FXR fast beam imaging diagnostics

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory flash X-ray (FXR) machine is being upgraded to produce two pulses. A very fast imaging system has been developed to characterize the electron beam diameter and shape. The system consists of a kapton target insertion mechanism and a framing camera. It has a fast gated imaging tube (500 ps) and CCD subsystem to capture and send the image to the control room. The beam diameter data provides insight on mechanisms that effect the X-ray spot size. These colorful beam measurements are compared with the authors´ other diagnostics to form a more complete picture of beam behavior. A demonstration is described where the image data was used to design a collimator to improve X-ray beam performance.