Application Notes
Soft X-ray Monochromators
Soft x-rays span the region between x-ray and UV and include energies from approximately 10 to 100 Å (0.12–1.2 keV)—a range that is particularly interesting for x-ray spectroscopy. While important applications include x-ray astronomy and metrology of high-energy plasmas, soft x-rays also have a potential use in next-generation surface inspection and material characterization tools. In these applications, the critical optical element is a high-quality crystal with suitable interplanar spacing to permit diffraction and focusing of soft x-rays. Inrad Optics offers several crystals that are suitable for these applications.
Custom Crystals for Doubling Ultrafast Ti:Sapphire Pulses
In the years since their first demonstration at MIT Lincoln Labs in 1982, mode-locked Ti:Sapphire oscillators have become almost ubiquitous. The ultrashort, tunable output pulses from these lasers permit investigation of previously extremely difficult to study phenomena. Typical output from these lasers ranges from red to near infrared, yet for many applications which require high peak powers and ultrashort pulses, shorter wavelengths are desirable. Harmonic generation using nonlinear optical crystals has become one of the most popular methods of reaching these wavelengths.