Recent progress on spectral data for X-ray lasers at the National Bureau of Standards

The Atomic Spectroscopy Group at the National Bureau of Standards is using low-inductance sparks, laser-produced plasmas, and tokamaks to observe spectra that are important for the development of X-ray lasers. Attention is given to recent results on Ne-like ions and ions in neighboring isoelectronic sequences, Ni-like ions and ions in neighboring isoelectronic sequences, and the spectra of rare-gas ions. In addition to contributing to a knowledge of the energy levels and transitions of possible lasing media, the data provide reference lines for wavelength calibration of X-ray laser experiments and reference data for testing theoretical methods used for predicting the properties of lasing ions