Spectroscopic investigations of X-ray radiation from X pinches

Summary form only given. Time-integrated X-ray spectroscopic measurements of the radiation produced by X pinches have been made using a focusing spectrograph based on a spherically bent mica crystal (R=100 mm). Spectra of Al, Ti, NiCr, Ni, Mo, and Pd X pinches have been recorded using Bragg reflection angles near 45°. The large angle enabled us to place the spectrograph a large distance from the X pinch, thereby preventing damage to the crystal and allowing a larger spectral range (δλ/λ∼10/sup -1/) than is normally possible for this method. In these experiments the film was not placed exactly on the Rowland circle, but this did not significantly decrease the spectral resolution because of the small size of the X-ray source. The minimum determinable width was still much smaller than the spectral width of the lines studied. In most experiments, the radiation from two X pinches was recorded simultaneously, allowing the possibility of wavelength calibration. Using ratios of resonance lines to the satellite lines of H- and He-like spectra in the 0.6-1.5 keV range, we obtained the average electron temperature for different elements.