4-FRAME GATED WOLTER X-RAY MICROSCOPE

A four-frame gated x-ray microscope has been developed for the study of inertial confinement fusion. Four x-ray images were obtained by introducing flat, grazing incidence mirrors into the converging annular ray bundle of a previously developed Wolter x-ray microscope system. Gated microchannel plate detectors and associated drive electronics were developed which can record a sequence of gated images of less than 100 ps duration, with an interframe timing accuracy of ±50 ps. The resulting diagnostic can record one time-resolved image and four gated images simultaneously. The system is described, and images of an imploding capsule are presented which demonstrate the unique capabilities of the instrument.