Lawrence T. Hudson

A curved crystal spectrometer for energy calibration and spectral characterization of mammographic x‐ray sources

Clinical efficacy of diagnostic radiology for mammographic examinations is critically dependent on source characteristics, detection efficiency, image resolution and applied high voltage. In this report we focus on means for evaluation of source-dependent issues including noninvasive determination of the applied high voltage, and characterization of intrinsic spectral distributions which in turn reflect the effects of added filtration and target and window contamination. It is shown that a particular form of x-ray curved crystal spectrometry with electronic imaging can serve to determine all relevant parameters within the confines of a standard clinical exposure.

Enhanced x-ray resolving power achieved behind the focal circles of Cauchois spectrometers

Maintaining high resolving power is a primary challenge in hard x-ray spectroscopy of newly developed bright and transient x-ray sources such as laser-produced plasmas. To address this challenge, the line widths in x-ray spectra with energies in the 17 keV to 70 keV range were recorded by positioning the detectors on and behind the focal circles of Cauchois type transmission-crystal spectrometers. To analyze and understand the observed line widths, we developed a geometrical model that accounts for source broadening and various instrumental broadening mechanisms. The x-ray sources were laboratory Mo or W electron-bombarded anodes, and the spectra were recorded on photostimulable phosphor image plates. For these relatively small x-ray sources, it was found that when the detector was placed on or near the focal circle, the line widths were dominated by the effective spatial resolution of the detector. When the detector was positioned beyond the focal circle, the line widths were determined primarily by source-size broadening. Moreover, the separation between the spectral lines increased with distance behind the focal circle faster than the line widths, resulting in increased resolving power with distance. Contributions to line broadenings caused by the crystal thickness, crystal rocking curve width, geometrical aberrations, and natural widths of the x-ray transitions were in all cases smaller than detector and source broadening, but were significant for some spectrometer geometries. The various contributions to the line widths, calculated using simple analytical expressions, were in good agreement with the measured line widths for a variety of spectrometer and source conditions. These modeling and experimental results enable the design of hard x-ray spectrometers that are optimized for high resolving power and for the measurement of the x-ray source size from the line widths recorded behind the focal circle.

Overview of the electron beam ion trap program at NIST

This paper surveys the ongoing physics experiments at the Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) facility at NIST, with particular attention paid to the underlying physical principles involved. In addition, some new data on the performance of our EBIT are presented, including results related to the determination of the trap width, ion temperature, and number of highly charged ions in the trap.

A high-energy x-ray spectrometer diagnostic for the OMEGA laser

A new x-ray diagnostic has been commissioned at the OMEGA laser facility at the University of Rochester. It is a transmission curved crystal spectrometer designed primarily to characterize the hot-electron energy distribution of laser generated plasmas by registering the continuum x-ray spectrum produced by these hot plasmas from 12 to 60 keV. The diagnostic package is assembled in a linear configuration to ride in a standard instrument insertion module. The instrument consists of a nosecone with a blast shield, spectrometer, electronic imager, drive electronics, and battery. The instrument is connected to the external diagnostic processor and control unit by trigger and data fiber optic cables. Time integrated spectra from various targets have been registered with high sensitivity from single shots of the OMEGA laser.

Hard X-Ray Emission From Laser-Produced Plasmas of U and Pb Recorded by a Transmission Crystal Spectrometer

Abstract Hard X-ray spectra from laser-produced plasmas were recorded by a transmission crystal survey spectrometer covering the 12– 60 keV energy range with a resolving power of E/ΔE≅100. This emission is of interest for the development of hard X-ray backlighters and hot electron diagnostics. Foils of U and Pb were irradiated at the OMEGA laser facility by 24 beams (12 on each side), each with an energy of ≅500 J , a pulse duration of 1 ns , and no beam smoothing. The beams were focused to a 50 μm diameter spot on the target plane. The spectra typically exhibit a few intense and relatively narrow features in the 12– 22 keV energy range. Initial analysis suggests that these hard X-ray features are inner-shell transitions resulting from L-shell vacancies created by energetic electrons. The observed transition energies are slightly higher than the neutral-atom characteristic X-ray energies. Calculations suggest that the transitions are in the Ni-like or lower ionization stages. The analysis further indicates that opacity effects play an important role in producing the spectra.

X-ray modulation transfer functions of photostimulable phosphor image plates and scanners

The modulation transfer functions of two types of photostimulable phosphor image plates were determined in the 10 keV to 50 keV x-ray energy range using a resolution test pattern with up to 10 line pairs per mm (LP/mm) and a wavelength dispersive x-ray spectrometer. Techniques were developed for correcting for the partial transmittance of the high energy x rays through the lead bars of the resolution test pattern, and the modulation transfer function (MTF) was determined from the measured change in contrast with LP/mm values. The MTF was convolved with the slit function of the image plate scanner, and the resulting point spread functions (PSFs) were in good agreement with the observed shapes and widths of x-ray spectral lines and with the PSF derived from edge spread functions. The shapes and the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) values of the PSF curves of the Fuji Superior Resolution (SR) and Fuji Maximum Sensitivity (MS) image plate detectors, consisting of the image plate and the scanner, determined by the three methods gave consistent results: The SR PSF is Gaussian with 0.13 mm FWHM, and the MS PSF is Lorentzian with 0.19 mm FWHM. These techniques result in the accurate determination of the spatial resolution achievable using image plate and scanner combinations and enable the optimization of spatial resolution for x-ray spectroscopy and radiography.

Flat and curved crystal spectrography for mammographic X-ray sources

The demand for improved spectral understanding of mammographic X-ray sources and non-invasive voltage calibration of such sources has led to research into applications using curved crystal spectroscopy. Recent developments and the promise of improved precision and control are described. Analytical equations are presented to indicate effects of errors and alignment problems in the flat and curved crystal systems. These are appropriate for all detection systems. Application to and testing of spectrographic detection (using standard X-ray film) is presented. Suitable arrangements exist which can be used to measure X-ray tube voltages well below 1 kV precision in the operating range of 20-35 kV.

Hard x-ray spectrometers for the National Ignition Facility

A National Ignition Facility (NIF) core diagnostic instrument has been designed and will be fabricated to record x-ray spectra in the 1.1–20.1 keV energy range. The High-Energy Electronic X-Ray (HENEX) instrument has four reflection crystals with overlapping coverage of 1.1–10.9 keV and one transmission crystal covering 8.6–20.1 keV. The spectral resolving power varies from approximately 2000 at low energies to 300 at 20 keV. The spectrum produced by each crystal is recorded by a modified commercial dental x-ray charge coupled device detector with a dynamic range of at least 2500.

Efficiency calibrations of cylindrically bent transmission crystals in the 20 to 80 keV x-ray energy range

Two quartz (10-11) crystals were cylindrically bent to a 25.4 cm radius of curvature and were mounted in identical Cauchois-type transmission spectrometers, and the crystal diffraction efficiencies were measured to 5% absolute accuracy using narrow bandwidth x-ray source fluences in the 20 to 80 keV energy range. The measured integrated reflectivity values were compared to calculations performed using a computational model that accounts for the diffraction geometry of the bent transmission crystal. These crystal calibrations enable the accurate measurement of absolute hard x-ray emission levels from laser-produced plasmas and other laboratory sources.

A simple method for high-precision calibration of long-range errors in an angle encoder using an electronic nulling autocollimator

We describe a simple method for high-precision rotary angle encoder calibration for long-range angular errors. By using a redesigned electronic nulling autocollimator, an optical-polygon artifact is calibrated simultaneously with determining the encoder error function over a rotation of 2π rad. The technique is applied to the NIST vacuum double crystal spectrometer, which depends on precise measurement of diffraction angles to determine absolute x-ray wavelengths. By oversampling, the method returned the encoder error function with an expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of 0.004 s of plane angle. Knowledge of the error function permits the instrument to make individual encoder readings with an accuracy of 0.06 s (k = 2), which is limited primarily by the least count and noise of the encoder electronics. While the error function lay within the nominal specifications, it differed from the intrinsic factory curve, indicating the need for in situ calibration in high-precision applications.