Exploring the matter of extremes at the Linac Coherent Light source*

A new technique using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), an x-ray free electron laser source, was developed at Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) endstation to study wide range of extreme conditions in phase space. The LCLS has $\ge $3 mJ per 60 fs pulse enabling an intensity x-ray beam between 4 keV -9.5 keV to be focused onto a small spot $\sim$ 2 micron at MEC. Short pulse optical laser system with 40fs, 150mJ, 10Hz at 800nm and long pulse optical laser system with variable pulse duration of 2-200ns, \textless 50 J, 1 shot/7 min at 527nm serve to create high energy density state or shock compression state. MEC instrument is equipped with a suite of target diagnostics like as emission spectrometers, scattering spectrometers, area detectors for x-ray diffraction, VISAR, and FDI. We present capabilities of the MEC instrument and give an overview of several experiments which are performed at MEC.