A new time and space resolved transmission spectrometer for research in inertial confinement fusion and radiation source development

We describe the design and function of a new time and space resolved x-ray spectrometer for use in Z-pinch inertial confinement fusion and radiation source development experiments. The spectrometer is designed to measure x-rays in the range of 0.5-1.5 angstrom (8-25 keV) with a spectral resolution lambda/Delta lambda similar to 400. The purpose of this spectrometer is to measure the time-and one-dimensional space-dependent electron temperature and density during stagnation. These relatively high photon energies are required to escape the dense plasma created at stagnation and to obtain sensitivity to electron temperatures greater than or similar to 3 keV. The spectrometer is of the Cauchois type, employing a large 30 x 36 mm(2), transmissive quartz optic for which a novel solid beryllium holder was designed. The performance of the crystal was verified using offline tests, and the integrated system was tested using experiments on the Z pulsed power accelerator. Published by AIP Publishing.