The detection and temporal dispersion of the x rays using x ray streak cameras has been limited to a resolution of 2 ps, primarily due to the transit time dispersion of the electrons between the photocathode and the acceleration grid. The transit time spread of the electrons traveling from the photocathode to the acceleration grid is inversely proportional to the accelerating field. By increasing the field by a factor of 7, we have minimized the effects of transit time dispersion in the photocathode/accelerating grid region and produce an x-ray streak camera with sub-picosecond temporal resolution (approximately equals 900 fs). The streak camera has been calibrated using a Michelson interferometer and 100 fs, 400 nm laser light. Time resolved x-ray data is shown from an aluminum target heated at 10¹⁸ W/cm² with a 100 fs, 400 nm laser.

Date Published: 12 July 1994
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 2278, X-Ray and UV Detectors, (12 July 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.180003

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2278:
X-Ray and UV Detectors
Richard B. Hoover; Mark W. Tate, Editor(s)