The flexible x-ray imager

A new gated x-ray framing camera has been developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for use at the Nova laser facility. This diagnostic, the flexible x-ray imager, has been designed as a modular unit that can be rapidly reconfigured to change the spectral response, magnification, sensitivity, and spatial and temporal resolutions of the instrument. The electrical gate pulse width may be varied from 200 ps to 2 ns depending upon whether the experimental emphasis is on temporal resolution or sensitivity. The long integration times are particularly useful in experiments where motional blurring occurs over even longer time scales. A detailed description of the instrument and its varied uses is presented.