X-rays and Plasmas
Marta Fajardo
DR. MARTA FAJARDO
I am Auxiliary Professor at the Physics Department of Instituto Superior Técnico. I was previously FCT Princial Investigator at the Group for Lasers and Plasmas at IPFN. My team studies novel X-ray sources, from plasma X-ray lasers to High Harmonic Generation and X-ray Free Electron Lasers. With the peak brightness currently acheived, we can take pictures of ultrafast processes in a single shot with unprecedented resolution, and even create solid density plasmas with X-rays.
COST Action MP1203
Advanced X-ray Spatial and Temporal Metrology
Horizon2020 FET RIA
VOXEL: VOlumetric X-rays at Extremely Low-dose
MAIN PROJECTS
FCT Investigator
High Energy Density Plasmas
MY RESEARCH
New to X-rays?
Learn how we can use X-rays nowadays to reveal the ultra-fast and the ultra-small.
New sources of X-rays go beyond the X-ray tube at the dentist. Coherent X-rays such as X-ray lasers now allow novel imaging techniques. Watch the video from our COST Action MP1203 for a sample of the new possibilities.
X-ray Free Electron Lasers
Yes, lasers are now also shining at X-ray wavelengths. Facilities such as FLASH and LCLS (pictured above at the Matter in Extreme Conditions station) are new generation X-ray sources, so bright that, once focused, they can vaporize solids and turn them into Warm Dense Matter, as found in the core of giant planets.
Coherent X-ray sources
Pulsed lasers can be focused in gases to generate high order harmonics, or multiples of the fundamental laser frequency. When a soft X-ray spectrometer is used, a comb of frequencies such as above is revealed. High Harmonic Generation preserves the coherence of the laser, with a shorter pulse duration. Even X-ray polarization can be manipulated.
Imaging with X-rays
With the new, ultra-bright sources, new imaging techniques become possible. Thanks to the very small wavelength, the resolution limit can be as small as the Ã… range. We are working toward getting the best possible resolution in the shortest possible time, and even in a single, few femtosecond-long shot of X-rays.