Nickel-Like Molybdenum and Niobium Soft X-Ray Lasing Driven by 200 ps Laser Pulses with 50 J of Energy

Intense lasing at 18.9 and 20.3nm in nickel-like molybdenum and niobium ions has been observed by using two 200ps laser pulses with total energy of 50 J at 1.053 μm from XingGuang II laser facility. Their gain coefficients were measured to be 1.6 and 1.5cm^-1, respectively. This shows the possibility of extending Ni-like x-ray lasing in low-Z elements and paves the way towards small scale x-ray lasers for applications at university laboratories.