Measuring the X-ray spectrum from a pulsed-power bremsstrahlung source using a differential absorption spectrometer

X-ray energy spectra measurements were made of a pulsed-power bremsstrahlung source. The bremsstrahlung X-rays were driven by a high-power electron beam, with endpoint energy of 0.30 MeV, incident upon an aluminum-backed tantalum target. A differential absorption spectrometer was designed and built specifically to measure the spectrum over the energy range in question. A technical calibration procedure was outlined for the thermoluminescent dosimeters which are an integral part of the differential absorption spectrometer. Measurements were made, and the spectrum was determined using a spectral unfold algorithm, based on analytically-established response functions for each detector element in the spectrometer. Comparisons of the spectral measurements were made with theoretical and experimental bremsstrahlung spectra.