Characterization of an X-ray Source Generated by a Portable Low-Current X-Pinch

Abstract

An X-pinch scheme of a low-current generator (45 kA, 50 ns rise time) is characterized as a potential efficient source of soft X-rays. The X-pinch target consists of wires of 5 μm in diameter—made from either tungsten (W) or gold (Au)-plated W—loaded at two angles of 55° and 98° between the crossed wires. Time-resolved soft X-ray emission measurements are performed to provide a secure correlation with the optical probing results. A reconstruction of the actual photodiode current profile procedure was adopted, capable of overcoming the limits of the slow rising and falling times due to the “slow” response of the diodes and the noise. The pure and Au-plated W deliver an average X-ray yield, which depends only on the angle of the crossed wires, and is measured to be ~50 mJ and ~70 mJ for the 98° and 55° crossed wire angles, respectively. An additional experimental setup was developed to characterize the X-pinch as a source of X-rays with energy higher than ~6 keV, via time-integrated measurements. The X-ray emission spectrum was found to have an upper limit at 13 keV for the Au-plated W configuration at 55°. The portable tabletop X-pinch proved to be ideal for use in X-ray radiography applications, such as the detection of interior defects in biological samples.

Betatron Radiation and Bremsstrahlung in the Interaction of Intense Laser Pulse with Solid Target

“…As they collide with the target ions and atoms, the energetic electrons can generate bremsstrahlung as well as characteristic X-rays. Highenergy X-rays can easily pass through solid matter and are thus useful as a backlighter for diagnosing the content and structure of dense matter [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Bremsstrahlung from laser-target interactions are also of basic scientific interest.…”