The differential absorption hard x-ray (DAHX) spectrometer at the Z facility

The Differential Absorption Hard X-ray (DAHX) spectrometer has been developed to diagnose photon energies above 80 keV and provides a time-resolved measurement of the x-ray spectrum from the plasma driven by Z. The DAHX spectrometer is a revitalization of the Hard X-Ray Spectrometer (HXRS) fielded on Z prior to refurbishment
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. DAHX consists of an array of seven collimated silicon PIN diodes with varying filters in a 2 to 4 inch thick tungsten cylinder that shields the diodes from the surrounding radiation environment. Analyzed data from DAHX will be presented for several wire array experiments. Development of DAHX is driven by the need to extend the present diagnostic suite on Z to energies above 25 keV to investigate the origin, intensity, and spectrum of warm and hard x-rays within the emitting plasma. Filtered PCDs
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and TLDs were also fielded. The PCDs are capable of measuring time resolved output up to a few tens of keV while TLDs are capable of measuring time integrated yield up to hundreds of MeV. These measurements pair well with the time resolved hard x-ray information that DAHX provides. To aid analysis of the silicon PIN diode signals, the diode performance was studied using the short pulse Z-Petawatt laser. Data and analysis from this study will be presented along with wire array measurements from TLDs, PCDs, and DAHX. The analysis of the DAHX data will be discussed, both in isolation and in conjunction with the additional diagnostics. The design of an updated version of DAHX with 15 diodes tailored to the current Z machine radiation environment will also be presented.