Imploding plasma pinches driven by high power generators

Moderately high Z imploding plasma pinches with temperatures in the kilovolt range have been produced in discharges with currents up to 5 MA. Streak and framing photography and laser shadowgraphy show the behavior of the plasmas during the implosion phase. At the end of the implosion phase, a Z-pinch is formed with electron densities up to ∼10²¹ cm⁻³. These Z-pinches produce copious X-ray radiation. The X-ray emission above 1 keV is composed primarily of lines from atomic transitions in H and He-like ions. The intensity of the K-shell X-ray emission decreases strongly as the atomic number of the plasma increases. Neon (Z = 10), plasma implosions driven by the BLACKJACK 5′ pulse generator, for example, produce ∼55 kJ of K-line X-rays at hv ∼1 keV, while titanium (Z = 22) plasmas driven by the same generator produce only ∼2.1 kJ of K-line emission at hv ∼5 keV. Measurements of the X-ray emission and characteristics of these plasmas at current levels between 500 kA and 5 MA suggest a number of possible applications, including X-ray laser research and X-ray lithography.