Development of a flat-field XUV spectrograph for laser plasma interaction studies

A flat-field grating XUV spectrograph has been set up for laser plasma interaction studies. It uses a variable groove-spacing concave grating in grazing incidence geometry and operates in the wavelength range of 25–290 Å. A brief description of the design principle, construction and operation is given. Variation of spectral resolution with respect to the position of detector plane is studied. A resolution of 0.2 Å (at λ=35.0 Å) observed from the emission spectrum of carbon plasma is in agreement with that expected from design considerations. The instrument facilitates recording of multiple spectra on a single film and can be coupled to a microchannel plate-CCD camera detection system for on-line monitoring and processing of the spectrum, and to an X-ray streak camera for temporally resolved spectral measurements.