Spectral unfold techniques for z-pinch implosions

Summary form only given. Sandia National Laboratories´ recently upgraded (Shot 1 September 9, 1996) Z machine has rapidly matured into a high power (>200 TW) high temperature (>120 eV) driver for radiation physics experiments. One of the methods used to determine the driver conditions are arrays of filtered silicon photodiodes (SiD) and filtered photocathode X-ray diodes (XRD). Three different techniques for unfolding spectra from the XRD and SiD detector data have been used. They are: (1) Treat each detector independently and find the Planckian temperature for a given source size and solid angle that would give the measured detector signal, (2) Use all detector signals and detector spectral responses and find a spectrum that best fits the observed data, (3) Use all detector signals and averaged detector spectral responses and find a histogram spectrum that best fits the observed data. Each technique yields important information about the radiation output of the z-pinch. However each also has drawbacks.