Quantitative extraction of spectral line intensities and widths from spectra recorded with gated MCP detectors*

Plasma spectroscopy requires determination of spectral line intensities and widths. At Sandia's Z facility we use elliptical crystal spectrometers equipped with gated MCP detectors to record time and space resolved spectra. We collect a large volume of data typically consisting of 5-6 snapshots in time, and 5-10 spectral lines with 30 spatial elements per frame, totaling to more than 900 measurements per experiment. The sheer volume of data requires efficiency in processing. Each line is approximated by a line profile in a line fitting routine, taking into account the photo-electron statistics to determine the uncertainties. Analysis of the MCP photo-electron statistical distribution will be discussed. Effects of the assumptions made in the line fitting routine will be addressed.