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We have calibrated the x ray response of a variable line spaced grating spectrometer, known as the VSG, at the Fusion and Astrophysics Data and Diagnostic Calibration Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The VSG has been developed to diagnose laser produced plasmas, such as those created at the Jupiter Laser Facility and the National Ignition Facility at LLNL, and at both the Omega and Omega EP lasers at University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. The bandwidth of the VSG spans the range from ~ 6 to 60 Å. The calibration results present here include the VSG's dispersion and quantum efficiency. The dispersion is determined by measuring the x rays emitted from hydrogen-like and helium-like ions of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, and aluminum. The quantum efficiency is calibrated to an accuracy of 30% or better by normalizing the x ray intensities recorded by the VSG to those simultaneously recorded by an x ray microcalorimeter spectrometer.

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A 2400 lines/mm variable-spaced grating spectrometer has been used to measure soft x-ray emission (8–22 Å) from laser-produced plasma experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Compact Multipulse Terrawatt (COMET) Laser Facility. The spectrometer was coupled to a Kentech x-ray streak camera to study the temporal evolution of soft x rays emitted from the back of the Mylar and the copper foils irradiated at 1015 W/cm2. The instrument demonstrated a resolving power of ∼120 at 19 Å with a time resolution of 31 ps. The time-resolved copper emission spectrum was consistent with a photodiode monitoring the laser temporal pulse shape and indicated that the soft x-ray emission follows the laser heating of the target. The time and spectral resolutions of this diagnostic make it useful for studies of high temperature plasmas.