<title>Development and characterization of a time-, position-, and energy-resolved x-ray diagnostic for PBFA II target experiments</title>

Abstract

A time-, position-and energy-resolved soft x-ray (100-500 eV) diagnostic is being developed for PBFA II target experiments. The diagnostic provides measurements of hydrodynamic motion and thermal gradients in light-ion fusion targets. A slit-image of the source is imprinted onto thin sheets (20l.tm) of organic scintillator to create a one-dimensional image. The scintillator light is then proximity-coupled to a linear array of fiber-optics that transports the light to a streak camera that is operated without an intensifier. The streak camera output is recorded on a charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera. We are characterizing the spatial and temporal resolutions of the systems. This is done by collecting data from as many as 90 individual fibers and correcting for variations in throughput and the effects of spatial resolution to roughly 5% standard deviation in their relative throughput. Spatial resolution of these systems at the source is approximately 0.4 mm. Timing resolution is nominally 2 ns and it is limited primarily by the scintillator response and dispersion in the 50-m-long fiber array. We describe the measurement techniques and the results of the characterization.

Performance comparison of streak camera recording systems

“…There is a wealth of information about the performance of MCP's. A few of the relevant papers are included in the references (4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

“…',~,~ There is a companion paper to this which includes more information on the motivation and specific usage of these cameras at the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II. 4 No tutorials have been found that simplify the coupling of the camera to a readout system or quantify and explain the tradeoffs for individual systems. In addition to this, each streak camera type has its own limitations with respect to sensitivity, photocathode length, resolution and dynamic range.…”