X-ray framing camera for pulsed, high current, electron beam x-ray sources

Abstract

High power x-ray sources built for nuclear weapons effects testing are evolving toward larger overall diameters and smaller anode cathode gaps. We describe a framing camera developed to measure the time-evolution of these 20-50 ns pulsed x-ray sources produced by currents in the 1.5-2.5 MA range and endpoint voltages between 0.2 and 1.5 MV. The camera has up to 4 frames with 5 ns gate widths; the frames are separated by 5 ns. The image data are recorded electronically with a gated intensified CCD camera and the data are available immediately following a shot. A fast plastic scintillator (2.1 ns decay time) converts the x-rays to visible light and, for high sensitivity, a fiber optic imaging bundle carries the light to the CCD input. Examples of image data are shown.