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 Å 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.