Optimization of initial gas distributions in a plasma-focus discharge with a pulsed inlet of gases

Summary form only given, as follows. The paper reports the data on emission/dynamic characteristics of the plasma-focus discharge versus the gas distribution profile in the discharge volume. The nonuniform initial gas distributions with the operating gas having a lower density near the insulator and a higher density in the region of plasma focus (PF) formation were obtained by means of a pulsed inlet of gas to the discharge volume. This made it possible to increase the electrical strength of the electrode spacing. At optimum conditions, regimes were attained to give a neutron yield of /spl sim/1.5/spl times/10/sup 10/ neutrons/discharge, which was well reproduced from discharge to discharge and was comparable with the scaling value for the power supply energies W /spl sim/40 kJ used in these experiments. An intense generation of hard X-ray radiation was also observed in this case. Experiments were made to investigate the conditions for generation of intense ion and electron beams at the PF, and also to determine their principal parameters. It is found that the energy spectrum of operating gas (deuterium) ions accelerated at the PF is discrete in character: in the energy range between 0.03 and 1 MeV a sequence of nearly monoenergetic ion bunches is registered. The average energy of the basic part of electrons in the beam ranges between 30 and 50 keV.