X-ray emission from laser-produced plasmas

The interaction of intense laser light with matter is now widely recognised as the most versatile and promising way of generating intense pulsed X-ray radiation. The scale of presently available laser systems required to set up a powerful X-ray source in a small-size laboratory, has made it possible to conceive and develop a wide range of multidisciplinary applications. Further, the fast development of powerful lasers towards higher efficiency and compact designs is giving a strong impulse to the implementation of LPP X-ray sources in advanced industrial applications. On the other hand, an intense activity is being devoted to this field by many laboratories world-wide within internationally coordinated programmes. These joint initiatives are continuously producing important scientific results. Hard X-ray emission and high-order harmonics from fs interactions are only examples of recent achievements of laser-matter interaction studies which represent a breakthrough in the field of X-ray generation.