Multi-keV photon production on the Z accelerator

Summary form only given, as follows. Numerous pulsed power machines over the last 25 years have pursued the use Z-pinch loads as sources of radiation. Load designs have included gas puffs and wire arrays, with emissions from the K-shell (argon, aluminum, titanium), L-shell (nickel), and M-shell (tungsten) ail being studied. To expand the range of photon energies available from Z-pinch loads, experiments have been performed on the Z accelerator at Sandia National Labs using molybdenum wire arrays and stainless steel wire arrays. The 40 mm diameter Mo loads were designed to optimize the implosion time by varying the wire array mass. These arrays radiated in the L-shell and produced up to 135 kJ of 2-3 keV, a substantial increase over what has previously been achieved near this photon energy. The stainless steel wire arrays, which radiate primarily in the Fe K-shell at 6.7 keV, were 55 mm diameter arrays, also designed to optimize the implosion time through mass variations. These arrays generated approximately 50 kJ of Fe K-shell. Plans for further optimization of these sources will be discussed and comparisons to other Z-pinch sources will be made.