In the plasma flash x-ray generator, a 200 nF condenser is charged up to 50 kV by a power supply, and flash x-rays are produced by the discharging. The x-ray tube is a demountable triode with a brass target containing 65% copper and 35% zinc by weight, and the turbomolecular pump evacuates air from the tube with a pressure of approximately 1 mPa. Target evaporation leads to the formation of weakly ionized linear plasma, consisting of metal ions and electrons, around the fine target, and intense characteristic x-rays are produced. At a charging voltage of 50 kV, the maximum tube voltage was almost equal to the charging voltage of the main condenser, and the peak current was about 15 kA. When the charging voltage was increased, the linear plasma formed, and the K-series characteristic x-ray intensities of zinc Kα, copper Kα, and copper Kβ lines increased substantially. However hardly any zinc Kβ lines were detected. The x-ray pulse widths were approximately 700 ns, and the time-integrated x-ray intensity was approximately 1.2 mGy at 1.0 m from the x-ray source with a charging voltage of 50 kV.
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