Monochromatic x-ray backlighting of wire-array z-pinch plasmas using spherically bent quartz crystals

Abstract

X-ray backlighting systems are being developed to diagnose z-pinch, inertial confinement fusion capsule, and complex hydrodynamics experiments on the 20 MA Sandia Z machine. The x-ray backlighter source is a laser-produced plasma created using the Z-Beamlet laser, a 2 TW, 2 kJ Nd:glass laser recently constructed at Sandia. As an alternative to point-projection radiography, we are investigating a different geometry [S. A. Pikuz et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68, 740 (1997)] that uses spherically bent crystal mirrors to simultaneously obtain high spatial resolution and a narrow spectral bandwidth. Backlighting systems using the Si Heα line (1.865 keV) and the Mn Heα line (6.15 keV) are discussed. These systems are capable of spatial resolutions in the 5–10 μm range, a field of view as large as 5 mm by 20 mm, and a spectral bandwidth comparable to the width of the emission line used for backlighting.