Fiber Optic Polychromator

A polychromator has been designed and built to obtain time dependent profiles of spectral lines produced in a pulsed plasma. Light intensity is measured simultaneously at ten wavelengths, spaced 1 A apart, by means of a specially constructed fiber optic device. The device consists of ten parallel line-to-spot light guides that transmit the output of a monochromator to a bank of photomultiplier tubes. The device is compact, relatively simple, and allows for precision measurements. Its usefulness in plasma electron density and temperature determinations is outlined.