An Elliptical Crystal Spectrometer for the Study of Localized X-ray Absorption in Hot Plasmas
Adam Cahill, Cornell University
X-ray absorption spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the diagnosis of plasmas over a wide range of both temperature and density. However, such a measurement is often limited to probing plasmas with temperatures well below that of the X-ray source in order to avoid the appearance of object plasma emission lines in the recorded spectrum. This has excluded many plasmas from being investigated by this technique. We have developed an X-ray spectrometer that provides the ability to record absorption spectra from hot plasmas without the risk of data contamination by line radiation emitted by the plasma under study. We present here the foundational work in the design of this spectrometer along with recent results obtained from an aluminum x-pinch plasma.
Abstract Author(s): Adam D. Cahill, Cad L. Hoyt, Sergei A. Pikuz, Tania Shelkovenko, David A. Hammer