We present a design concept and simulation of the performance of a compact x-ray, free electron laser driven by ultra-high gradient rf-linacs. The accelerator design is based on recent advances in high gradient technology by a LLNL/SLAC/LBL collaboration and on the development of bright, high current electron sources by BNL and LANL. The GeV electron beams generated with such accelerators can be concerted to soft x-rays in the range from 2--10 nm by passage through short period, high fields strength wigglers as are being designed at Rocketdyne. Linear light sources of this type can produce trains of picosecond (or shorter) pulses of extremely high spectral brilliance suitable for flash holography of biological specimens in vivo and for studies of fast chemical reactions. 12 refs., 8 figs., 4 tabs.

We have developed a radiation-to-coherent light converter (RCLC) with a monolithically integrated semiconductor chip that consists of a chromium-doped GaAs photoconductor detector modulates the laser diode, which has been biased above the lasing threshold, thus converting a radiation pulse to an electric pulse and then to a light pulse. The laser pulse is then transmitted to a fast recorder through a high-bandwidth optical fiber. In the absence of a single-step x-ray pumped laser, our converter appears to be the first integrated device that can efficiently convert x-ray flux into coherent light. This device has been tested successfully with the 50-ps electron beams of a 17-MeV linear accelerator and with 50-ns x-ray pulses from a Z-pinch plasma source. 2 refs., 9 figs.

Photoconductive x-ray detectors are becoming an important x-ray diagnostic as a result of their small size, fast response time, and high sensitivity. We are developing a discrete array of neutron- damaged GaAs detectors to be used in an imaging x-ray spectrometer, and we describe herein the techniques we use to fabricate and characterize them for an upcoming experiment. Using a 225-ps x-ray pulse from a laser-produced plasma, we measured the sensitivity and time response of the detectors to be 7.1 mA/W and on the order of 150 ps FWHM, respectively. The carrier mobility is 741 cm/sup 2//V/center dot/s at a bias of 2 /times/ 10/sup 4/V/cm. 6 figs.