Matthew Dayton | 19-FS-073
Project Overview
High-energy-density (HED) experiments create conditions that require high spatial and temporal resolutions to record them. This study explored a new streak camera technique and its feasibility as a picosecond x-ray imager. We examined the mathematics that underpin the technique, investigated its performance through a simulation study, and tested a simple implementation to identify any practical limitations. Our results revealed that the technique could record, with zero dead time, significantly more frames than existing technologies at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF). However, the technique shares the streak camera's dynamic range with each frame and requires sparsity in the input images to reconstruct them accurately. Nonetheless, there are unique applications of the technique, particularly when combined with other ultrafast x-ray imaging sensors. For example, a nanosecond time-resolved hyperspectral imager is possible, which would directly detect the x-rays with a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor instead of a streak camera.
Mission Impact
The development of better x-ray imagers for HED science supports NNSA's stockpile stewardship mission and the Laboratory's core competencies in HED science and lasers and optical science and technology. Our research supports the Laboratory ultrafast x-ray imaging capabilities, and opened a new path to a family of imagers with unique capabilities.
Publications, Presentations, and Patents
Dayton, M. and J. Field. 2020. "System and Method for X-ray Compatible 2D Streak Camera for a Snapshot Multiframe Imager." U. S. Patent Application No. 16/857,913.
