Sodium wire array Z-pinches as the flashlamp in the NaX-NeIX X-ray laser scheme

Summary form only given. Implosions of pure sodium wire arrays on the 6-TW DNA/Double-EAGLE generator at Physics International are discussed. In these optimization experiments, wire arrays of 9-12-mm-diameter were imploded. The number of wires per array and the individual wire thicknesses were also varied to study the effects on the K-shell X-ray emissions and, in particular, on the NaX He-α line. Advanced time-resolved and space-resolved diagnostics have been applied to these pinches to determine the variations of the plasma parameter with changing initial load conditions. The plasma electron temperatures and densities were calculated by comparing the measured yields and spectra with CRE predictions. These show that low-yield shots, that is, K-shell yields below 20 kJ, tend to assemble to a large, low-density plasma, whereas the high-yield shots assemble tightly to high density and emit up to 31 kJ in K-shell radiation. In such shots, a maximum power of 150 GW and associated yield of 8 kJ have been measured in the NaX He-α line, and these wire arrays on Double-EAGLE have proven to be more promising than the sodium chloride discharge source previously tested on DNA/PITHON