Characterization of the X-Ray Emission from Spherical Shells for X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy Experiments on OMEGA-60*

X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy characterizes the local structure, chemistry and temperature of materials compressed to Earth’s core conditions. Thin plastic shells have previously been demonstrated to produce a bright, broadband, small, short-duration x-ray source, which is required to perform XAFS spectroscopy on the OMEGA laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. By completing a detailed characterization of the x-ray emission from these thin plastic shells, we identified that ~25% of the x-ray emission around 7 keV occurs at a different time or larger radius than previously considered. Furthermore, we describe preliminary results introducing mid-Z metals into the implosion core, which indicate a significant increase in the total x-ray emission. The characterization of the x-ray emission and improved source brightness will allow for a more accurate and precise measurement of temperature in materials compressed to extreme conditions.