A high-power laser-driven source of sub-nanosecond soft X-ray pulses for single-shot radiobiology experiments.
A large-scale, double-stream gas puff target has been illuminated by sub-kJ, near-infrared (NIR) focused laser pulses at the PALS facility (Prague Asterix Laser System) to produce high-energy pulses of soft X rays from hot, dense plasma. The double-puff arrangement ensures high gas density and conversion efficiency from NIR to X rays approaching that typical for solid targets. In addition, its major advantage over solid targets is that it is free of debris and has substantially suppressed charged-particle emission. The X-ray emission characteristics of the source were determined for a range of gases that included krypton, xenon, N(2), CO and N(2)-CO. A demonstrated application of the xenon-based source is a single-shot damage induction to plasmid DNA. The yields of single-strand breaks (SSBs) and double-strand breaks (DSBs) were determined as a function of energy fluence adjusted by varying distance of sample from the source and thickness of aluminum filters.
Davídková
Marie
M
Department of Radiation Dosimetry, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 180 86, Prague 8, Czech Republic. davidkova@ujf.cas.cz
Juha
Libor
L
Bittner
Michal
M
Koptyaev
Sergey
S
Hájková
Vera
V
Krása
Josef
J
Pfeifer
Miroslav
M
Stísová
Viktorie
V
Bartnik
Andrzej
A
Fiedorowicz
Henryk
H
Mikolajczyk
Janusz
J
Ryc
Leszek
L
Pína
Ladislav
L
Horváth
Martin
M
Babánková
Dagmar
D
Cihelka
Jaroslav
J
Civis
Svatopluk
S
D004249:DNA Damage / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007834:Lasers; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D010957:Plasmids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011853:Radiobiology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012106:Research / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012107:Research Design; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014965:X-Rays