Pulsed laser-plasma soft X-ray source as a compact tool for X-ray absorption spectroscopy of metal oxides

Laser-plasma short-wavelength source based on double-stream gas-puff target and emitting soft X-rays (SXR) is demonstrated as a compact tool suitable for X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of metal oxides. The source, optimized for emission in the spectral range between 1.5 and 5 nm from a krypton/helium target appears to be useful for the near edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS) close to the Ti L-edge and Mo M-edge, as well as the K-edge of oxygen. High photon flux from the source enabled the simultaneous acquisition of the reference and transmission spectra using a flat-field grating spectrometer. The measurements conducted in the transmission mode revealed the spectral features near the absorption edges (Ti-L-2,L-3 and Mo-M-5) in metal oxides.