Electromagnetic Pulse Emission From Surface Obliquely Irradiated by Z Pinch-Generated X-Rays

Current pulses flowing along a metallic target obliquely irradiated by Z pinch-generated X-rays are measured. The leading interaction mechanism shows a strong dependence on incident X-ray intensity in addition to photon energy. Photoelectric effect expected to explain the observed current is not vital in the case of intense irradiation used in our experiments. The measured results are attributed to Compton current and thermocurrent on the same level. Simple analytical modeling of radiation demonstrates that obliquely incident X-ray-metal interaction is an effective method for generating directional electromagnetic pulse with its energy and intensity being of interest for practical purposes.