High-energy, high-resolution x-ray imaging on the Trident short-pulse laser facility.

With the completion of the Trident laser facility upgrade, 200 TW high-energy laser pulses are now capable of producing x-ray pulses with energies in the range of 15-40 keV, which will be used for high-spatial resolution radiography. A diagnostic suite is being developed on the laser system to investigate and characterize the x-ray emission from high-Z targets. This includes charge coupled device based single-photon counters, imaging plates, a high-energy electronic imager, spectral diagnostics, and optical and x-ray spot size diagnostics. We describe recent x-ray results from a commissioning campaign as well as describe the development and design of a high-energy spectrometer. X-ray radiographs taken at 22 keV with a spatial resolution of 25 mum are a first demonstration on this facility of high-energy, high-spatial resolution capability.