X-ray and electron generation in the relativistic lambda-cubed regime

Over the last two decades, laser-plasma interactions at relativistic intensities have been carried out using large laser facilities producing at least several hundred millijoule pulses at a repetition rate of 10 Hz or lower. A less explored regime is when intensities in excess of 1018 W/cm2 are attained by focusing millijoule-level femtosecond pulses to a spot with a diameter comparable to the laser wavelength. This so-called relativistic lambda3 regime allows the study of certain laser-plasma experiments at kilohertz repetition rate. The present dissertation contributes to the understanding of the x-ray source and hot electrons produced in this regime.; The micron-sized lambda3 focus engenders a comparably sized x-ray source that could be attractive for high resolution x-ray imaging applications. With this in mind, the source size is measured for various target materials using the knife-edge technique. Furthermore, the source spatial coherence properties are investigated by analyzing the diffraction pattern off a straight edge.; Also investigated are the spatial and energy distributions of hot electrons escaping the plasma. In the case of an Al plasma, the electrons have a Maxwellian-like energy distribution with a temperature that scales with (I lambda 2)0.6 in the 1017--2 x 10 18 W/cm2 intensity range. On the other hand, in the case of an SiO2 plasma with lambda/2 scale-length, the electrons are emitted in a collimated relativistic jet having a non-Maxwellian distribution with ⟨E⟩ = 675 keV. This is the first demonstration of laser-generated relativistic electron beams at kilohertz repetition rate.; Additionally, this dissertation reports on two pioneering demonstrations in a related but fundamentally different regime, that of high-average power fiber lasers. In the first experiment, Ni Kalpha x-rays are produced using a fiber CPA system at the intensity of 2 x 1018 W/cm 2, the highest reported to date from a fiber system. The conversion efficiency into the Kalpha photons is comparable to those obtained from Ti:sapphire lasers with similar pulse-energy.; In another experiment, extreme UV radiation is generated from a bulk Sn target using a nanosecond fiber laser. This result has confirmed that fiber lasers are a potential contender to drive the source of the next generation EUV lithography instrument.