Abstract

Measurements of the temporal evolution of the x-ray emission with a precise temporal reference to the irradiating laser pulse are of fundamental significance for laser fusion and x-ray laser research. To obtain such data we equipped our x-ray streak camera with a specially designed hybrid photocathode to record simultaneously the soft x-ray emission from the plasma and the frequency-quadrupled laser pulse. However, if this 4ω timing fiducial is to represent a reliable reference for relating the x-ray signature to the peak of the incident laser pulse, it has to be introduced onto the photocathode along a separate path.

© 1986 Optical Society of America