Laser interaction with low-density carbon foam

Experiments were performed with a 15 J/500 ps Nd:glass laser (λ = 1064 nm) focussed to an intensity >10¹⁴ W/cm². X-ray emissions from carbon foam and 5% Pt-doped carbon foam of density 150–300 mg/cc were compared with that of the solid carbon targets. The thickness of the carbon foam was 15 µm on a graphite substrate. X-ray emission was measured using semiconductor X-ray diodes covered with various filters having transmissions in different X-ray spectral ranges. It covered X-ray spectrum of 0.8–8.5 keV range. The X-ray emission in the soft X-ray region was observed to increase to about 1.8 times and 2.3 times in carbon foam and Pt-doped foam, respectively with respect to solid carbon. In hard X-rays, there was no measurable difference amongst the carbon foam, Pt-doped carbon foam and solid carbon. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis demonstrates that foam targets smoothens the crater formed by the laser irradiation.     

Design and performance of a 2-D multi-wire position sensitive X-ray detector

A 2-D multi-wire position sensitive detector for X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering studies is described. The detector has an active area of 100 mm × 100 mm and consists of an anode plane with 10 μm SS wires at 3 mm spacing and a pair of orthogonal cathode readout planes with 25 μm SS wires placed at 1.5 mm spacing. The position information is obtained using charge division method and recorded using a laboratory built data acquisition system. The resolution and gas gain was measured for 5.9 keV X-rays (⁵⁵Fe-source) as a function of the anode wire voltage and gas pressure. It was observed that the proportional region of the PSD at 100 kPa pressure extended up to a high voltage value of around 1.5 kV and it shifted to high values up to 2 kV for gas pressure of 300 kPa. The energy resolution improved from 18% (FWHM) to 12% with increase in pressure. The spatial resolution of the PSD also showed improvement, with a value of 1.2 mm × 1.4 mm at 300 kPa gas pressure. A maximum gain of 5 × 10⁴ is obtained.     

Detective quantum efficiency,modulation transfer function and energy resolution comparison between CdTe and silicon sensors bump‐bonded to XPAD3S

XPAD3S is a single‐photon‐counting chip developed in collaboration by SOLEIL Synchrotron, the Institut Louis Néel and the Centre de Physique de Particules de Marseille. The circuit, designed in the 0.25 µm IBM technology, contains 9600 square pixels with 130 µm side giving a total size of 1 cm × 1.5 cm. The main features of each pixel are: single threshold adjustable from 4.5 keV up to 35 keV, 2 ms frame rate, 10⁷ photons s^?1 mm^?2 maximum local count rate, and a 12‐bit internal counter with overflow allowing a full 27‐bit dynamic range to be reached. The XPAD3S was hybridized using the flip‐chip technology with both a 500 µm silicon sensor and a 700 µm CdTe sensor with Schottky contacts. Imaging performances of both detectors were evaluated using X‐rays from 6 keV up to 35 keV. The detective quantum efficiency at zero line‐pairs mm^?1 for a silicon sensor follows the absorption law whereas for CdTe a strong deficit at low photon energy, produced by an inefficient entrance layer, is measured. The modulation transfer function was evaluated and it was shown that both detectors present an ideal modulation transfer function at 26 keV, limited only by the pixel size. The influence of the Cd and Te K‐edges of the CdTe sensor was measured and simulated, establishing that fluorescence photons reduce the contrast transfer at the Nyquist frequency from 60% to 40% which remains acceptable. The energy resolution was evaluated at 6% with silicon using 16 keV X‐rays, and 8% with CdTe using 35 keV X‐rays. A 7 cm × 12 cm XPAD3 imager, built with eight silicon modules (seven circuits per module) tiled together, was successfully used for X‐ray diffraction experiments. A first result recently obtained with a new 2 cm × 3 cm CdTe imager is also presented.     

“阳”加速器钛丝X箍缩光源辐射特性实验研究

为了利用X箍缩产生的点光源作为背光光源对丝阵Z箍缩内爆早期的负 载内部结构进行背光照相, 在"阳"加速器(电流峰值为500-800 kA, 上升时间约80 ns)上开展了钛丝(丝交叉角度为60°) X箍缩光源辐射特性的初步实验研究. 通过X射线二极管探测器、透射光栅谱仪、晶体谱仪和狭缝相机等诊断设备获取了箍缩点光源的辐射功率达到1.5 GW左右, 辐射能量约为1 J, 光子能量为keV量级的辐射能谱范围主要集中在1-4 keV能段, 点光源尺寸小于15 μm, 其时间尺度(辐射脉冲半高宽)达到了200 ps. 对光源特征信息进行了初步分析, 同时掌握了有效获取钛丝X箍缩单脉冲点光源的方法.     

“阳”加速器钼丝X-pinch初步实验研究

 在“阳”加速器上进行了直径分别为10, 15, 20 μm, 交叉角为32°,45°,60°的钼（Mo）丝X-pinch实验。“阳”加速器产生的电流峰值约520 kA，上升时间80 ns。实验中通过X射线功率谱仪和纳秒分幅相机等仪器对Mo丝X-pinch辐射特性进行了诊断。实验表明：Mo丝X-pinch过程中会出现多次X射线爆发，箍缩过程中产生的热点辐射出能量超过3 keV的X射线，探测到的最小热点直径小于30 μm。     

神光Ⅱ升级装置X光针孔相机研制

针孔相机是激光焦斑及打靶瞄准精度监测的主要工具。针对神光Ⅱ升级装置开展针孔相机的研制工作。通过各项参数和结构的优化设计,完成神光Ⅱ升级装置针孔相机诊断系统的设计、研制和集成调试,并进行性能测试实验。结果表明:针孔相机探测能区到达1.0～5.5 keV,空间分辨力优于20 m,放大倍率5.13～9.99。针孔相机可用于神光Ⅱ升级装置开展激光焦斑及打靶瞄准精度监测工作。     

A dedicated small‐angle X‐ray scattering beamline with a superconducting wiggler source at the NSRRC

At the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), which operates a 1.5 GeV storage ring, a dedicated small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) beamline has been installed with an in‐achromat superconducting wiggler insertion device of peak magnetic field 3.1 T. The vertical beam divergence from the X‐ray source is reduced significantly by a collimating mirror. Subsequently the beam is selectively monochromated by a double Si(111) crystal monochromator with high energy resolution (ΔE/E? 2 × 10^?4) in the energy range 5–23 keV, or by a double Mo/B₄C multilayer monochromator for 10–30 times higher flux (～10¹¹ photons s^?1) in the 6–15 keV range. These two monochromators are incorporated into one rotating cradle for fast exchange. The monochromated beam is focused by a toroidal mirror with 1:1 focusing for a small beam divergence and a beam size of ～0.9 mm × 0.3 mm (horizontal × vertical) at the focus point located 26.5 m from the radiation source. A plane mirror installed after the toroidal mirror is selectively used to deflect the beam downwards for grazing‐incidence SAXS (GISAXS) from liquid surfaces. Two online beam‐position monitors separated by 8 m provide an efficient feedback control for an overall beam‐position stability in the 10 µm range. The beam features measured, including the flux density, energy resolution, size and divergence, are consistent with those calculated using the ray‐tracing program SHADOW. With the deflectable beam of relatively high energy resolution and high flux, the new beamline meets the requirements for a wide range of SAXS applications, including anomalous SAXS for multiphase nanoparticles (e.g. semiconductor core‐shell quantum dots) and GISAXS from liquid surfaces.     

Study of the X-ray emission from Ta plasma obtained by ns laser ablation

In this work, the continuum spectrum of X-rays originated from the interaction of a moderate intensity ns Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 9 ns, 30 Hz, 900 mJ, 10¹¹ W/cm²) with Ta target producing plasma is investigated. Plasma expands unisotropically with a velocity, depending on the pressure of the residual gas in the vacuum chamber. The X-ray intensity is a function of the laser energy and of the gas pressure inside the chamber. The X-ray energy is measured with an X-ray filter positioned in front of the Si(Li) solid-state detector. A temperature of about ～1–2 keV of the hot electrons, responsible for the continuum spectrum emission from the plasma, is calculated from the fit of the X-ray spectrum, applying a Maxwellian distribution.     

Ultra‐thin optical grade scCVD diamond as X‐ray beam position monitor

Results of measurements made at the SIRIUS beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron for a new X‐ray beam position monitor based on a super‐thin single crystal of diamond grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are presented. This detector is a quadrant electrode design processed on a 3 µm‐thick membrane obtained by argon–oxygen plasma etching the central area of a CVD‐grown diamond plate of 60 µm thickness. The membrane transmits more than 50% of the incident 1.3 keV energy X‐ray beam. The diamond plate was of moderate purity (～1 p.p.m. nitrogen), but the X‐ray beam induced current (XBIC) measurements nevertheless showed a photo‐charge collection efficiency approaching 100% for an electric field of 2 V µm^?1, corresponding to an applied bias voltage of only 6 V. XBIC mapping of the membrane showed an inhomogeneity of more than 10% across the membrane, corresponding to the measured variation in the thickness of the diamond plate before the plasma etching process. The measured XBIC signal‐to‐dark‐current ratio of the device was greater than 10⁵, and the X‐ray beam position resolution of the device was better than a micrometer for a 1 kHz sampling rate.     

辐射加热腔诊断孔堵口特性实验研究

研究辐射加热腔诊断孔堵口现象。实验采用波长为１．０５３μｍ、能量为３００－４００Ｊ、脉宽为－８００ｐｓ的高斯型激光脉冲，双束对打具有双源区的腔靶。在激光入射口及内腔口服两台亚千电子伏特Ｘ射线能谱仪监测源区与内爆区发射的Ｘ光谱。定性分析和讨论了堵口现象。     

Kirkpatrick–Baez mirrors to focus hard X‐rays in two dimensions as fabricated,tested and installed at the Advanced Photon Source

The micro‐focusing performance for hard X‐rays of a fixed‐geometry elliptical Kirkpatrick–Baez (K–B) mirrors assembly fabricated, tested and finally implemented at the micro‐probe beamline 8‐BM of the Advanced Photon Source is reported. Testing of the K–B mirror system was performed at the optics and detector test beamline 1‐BM. K–B mirrors of length 80 mm and 60 mm were fabricated by profile coating with Pt metal to produce focal lengths of 250 mm and 155 mm for 3 mrad incident angle. For the critical angle of Pt, a broad bandwidth of energies up to 20 keV applies. The classical K–B sequential mirror geometry was used, and mirrors were mounted on micro‐translation stages. The beam intensity profiles were measured by differentiating the curves of intensity data measured using a wire‐scanning method. A beam size of 1.3 µm (V) and 1.2 µm (H) was measured with monochromatic X‐rays of 18 keV at 1‐BM. After installation at 8‐BM the measured focus met the design requirements. In this paper the fabrication and metrology of the K–B mirrors are reported, as well as the focusing performances of the full mirrors‐plus‐mount set‐up at both beamlines.     

Multi-spike structure of ion pulses generated by plasma focus discharges

Space- and time-resolved studies of high-energy (> 50 keV) deuteron beams emitted from 3 different Mather-type plasma focus facilities of energy capacity ranging from about 10 kJ to above 200 kJ are presented. In deuteron beams space-resolved with a pinhole camera a spike structure is observed. In quasi-monoenergetic, e.g. 305±20 keV deuterons chosen from a Thomson-spectrograph image there appear up to 3 separate pulses of 8–10 ns FWHM, separated by 30–40 ns intervals. Some pulses demonstrate a fine spike structure with FWHM < 2 ns.     

Measurements of X-ray absorption spectra by the prism spectroscopy method

X-ray absorption spectra of a number of samples were measured in the range 5–30 keV by the prism spectrophotometry method. The spectral decomposition was performed using an optically polished diamond prism with an opening angle of 90°. The absorption spectra of liquid bromonaphthalene are presented as an example. An energy resolution of 100–130 eV was achieved in the energy range of ～10 keV, providing the unambiguous identification of elements by jumps in the K photoabsorption.     

激光加热碳、金平面靶等离子体膨胀过程

利用软X射线条纹相机与针孔成象装置相结合,测得了碳、金平面靶靶面X射线时、空分辨图象,从而推算出靶面等离子体膨胀平均速度分别为(碳):5.11×10⁷cm/s,(金):6.13×10⁷cm/s。实验用1.06μm的钕玻璃激光轰击靶面,X射线能谱范围为0.1—10keV。测量在激光功率密度≈10¹⁴W/cm²的情况下进行。 关键词：     

A desktop X‐ray monochromator for synchrotron radiation based on refraction in mosaic prism lenses

Focusing planar refractive mosaic lenses based on triangular prism microstructures have been used as an alternative approach for wide‐bandpass monochromatization of high‐energy X‐rays. The strong energy dependence of the refractive index of the lens material leads to an analogous energy dependence of the focal length of the lens. The refractive mosaic lens, in comparison with the refractive lens of continuous parabolic profile, is characterized by a higher aperture because of reduced passive material. In combination with a well defined pinhole aperture in the focal plane, the transmittance of photons of an appropriate energy can be relatively high and photons of deviating energy can be efficiently suppressed. The photon energy can be tuned by translating the pinhole along the optical axis, and the bandwidth changed by selecting appropriate pinhole aperture and beam stop. This method of monochromatization was realised at the ANKA FLUO beamline using a mosaic lens together with a 20 µm pinhole and beam stop. An energy resolution of 2.0% at 16 keV has been achieved.     

High X-ray conversion efficiency with target irradiation by a frequency tripled Nd : Glass laser

High conversion efficiency of laser energy into X-rays from a laser irradiated target is of great interest for a variety of dynamical (pulsed) studies, e.g.: radiography of laser-imploded targets, structure determination by diffraction and absorption fine-structure, and X-ray laser pumping. We report here on a frequency tripled Nd : glass laser used to irradiate targets of various materials at ～5 x 10¹⁴W/cm². We find conversion efficiencies of between 1% and 0.1% (with respect to the incident laser energy) for individual X-ray lines between 1.8 and 7.8 keV. These efficiencies are more than an order of magnitude higher than whose achieved with 1.06 μm lasers.     

Absolute measurement of photon flux using ionization chamber in (6~20) keV synchrotron radiation X-rays

Absolute measurement of photon flux under high-fluence rate X-rays was required in photon diagnostics for X-ray lasers. A free-air ionization chamber used for the reproducibility of air-kerma in high-fluence rate X-ray was designed, and the monoenergetic X-rays flux of (6–20) keV were absolutely measured on Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The energy spectrum of the monoenergetic X-rays was measured using a silicon drift detector, and the proportion of higher harmonics was determined. The saturation curve, air attenuation correction factor, and composite loss correction factor of the free-air ionization chamber were obtained experimentally. The air-kerma rate for the (6~20) keV monoenergetic X-ray was measured accurately, and the relative combined standard uncertainty of the air-kerma is 0.61%.     

基于平面孔靶对本底X光及激光挂边的研究

在神光-Ⅲ和神光-Ⅲ原型装置上基于平面孔靶研究了激光挂边及本底X光发射情况。能量卡计直接测量激光挂边份额;X光针孔相机给出本底X光发射的空间图像;平响应X光探测器测量本底X光的强度。实验结果表明:在神光-Ⅲ原型上800 m注入孔时,针孔图像中本底X光计数与黑腔漏失辐射流计数的比值约为1.2%;在神光-Ⅲ上1000 m注入孔时,平响应X光探测器测得的本底X光干扰的峰值约为2.7%,能量卡计测得的激光挂边份额约为2.6%。此外,根据神光-Ⅲ的实验参数模拟计算了激光挂边份额和本底X光的干扰。与实验结果的对比说明了该模型的正确性,可以用该模型评估激光挂边及本底X光发射情况,同时可以用该模型指导注入孔尺寸的选择。     

Time-resolved photography of X-ray emission from CO2 laser generated plasma

The construction and use of an X-ray pinhole camera with a nanosecond shutter is described. Photographs of X-ray emission from plasma generated by a CO₂ laser (at incident intensities of ? 10¹³ W cm^?2) were recorded with time and space resolution of 6 ns and ～ 20 μm respectively, and the structure of localised X-ray emission regions was measured. These observations are related to contemporary theories of non-linear laser-plasma interactions.     

微型X射线管出射谱特征研究及Be窗厚度确定

微型X射线管已广泛应用于现场元素分析、放射性医疗等领域,对于微型X射线管铍窗,普遍认为除保证管内真空外,应越薄越好。采用蒙特卡洛方法,模拟了从50～500 μm范围内共13个Be窗厚度的微型X射线管出射X射线谱。按照在应用中的作用,将出射X射线划分为不同能量段进行分析。通过分析谱线特征,发现Be窗厚度应依据其应用要求合理选择。因此,提出了K系特征X射线与轫致辐射强度的比值和低能射线与激发射线计数比值等参量作为评价Be窗厚度最优化的判断依据。除上述评判指标外,铍窗的厚度最优化选择还应考虑Be窗对不同能量X射线的屏蔽效果。依据模拟结果分析,原位(现场)X射线能量色散荧光分析应用中,Be窗厚度约250 μm的微型X射线管最为合适。与50 μm铍窗厚度出射射线相比,71.66%低能原级X射线被屏蔽,5~50 keV能量原级X射线仅有21.31%被屏蔽,低能射线强度占总X射线比值小于10%,且K系X射线占激发射线的比例仍保持较高的水平。因此,采用250 μm铍窗厚度的微型X射线管作为能量色散激发源,能保证探测器探测的有效信号比值较高,低能X射线对探测器的能量分辨率的影响最小,而且能量色散分析谱线的散射本底相对强度处于较低的水平,从而保证元素分析结果精准度。对于放射性治疗的应用中,则铍窗厚度越薄越好,此时,低能X射线具有较高的通量,能保证辐射剂量在治疗组织中剂量的集中。