[en] A curved-crystal Bragg x-ray spectrometer has been used to measure Kα or 1s-2p radiation from highly stripped Fe XVIII to Fe XXV impurity ions in the PLT tokamak. The spectrometer has sufficient energy resolution (approximately < 4 eV at 6400 eV) to distinguish between the different ionization states of iron by measuring the energy shift of the Kα x rays. The measured wavelengths agree well with theory and with spectra from solar flares and from laser-produced plasmas. The distribution of Fe charge states in the center of the discharge has been inferred from a comparison of the measured x-ray spectrum with theory. The shape of the spectrum depends strongly on electron temperature (T/sub e/) in the range T/sub e/ = 800 to 1500 eV. Within the factor of two uncertainty in L-shell ionization cross sections, measured intensities agree with theory, which is based on coronal equilibrium, indicating that the ion life-time in the center of the plasma is approximately equal to or greater than the equilibration time