High Energy Electron Detectors on Sphinx

Z-pinch plasma radiation sources are used to dose test objects with K-shell ($\sim $1-4keV) x-rays. The implosion physics can produce high energy electrons ($>$ 50keV), which could distort interpretation of the soft x-ray effects. We describe the design and implementation of a diagnostic suite to characterize the electron environment of Al wire and Ar gas puff z-pinches on Sphinx.\footnote{H.Calamy et al, ``Use of microsecond current prepulse for dramatic improvements of wire array Z-pinch implosion,'' Phys Plasmas 15, 012701 (2008)} The design used ITS\footnote{J.A.Halbleib et al, ``ITS: the integrated TIGER series of electron/photon transport codes-Version 3.0,'' IEEE Trans on Nuclear Sci, 39, 1025 (1992)} calculations to model detector response to both soft x-rays and electrons and help set upper bounds to the spurious electron flux. Strategies to discriminate between the known soft x-ray emission and the suspected electron flux will be discussed.