Demonstration of X-Ray Emission From an Ultraminiature Pinch Plasma Focus Discharge Operating at 0.1 J Nanofocus

Recently, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to produce a pinch focus discharge with a device operating at only 0.1 J, i.e., nanofocus (NF). Evidence of pinch has been obtained from electrical signals and from images in the visible region of the plasma dynamics registered with a single-frame image-converter camera with few nanoseconds of exposure time. Here, the evidence of X-ray emission from the NF device is presented (NF: 5 nF, 5-10 kV, 5-10 kA, 60-250 mJ, and 16-ns time to peak current). The experiments were performed using submillimetric anode radii. Evidence of X-ray emission from this ultraminiature pinch plasma focus device that operates at only 0.1 J/shot is shown for discharges in H₂ , Ar, and Ne.