The use of ion-focusing and a conditioned beam greatly enhances FEL gain in the VUV and Soft X-Ray range. The equations governing FEL amplification are derived and results of a linear analysis are noted. Numerical results, including 3D effects and having an order of magnitude improvement in gain, are presented for a 30 {Angstrom} example. 3 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

Performance (cost/kWe and efficiency) of generic Compact Fusion Advanced Rankine (CFARII) power conversion is investigated for various working fluids, operating temperatures and pressures, and thermal power levels. A general conclusion is that good CFARII performance is found for a remarkably broad range of materials, temperatures, pressures and power levels, which gives considerable flexibility to future design studies which may apply CFARII energy conversion to specific fusion energy sources such as ICF, MICF, and Mini-PACER. 5 refs, 7 figs., 2 tabs.

The scanning x-ray microscope (SXM) is a short-wavelength analog of a near-field optical-scanning microscope, promising spatial resolution of {approximately}100{angstrom} up to {approximately}5 keV x-ray energy. A portion of a synchrotron x-ray beam streams through an etched nuclear particle track in an opaque membrane and impinges on an object within the narrow stream. Scattered or transmitted x-rays are detected with a photon counter. The SXM is feasible because a useful number of synchrotron x-rays, even from a bend magnet, will stream through a small diameter pore. The properties and limitations of the SXM are discussed together with other submicroscopic applications of nuclear particle tracks. 14 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.