tomographic reconstruction of the three-dimensional fine structure of a bone sample within a few minutes. Up to now, laser-based measurements of this sort required several hours to complete.
It was made possible by the further development of Atlas, the high-performance laser in LMU’s Laboratory for Extreme Photonics (LEX Photonics) der LMU on the Research Campus in Garching. Reconstruction of the sample from the imaging data was also facilitated by specially designed computer programs.
The scientists explored the application of high-performance lasers to the production of x-rays by irradiating hydrogen atoms with extremely intense pulses of laser light. The highly energetic optical fields strip the electrons from the atoms, and part of the ionized plasma electrons are accelerated. Simultaneously, these electrons oscillate in the plasma fields, which causes them to emit synchrotron radiation, i.e., high-intensity x-rays.
This whole process takes place over a path-length of less than 15 mm, resulting in a far smaller footprint than needed for conventional synchrotron radiation generation. The result is that the laser-based technology is much less expensive, but it produces x-radiation of comparable quality.
https://www.mpq.mpg.de/5661790/18_04_17
