A 10/sup 13/ A/s high energy density micro discharge radiation source

The creation of a high brightness high energy density discharge based radiation source relies on a rapid delivery of electrical energy to a self contained plasma. Different types of pinch discharges have been studied in the past which produce localized regions of ultra-high energy density plasmas in the form of hot spots and micro pinches. These plasma features are not routinely reproducible in space and time. In this paper, the authors present a novel scheme for the production of a high energy density plasma based on a high current microcapillary discharge with effective source dimension of below 100 /spl mu/m in diameter and in length. The discharge is created directly in a structure in the energy storage dielectric, resulting in a discharge inductance of less than 1 nH. In this way, a peak current of 10 kA with a rise time of 10/sup 13/A-s/sup -1/ at the micro capillary discharge is achieved with an energy storage of 0.2 J on the capacitor. Experimental investigation on the plasma parameters and the influence of different capillary materials are presented. Results show that a kT=100 eV and n/sub e/=10/sup -19/ cm/sup -3/ plasma is formed emitting a 5 ns radiation pulse down to the soft X-ray region and fast ions of 8-10 keV due to free expansion.