title: Spot size characterization of focused non-Gaussian X-ray laser beams.
abstract: We present a new technique for the characterization of non-Gaussian laser beams which cannot be described by an analytical formula. As a generalization of the beam spot area we apply and refine the definition of so called effective area (A(eff)) [1] in order to avoid using the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) parameter which is inappropriate for non-Gaussian beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate a practical utilization of our technique for a femtosecond soft X-ray free-electron laser. The ablative imprints in poly(methyl methacrylate) - PMMA and amorphous carbon (a-C) are used to characterize the spatial beam profile and to determine the effective area. Two procedures of the effective area determination are presented in this work. An F-scan method, newly developed in this paper, appears to be a good candidate for the spatial beam diagnostics applicable to lasers of various kinds.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic. chal@fzu.cz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chalupský
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krzywinski
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Juha
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hájková
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cihelka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burian
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vysín
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gaudin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gleeson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jurek
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Khorsand
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klinger
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wabnitz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sobierajski
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Störmer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tiedtke
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Toleikis
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016011:Normal Distribution; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014965:X-Rays