Power scaling of the Xe(L) amplifier at λ ∼ 2.8 A into the petawatt regime

Single-pulse and time-integrated spectral measurements of the characteristics of the Xe(L) amplifier at λ ∼ 2.8 A indicate an efficiency of energy extraction of ∼30% over a bandwidth of ∼500 eV. These observations, together with data from prior studies, provide a basis for estimating a corresponding set of scaling limits for a laboratory sized ∼4.5 keV Xe(L) system. Specifically, they are a peak power Px ∼ 6.0 PW, an unfocused peak intensity Ix ∼ 3.4 x 1021 W cm-2, peak brightness figures corresponding to B ∼ 4.1 x 1034 photons s-1 mm-2 mrad-2 (0.1% bandwidth)-1 and Px/λ2 ∼ 7.6 x 1030 W cm-2 sr-1, and an x-ray pulse length τx ∼ 5-10 as.