Calculation of X-ray bremsstrahlung and characteristic line emission produced by a Maxwellian electron distribution

Using power-law least-squares fits to thick-target measurements of X-ray bremsstrahlung and characteristic line emission, analytic expressions for spectra and emission efficiencies of X-rays produced by a Maxwellian electron distribution were calculated. These expressions are particularly useful for the analysis of X-ray spectra produced by hot electrons in laser-produced plasma. The effect of self-absorption on the analysis of these spectra is estimated. It is shown that both the spectral shape and the adsorption effects dictate that bremsstrahlung measurements of plasma temperature should be made at photon energies greater than kT.