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Build-up of the Spatial Coherence in a Discharge Pumped Table-top Soft X-ray Laser

M.C. Marconi, J.L.A. Chilla, C.H. Moreno, B.R. Benware, and J.J. Rocca, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, Colo.

The rapid development of soft X-ray lasers opens the possibility for the widespread use of very intense table-top sources of soft X-ray coherent radiation. Good spatial coherence will be essential in realizing the full potential of these new lasers in nonlinear optics, holography, and interferometry. We have observed, for the first time, a monotonic improvement of the spatial coherence with amplifier length in a soft X-ray laser.