Piezoelectric Gauge to Characterize and Monitor Radiation Output of AGT Radiation Simulators

A piezoelectric polymer gauge is proposed as a Radiation Output Monitor to characterize and ,Monitor the soft (<10 keV) x-ray output of AGT radiation simulators. The proposed gauge uses polyvinylidene flouride (PVDF) which has been proven to have p[performance superior to quartz in the radiation environments of both UGT and AGT tests. PVDF is self-generating and has a high output level that simplifies instrumentation in the noisy pulsed power environment inherent to an AGT simulator. The monitor can be configured to provide both source spectrum and timing information throughout the soft x-ray spectrum. It is rugged and can be fielded within centimeters of the source to include monitoring of charged particles that may not reach conventional diagnostic monitors located at the end of long drift tubes. Narrow notch filtering is not required as the gauge is rugged enough to withstand and respond to the entire machine output. The gauge will b inexpensive enough to be fielded in large arrays to determine output spatial uniformity and to be fielded on each shot to monitor shot-to-shot variations. Accurate radiation output monitoring is critical to achieving simulation fidelity in AGT facilities. The proposed monitor will provide information about the source spectrum actually incident upon test specimens and its timing that is not available from conventional diagnostics. The PVDF Radiation Output Monitor will improve the ability to characterize and monitor AGT radiation simulator performance. Improved characterization and monitoring leads to improved simulation fidelity and faster development of new sources such as DECADE and JUPITER.