Optical switching of X-rays using laser-induced lattice expansion

The optical switching of X-rays has been demonstrated using the Bragg peak shift by laser-induced lattice expansion with a response time of a few hundred picoseconds. A single pulse was extracted from the synchrotron radiation pulse train using a double-crystal arrangement of GaAs, in which the two crystals were irradiated by way of two successive laser pulses with an appropriate time delay.