Generation and selected applications of the EUV and SXR radiation, emitted from compact laser-plasma sources

Short wavelength radiation with a wavelength from 10 nm to 120 nm is called Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. Radiation with an even shorter wavelength, i.e. 0.1-10 nm, is called soft X-ray (SXR). EUV and SXR radiation is very strongly absorbed in matter, which allows obtaining high natural optical contrast in nanoimaging experiments with solid density, or in direct observation of the spatial distribution of gas density. In addition, it is absorbed in the surface, in a layer of about 100-500 nm, which allows the material to be modified in a very thin surface layer, without changing its properties in the entire volume, in experiments related to micro- and nano-machining of materials, or to study the properties of these materials in near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure, e.g. for determining chemical composition using NEXAFS spectroscopy or atomic structure using EXAFS. In addition, it allows the generation of large doses of absorbed radiation in radiobiological experiments, or allow for multilayer structure determination with nm accuracy. A very brief overview of such experiments will be presented.