Soft x-ray Ar laser excited by low-voltage capillary discharge.

We demonstrated the operation of a 46.9-nm capillary discharge Ar -laser excited by electrical pulses at a very low voltage (35 - 45 kV), which is approximately two times lower than previously reported. The decrease in pulse voltage not only allows for further reduction in the size of the laser's excitation part, but also a principal shift to the experimental methods, techniques, and technologies used in ordinary pulsed gas lasers operating in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions of the spectra.