Visible spectroscopy characterization of aluminum X pinch plasmas

We are initiating an experiment in which time resolved visible spectroscopy will be used to characterize the plasma in and near the minidiode in aluminum (Al) X pinches. The goal of the experiment is to determine the magnetic field and other plasma conditions near the outer radius of the imploding z-pinch in the minidiode. At this location the conditions should be suitable for a magnetic field measurement using the Al doublet previously used for Zeeman Broadening measurements at the Weizmann Institute of Science.¹ We will be studying 2-wire and hybrid X pinches on the 13kA 430ns rise time Low Current Pulser 3 (LCP3), the 20kA 200ns rise time Low Current Pulser 4 (LCP4), and at ≥ 200kA on the 50ns rise time XP generator. By using various pulsers and current levels we aim to study directly the impact that the driving current has on the development of the minidiode of the X pinch, the magnetic field, the electron temperature, and the electron density as a function of time and space. Preliminary results will be presented.