Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Laser science

Even harder X-rays

Nature volume 481, pages 452–453 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

With the laser just over half a century old, another dream of the pioneers of this light source has been fulfilled. An atomic X-ray laser with unprecedentedly high photon energy has been demonstrated. See Letter p.488

Writing in this issue, Rohringer et al.1 report the first demonstration of atomic X-ray lasing at a photon energy of 849 electronvolts. The X-ray laser emission in this case is based on atomic population inversion, which arises when more members of an ensemble of atoms exist in a higher-energy state than in lower-energy states. Rohringer and colleagues created population inversion in a sample of neon gas using a device known as an X-ray free-electron laser, operating at 960 eV. Although its photon energy falls in the 'soft' X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the authors' X-ray source paves the way to making practical atomic lasers in the 'hard' X-ray regime (energies beyond 5 keV).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Atomic X-ray lasing.

References

  1. Rohringer, N. et al. Nature 481, 488–491 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Emma, P. et al. Nature Photon. 4, 641–647 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Marangos, J. P. Contemp. Phys. 52, 551–569 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Young, L. et al. Nature 466, 56–61 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Chapman, H. N. et al. Nature 470, 73–77 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Seibert, M. M. et al. Nature 470, 78–81 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Elton, R. C. X-ray Lasers (Academic, 1990).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Ritson, D. M. Nature 328, 487–490 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jon Marangos is in the Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.,

    Jon Marangos

Authors
  1. Jon Marangos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jon Marangos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Marangos, J. Even harder X-rays. Nature 481, 452–453 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/481452a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/481452a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing