• A.J. Nelson, R.W. Lee
  LLNL, Livermore, California
• J. Andreasson, J. Hajdu, N. Timneanu
  Uppsala University, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala
• S. Bajt, H. Chapman, R.R. Fäustlin, S. Toleikis
  DESY, Hamburg
• J. Chalupsky, V. Hajkova, L. Juha
  Czech Republic Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physics, Prague
• T. Dzelzainis, D. Riley
  Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• M. Fajardo
  GoLP, Lisbon
• M. Jurek, R. Sobierajski
  IP PAS, Warsaw
• A.R. Khorsand
  FOM Rijnhuizen, Nieuwegein
• J. Krzywinski
  SLAC, Menlo Park, California
• B. Nagler
  STFC/RAL, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon
• K. Saksl
  IMR SAS, Kosice
• T. Tschentscher
  European X-ray Free Electron Laser Project Team, c/o DESY, Hamburg
• S.M. Vinko, J.S. Wark, T.J. Whitcher
  University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford

We have focused a beam (BL3) of FLASH (Free-electron LASer in Hamburg: 13.5 nm, 15fs, 10μJ, 5Hz) using a fine polished off-axis parabola having a focal length of 270 mm and coated with a Mo/Si-ML giving a reflectivity of 67% at 13.5 nm. The OAP was mounted and aligned with a picomotor control six-axis gimbel. Beam imprints on PMMA were used to measure focus and the focused beam was used to create isochoric heating of various slab targets. Results show the focal spot has a diameter of <1μm producing intensities greater than 10¹⁶ Wcm⁻². Observations were correlated with simulations of best focus to provide further relevant information. This focused XUV laser beam now allows us to begin exploring matter under extreme conditions. Future experimental efforts at ’4th generation’ light sources will be outlined.

Slides