Tritium induced X-ray emission from glass shell inertial fusion targets

Spherical glass shells filled with fuel mixtures of deuterium, tritium, and occasionally additional gases are required as targets for the inertial fusion program. Accurate knowledge of the amount of tritium and other gases contained in the shell is necessary. The X-ray spectrum resulting from the interaction of beta particles with the constituents of the glass shell and gas fill is analyzed. A method is presented to reduce the effort required to relate X-ray yield to tritium content.