Silicon Detector System for X-Ray Pulse Calorimetry of Laser-Produced Plasmas*

Abstract

AbstractThe instrumentation for measuring x-ray yields from laser produced plasma is described. This new type of calorimeter is composed of a silicon detector, a charge-sensitive preamplifier and an analog-to-digital readout scheme for multiplexing up to ten detector outputs.X-rays interacting with the detector produce hole-electron pairs in proportion to the total energy lost in the detector (∼1012 eV). In this application the detector can be characterized as a solid-state ionization chamber. The detector signal is coupled to a charge-sensitive preamplifier which generates a voltage pulse proportional to the x-ray energy absorbed. In this way the x-ray energy is measured by “direct conversion” rather than measuring the temperature rise due to an energy flux.