High-flux and high-resolution coded-source radiography based on picosecond laser-irradiated tube targets

While picosecond petawatt laser-driven X-rays hold great promise as backlighting sources for high-energy-density physics research, traditional point-projection methods fail to achieve sufficient photon flux and spatial resolution simultaneously amidst complex background noise. Experiments conducted at the XG-III laser demonstrated the favorable characteristics of coded-source radiography based on picosecond laser-driven X-rays, i.e., high-flux X-ray source and high-resolution imaging. By using a large-diameter tube target to fully intercept the laser energy, we produced an annular X-ray source with a flux 7 times that of a conventional quasi-point source. Coded-source radiography with this annular source maintained a spatial resolution of approximately 10 micrometers, and yielded twice the signal-to-noise ratio of point-projection imaging. This technique enables clearer and more detailed radiographs under challenging noisy conditions, e.g., in Inertial Confinement Fusion research, paving the way for more precise measurements.