Soft x-ray amplification in lithium-like Al XI (154 /angstrom/) and Si XII (129 /angstrom/)

Recent experiments on soft x-ray amplification in lithium-like ions in a CO/sub 2/ laser-produced recombining plasma confined in a magnetic field are presented. The maximum gain-length products observed are GL approx. = 3 to 4 for the 154 /angstrom/, 4f-3d transition in Al XI and GL (approxreverse arrowequal/ 1 to 2 for the 129 /angstrom/, 4f-3d transition in Si XII, respectively. A one-dimensional hydrodynamic code with a collisional-radiative atomic model was used to model the plasma and the theoretical predictions of gain agree well with the observations. Descriptions of both hydrodynamic and atomic physics code are given. 36 refs., 10 figs