Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Coherent soft x-ray generation in the water window with quasi-phase matching
Emily A Gibson1, Ariel Paul, Nick Wagner
1Department of Physics and JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0440, USA.
Abstract:
We demonstrate enhanced generation of coherent light in the "water window" region of the soft x-ray spectrum at 4.4 nanometers, using quasi-phase-matched frequency conversion of ultrafast laser pulses. By periodically modulating the diameter of a gas-filled hollow waveguide, the phase mismatch normally present between the laser light and the generated soft x-ray light can be partially compensated. This makes it possible to use neon gas as the nonlinear medium to coherently convert light up to the water window, illustrating that techniques of nonlinear optics can be applied effectively in the soft x-ray region of the spectrum. These results advance the prospects for compact coherent soft x-ray sources for applications in biomicroscopy and in chemical spectroscopy.
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
X-ray Imaging
Standing Waves in a Cavity

