Numerical simulations and experiments of beam-target interaction for multipulse bremsstrahlung converter applications

Abstract

The typical response of an x-ray converter impacted by an intense relativistic electron beam is vaporization and rapid expansion. In the multipulse electron beam/target interaction process, the target expands, the density of material decreases, eventually affecting the x-ray output of the system. We report the relation between target material thickness with x-ray doses, and the design of a distributed target for multipulse beam/target interaction application. For a single pulse, we simulated and measured the x-ray doses and spot size on the distributed target, and compared them to similar results made by the standard converter target. For multipulses of microsecond time scale, we measured the change of the distributed target material density. The results indicate that the multipulse converter target design is feasible.