Generation of femtosecond X-ray pulses via Thomson scattering of terawatt IR laser pulses with relativistic electrons

Summary form only given. Generating femtosecond X-ray pulses via Thomson scattering of ultrashort laser pulses with relativistic electrons has a number of attractive advantages over other approaches. The duration of the generated X-rays is determined by the focal spot of the electron beam and the optical pulse duration. Thus generation of X-ray pulses of <100 fs duration is relatively straightforward. Furthermore, the X-rays are highly directed and of relatively narrow bandwidth. Finally, the Thomson scattering source of ultrashort X-ray pulses is also tunable, either by changing the angle of incidence between the electrons and photons, or by changing the laser photon energy, or by changing the electron beam energy. This source of ultrashort X-ray pulses promises to be a very useful tool in the study of the ultrafast atomic motion in solids and molecules.