Phase-contrast x-ray imaging with intense ArKα radiation from femtosecond-laser-driven gas target

Intense Ar K alpha x ray with very little continuum background has been generated using a dense Ar gas irradiated with an intense femtosecond laser, with the measured flux of 1.2x10(3) photons/mrad(2)/pulse. This compact quasimonochromatic x-ray source, with a source size of only 12 mu m, has been applied to x-ray radiographic imaging of a biological specimen, resulting in high-resolution, high quality phase-contrast images. Correlation between this intense K alpha emission with the laser channeling in the Ar gas is discussed. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.