Simulations of a grazing-incidence pumped x-ray laser at 14.7 nm

Numerical simulations of the grazing-incidence pumped Ni-like Pd x-ray laser at 14.7 nm (4d→4p, J=0→1) is performed using a modified one-dimensional hydrodynamic code MEDUSA. The effective absorption of the main laser pulse in the gain region is greatly increased due to the lengthened propagation path. Results predict that a saturated output of the x-ray laser can be achieved with only subjoules driver energy on a 4-mm -long Pd target.