Characterization of Nova plasmas using an x-ray spectrometer with temporal and spatial resolution

Spectroscopic diagnostics have great potential to obtain high temperature measurements of plasmas created in inertial confinement fusion targets. The plasmas may be over 1 mm in size and therefore, one of the first steps in making better spectroscopic measurements has been to develop a spectrograph which takes advantage of gated technology by coupling a Bragg crystal to a microchannel plate. The crystal disperses the x rays, while slits add the ability to image the plasmas in the perpendicular direction. The characteristics of this diagnostic, TSPEC, are evaluated for laser-produced plasmas. Recent data will be presented from colliding plasmas and large-scale hohlraums which indicate that imaging can greatly enhance the ability to diagnose these plasmas.