Transmission grating spectrometer for Z-pinch experiment on Yang Accelerator

A transmission grating spectrometer has been fabricated for the study of X-ray radiations from Z-pinch plasma. The spectrometer contains a 3 333 lp/mm gold transmission grating and an X-ray CCD to record time-integral spectral images. Two slits are employed in the spectrometer. One is used for 1D space resolving and the other, working together with the grating's entrance slit, can collimate the incident X-rays and thus improve the spectral resolution of the spectrometer. The spectrometer has been used in Z-pinch experiments performed on Yang accelerator. When using Al wire arrays as Z-pinch loads, the Al K-shell lines and lines from Li-like ions were observed. In addition, by comparing the spectral image with the image obtained from an X-ray pinhole camera, the K-shell radiations emitted from the 'hot spot' region were recorded. (authors)