An Elliptical Crystal Spectrometer Suitable for EXAFS Studies of Laser Compressed Materials and for High Resolution...

Using an x-ray spectrometer with an elliptically curved crystal it is possible to study absorption spectra from a target placed at one focus of the ellipse using a backlighting source placed at the other focus. This principle has been used to develop a spectrometer for EXAFS studies of laser compressed materials. The backlighting source is placed at one focus of the ellipse and the laser compressed EXAFS sample at the other. Using this technique a small area of the EXAFS target can be probed, thereby minimizing any spatial variations in the compressed plasma due to nonuniformities in the laser beams. Also, the dispersive nature of the crystal ensures that it acts as a bandpass filter, so that the EXAFS sample is not probed by other x-ray wavelengths which may cause unwanted heating. Another advantage is that compressed and uncompressed EXAFS spectra can be compared on a single shot. The optical properties of the spectrometer are discussed analytically and using a computer ray-tracing program. The development and alignment of the elliptical spectrometer are discussed, and its performance using both x-ray film and a CCD detector is evaluated. The use of the elliptical spectrometer as a high-resolution x-ray instrument is presented.