Laser X - New X-Ray Technology

Up until recently, the power source required to generate the appropriate strength laser beam for this application would be so enormous that it has been impractical to couple the use of lasers with X-Rays. However, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder have developed a method to generate strong laser beams from a “table top” size power source, effectively making laser X-Ray technology a practical reality.

The research team used a laser beam to release atoms from argon, a highly stable chemical element. The resulting emission of X-Rays was too weak to be useful. The team then hurled the atoms back into the argon, causing a larger, more consistent stream of X-Rays of sufficient size to be useful to be emitted. This “boomerang” technique is now being manipulated to generate a highly regular, very strong source of X-Rays, coupled with laser beams.

The technique is not yet ready for application in the clinical setting. Further research is necessary to extend the technique into the hard X-Ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Once that task has been accomplished, the commercial laser X-Ray will follow.