Characterization of x-ray imaging crystal spectrometer for high-resolution spatially-resolved x-ray Thomson scattering measurements in shock-compressed experiments

•A dual-channel x-ray crystal spectrometer for XRTS measurements was developed.•The capabilities of high spectral and spatial resolution were characterized.•Back scattered spectra from warm dense carbon samples using XFEL was collected.•Spatial profiles of elastic peaks were compared with spatial-resolved spectra.

We have proposed, designed and built a dual-channel x-ray imaging crystal spectrometer (XICS) for spectrally- and spatially-resolved x-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) measurements in the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) end station at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). This spectrometer employs two spherically-bent germanium (Ge) 220 crystals, which are combined to form a large aperture dispersive element with a spectral bandwidth of ~300 eV that enables both the elastic and inelastic x-ray scattering peaks to be simultaneously measured. The apparatus and its characterization are described. A resolving power of ~1900 was demonstrated and a spatial resolution of ~12 μm was achieved in calibration tests. For XRTS measurements, a narrow-bandwidth (ΔE/E<0.003) LCLS x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) beam at 5.07 keV was used to probe a dense carbon plasma produced in shock-compressed samples of different forms of carbon. Preliminary results of the scattering experiments from Pyrolytic Graphite samples that illustrate the utility of the instrument are presented.