X-ray spectrometers with cylindrical, spherical and toroidal dispersive elements

Summary form only given. This paper describes a series of crystal spectrometers for soft X-ray diagnostics of pulsed plasmas. Most use high quality quartz crystals with different orientations of their crystal planes, attached by optical contact to spherical and toroidal substrates. We developed special procedures to attach spherical Johansson quartz crystals with optical contact, and to mount Cauchois type (transmission) crystals. Some mica crystals can be connected to the substrate with glue. The spectrometers cover an extended energy range, from the low end (0.7 keV) in reflection with a Johann or Johannson configuration to the high end (200 keV) with the Cauchois crystal. We use film as an X-ray detector. We pay special attention to spectral and spatial resolutions. These characteristics are modeled analytically and compared with experimental calibration. Some crystals have spectral resolution better than 9/spl times/10/sup -5/, and spatial resolution of a few microns. One of these is a uniquely large (100 mm by 40 mm) quartz crystal bent to a 3770 mm radius.