Use of a dense plasma focus as an X-ray irradiation facility

Summary form only given, as follows. Preliminary experiments on the Dense Plasma Focus of the University of Illinois have demonstrated its potential use as an X-ray irradiation facility. The device was operated at 23 kV and 10 kJ using neon-seeded hydrogen as fill gas. Samples of quartz were irradiated with 20 or 40 consecutive pulses with and without a 1-kG axial magnetic field intended to lengthen the confinement time and to make the X-ray intensity more repeatable from shot to shot. Transmission spectra in the visible range were compared in each case with the spectrum for a virgin sample, and the increase of the irradiation intensity due to the magnetic field was demonstrated. The total dose was measured with TLDs, X-ray spectra of neon were obtained with an elliptical spectrometer