Beam optics of gain guided soft X-ray lasers in cylindrical plasmas

Summary form only given. Soft X-ray lasers utilize as a gain medium high intensity plasmas of small lateral dimensions, in which refraction of the amplified X-ray radiation can result from electron density gradients. A fast capillary discharge was utilized to generate amplification of neon-like argon at 46.9 nm by collisional electron excitation by creating a hot plasma column of small diameter and cylindrical symmetry. The analysis of the soft X-ray beam propagation and amplification in such plasma column requires to take into account a two dimensional variation of the plasma parameters, which can be non parabolic.