Simultaneous reconstruction of emission spectra and anode current dynamics in nanosecond x-ray tubes using attenuation curves

The accurate determination of emission spectra in nanosecond pulsed x-ray tubes is critical for advanced non-destructive testing, high-speed radiography, and dosimetry calculations. In this paper, we propose a novel computational–experimental approach: the basis-pulse decomposition method with kinematic regularization. Instead of reconstructing the spectrum as a set of independent energy bins, the proposed algorithm shifts the search space into the time domain. The integral spectrum is represented as a temporal superposition of instantaneous physical basis spectra, strictly calculated using the known transient voltage waveform, Kramers’ law, and models of anode self-absorption and window filtration. To stabilize the solution, we introduce a kinematic regularization operator that penalizes non-physical, instantaneous jumps in the discharge current. This method not only yields a highly accurate, noise-robust emission spectrum but simultaneously extracts the hidden temporal dynamics of the anode current It directly from a single integral attenuation curve.