Spectral characterization of intense, short duration bremsstrahlung pulses with nuclear photoactivation techniques

The authors discuss the use of resonant photonuclear activation as a simple experimental technique that can be used on a shot-by-shot basis to characterize the spectra of intense, short-duration bremsstrahlung pulses from pulsed powder machines. Cross sections are adequate for characterizing X-ray spectra with endpoints below 1.5 MeV. It is concluded that resonant nuclear photoactivation is a valuable tool that complements both more complex electronic systems and alternative activation or dosimetric methods for determining the spectrum of single-shot, intense bremsstrahlung pulses having widths of less than a microsecond. Either alone or in combination with these other methods, a properly designated photoactivation monitor package can provide the user with specific spectral intensity information on a shot-by-shot basis