X-ray Diagnostic Calibration and Crystal Characterization in the Upgraded Princeton Plasma Physics X-ray Laboratory

The Princeton Plasma Physics X-ray Laboratory is a test stand for calibration of x-ray-based plasma diagnostics and general characterization of x-ray-diffracting crystals. Recently, the lab has been upgraded to allow operation from a remote control room, thereby removing shielding constraints within the envelope of a large optical table. This new freedom to place components with arbitrary locations, high precision, and multiple motorized degrees of freedom greatly enhances the measurement capabilities of the laboratory. We will showcase some examples of recent high fidelity measurements using advanced x-ray optics, CCD and single-photon-counting imagers, and pulse-height analyzers to monitor source flux. As a first example, we absolutely calibrated the sensitivity of a high-bandwidth, ultrahigh resolution focusing crystal for extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements on the National Ignition Facility. Secondly, we characterized the crystal surface misorientation of diamonds grown with plasma vapor deposition using Laue diffraction microscopy. We will finally cover opportunities for future work, including rocking curve measurements and cross-laboratory calibration comparisons.