Long-implosion plasma radiation sources using “solid-fill” nozzles

Abstract

Solid-fill nozzles for long-implosion Z-pinch experiments to produce argon K-shell x rays (photon energy >3.1 keV) have been developed. With a 7 cm diam nozzle, which is appropriate for a 200 ns driver, stable implosions at 180 ns and 4 MA have produced peak argon K-shell yields exceeding 15 kJ. As previously seen with short (∼100 ns) implosion times, the K-shell yield scales as the fourth power of peak current, I4. Limited testing with a 10 cm nozzle, which is appropriate for a >250 ns driver, has also achieved a stable implosion.