D. Jobe

Tungsten wire-array Z-pinch experiments at 200 TW and 2 MJ

Here Z, a 60 TW/5 MJ electrical accelerator located at Sandia National Laboratories, has been used to implode tungsten wire-array Z pinches. These arrays consisted of large numbers of tungsten wires (120–300) with wire diameters of 7.5 to 15 μm placed in a symmetric cylindrical array. The experiments used array diameters ranging from 1.75 to 4 cm and lengths from 1 to 2 cm. A 2 cm long, 4 cm diam tungsten array consisting of 240, 7.5 μm diam wires (4.1 mg mass) achieved an x-ray power of ∼200u2009TW and an x-ray energy of nearly 2 MJ. Spectral data suggest an optically thick, Planckian-like radiator below 1000 eV. One surprising experimental result was the observation that the total radiated x-ray energies and x-ray powers were nearly independent of pinch length. These data are compared with two-dimensional radiation magnetohydrodynamic code calculations.

High Temperature Dynamic Hohlraums on the Pulsed Power Driver Z

In the concept of the dynamic hohlraum an imploding Z pinch is optically thick to its own radiation. Radiation may be trapped inside the pinch to give a radiation temperature inside the pinch greater than that outside the pinch. The radiation is typically produced by colliding an outer Z-pinch liner onto an inner liner. The collision generates a strongly radiating shock, and the radiation is trapped by the outer liner. As the implosion continues after the collision, the radiation temperature may continue to increase due to ongoing PdV (pressure times change in volume) work done by the implosion. In principal, the radiation temperature may increase to the point at which the outer liner burns through, becomes optically thin, and no longer traps the radiation. One application of the dynamic hohlraum is to drive an ICF (inertial confinement fusion) pellet with the trapped radiation field. Members of the dynamic hohlraum team at Sandia National Labs have used the pulsed power driver Z (20 MA, 100 ns) to create...

K-shell radiation physics in the ultrahigh optical depth pinches of the Z generator

Al:Mg alloy wire arrays of mass loads 1.3–3.6 mg/cm have been imploded with peak currents of 19 MA on the 60 TW Z generator [R. B. Spielman et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 2105 (1998)] at Sandia National Laboratories. The large mass loads have resulted in the highest K-shell x-ray line optical depths (∼103) produced to date in Z-pinches. Analysis of the time-resolved spectrum of a 2.1 mg/cm shot near the time of peak compression has yielded a temperature–density profile of the pinch that approximately reproduces all features of the x-ray data except the continuum above 5 keV, which is underpredicted. The Ly α/He α ratio for Al is shown to be enhanced relative to that of Mg by two mechanisms: photopumped ladder ionization and absorption of the Al He-like line in a cool outer halo. This analysis and comparisons to some Ti shots demonstrates that the K-shell yield of Al is significantly reduced by line and continuum self-absorption, but that of Ti is not.

Improved large diameter wire array implosions from increased wire array symmetry and on-axis mass participation

Aluminum wire array, Z-pinch experiments have been performed on an 8 MA generator using arrays consisting of 24, 30, and 42 wires. These experiments were designed to scan through a region of (array mass, implosion velocity) space in which greater than 30% conversion of the implosion kinetic energy into K-shell x rays was predicted to occur [Thornhill et al., Phys. Plasmas 1, 321 (1994)]. Array masses between 120 and 2050 μg/cm were used in these experiments. An analysis of the x-ray data taken using 24 wire arrays, shows a one-to-one correspondence between the observed kilo-electron-volt yields (5–64 kJ) and the fraction of initial array mass (0.3%–60%) that is radiating from the K shell. The 30 and 42 wire experiments demonstrated that tighter pinches with increased radiated powers were achieved with these larger wire number, improved symmetry arrays. In addition, increases in the implosion mass and array diameter in the 30 and 42 wire number cases resulted in increases in the radiated yield over the cor...

Streaked laser shadowgraphy of tungsten wire array implosions on the Saturn generator

A combination of a 400 ns, 300 mJ, 640 nm dye laser, and an optical streak camera have been used to demonstrate that time-resolved shadowgrams can be made of the implosion phase of tungsten wire arrays. Initial experiments have shown that mirror lifetime and spatial resolution are issues for this diagnostic technique. Nonetheless, these experiments have provided new information on wire array dynamics; specifically, they show that even with a 0.46 mm wire spacing, the high density regions formed by the wires, are separate until 30 ns into the main drive current. Peak currents of 6.6 MA were obtained 40 ns after the start of the current, while peak radiated powers of 85 TW were measured at 50 ns.

Spatially and temporally resolved crystal spectrometer for diagnosing high-temperature pinch plasmas on Z

We have developed a spatially and temporally resolved crystal spectrometer for analyzing a variety of pinch experiments on Z. The spectrometer uses a convex curved crystal to disperse spectra onto a flat microchannel plate (MCP) framing camera detector. A single wide, 1 cm, strip on the MCP is gated to provide temporal resolution. The spectral range governed by the 4 cm length of the MCP strip varies with the central Bragg angle and crystal. For a KAP crystal a typical range is 1500–2000 eV. This range can be shifted by translating the crystal along the optical axis to access different Bragg angles. The spectrometer can therefore measure K shell spectra of a wide variety of elements such as Al, Ti, and Fe. The short 1 cm width of the strip is spatially resolved with an imaging cross slit. With a 500 μm cross slit and magnification 1 the spatial resolution at the pinch is 1 mm. The instrument may also be fielded with seven time frames using a seven strip-line microchannel plate as the detector by sacrifici...

AXIAL DIAGNOSTIC PACKAGE FOR Z

The authors have developed and fielded an axial diagnostic package for the 20 MA, 100 ns, z-pinch driver Z. The package is used to diagnose dynamic hohlraum experiments which require an axial line of sight. The heart of the package is a reentrant cone originally used to diagnose ion-beam-driven hohlraums on PBFA-H. It has one diagnostic line of sight at 0 degrees, 4 at 6 degrees, and 4 at 9 degrees. In addition it has a number of viewing, alignment, and vacuum feedthrough ports. The front of the package sits approximately 5 feet from the pinch. This allows much closer proximity to the pinch, with inherently better resolution and signal, than is presently possible in viewing the pinch from the side. Debris that is preferentially directed along the axis is mitigated by two apertures for each line of sight, and by fast valves and imaging pinholes or cross slits for each diagnostic. In the initial run with this package they fielded a time resolved pinhole camera, a five-channel pinhole-apertured x-ray diode array, a bolometer, a spatially resolved time-integrated crystal spectrometer, and a spatially and temporally resolved crystal spectrometer. They present data obtained from these diagnostics in the dynamic hohlraum research conducted on Z.

Uniform fill improves K-shell power relative to annular fill for argon gas puffs on Saturn

Summary form only given. The radiation from uniform-fill argon gas puffs on the Saturn accelerator with a 4.5-cm diameter nozzle are compared with that generated from a previously optimized 2.5-cm diameter annular nozzle. The pressure range of the uniform fill spanned 1300 to 2900 Torr and that of the annular nozzle was set to 1650 Torr-the pressure that previously maximized the K-shell radiation yield. B-dot monitors measured current in the MITLs and 4.5 cm upstream of the load. A bolometer and duplicate sets of filtered XRDs and PCDs, spanning the energy range of 200 eV to 6 keV, monitored the temporal characteristics of the radiation. A suite of time-integrated and time-resolved, filtered, fast-framing, X-ray pinhole cameras, and crystal spectrometers monitored the spatial and spectral structure of the radiation. The radial density profile of the initial gas profile was measured on a test stand at NRL using a two-color interferometer.

Spatially and temporally resolved EUV emissions from SATURN Z-pinches

Summary form only given, as follows. EUV emissions can be used to measure several Z-pinch parameters. We have measured implosion velocity from Doppler splitting of lines and estimated electron temperature during run-in from the mean ionization state of line emissions. In an argon pinch we measure an electron temperature of 100 eV before stagnation. To date doppler split lines have measured implosion velocities less than 40 cm/microsecond. We are presently attempting to measure magnetic field or load current from Zeeman splitting and it may be possible to measure electron density from a Stark-broadened line. Opacity and ion thermal broadening may also contribute to line width information. The spectrometer utilizes a variable line space grating to give a flat focal field. Spectral resolution with a 60 micron detector resolution is up to 3000 and generally increases with wavelength. This is sufficient to detect several plasma line broadening mechanisms. The spectrometer may detect lines above 100 /spl Aring/ and below 1400 /spl Aring/. Spectral range across a microchannel plate stripline detector decreases with increasing wavelength setting. We may gate two striplines with 1 to 12 nsec gates at any time during the pinch discharge. Each stripline spatially images the pinch diameter perpendicular to the direction of dispersion. Spatial resolution in the pinch diameter is 1 mm. Spatial acquisition along the Z axis is also 1 mm. We will present data from argon, krypton, and aluminum Z-pinch discharges on the SATURN accelerator.

Nonthermal X-ray emission from a tungsten Z-pinch at 5 MA

Summary form only given. The generation of intense bursts of warm X-rays (10 to 100 keV) with power in the 1-TW regime are of interest for the study of in-depth nuclear radiation effects. Results from high-atomic-number single-wire experiments carried out at 0.8 MA on Gamble II in the 1970s showed 0.25% efficient production of nonthermal, bremsstrahlung-like lines and continuum in the 5- to 100-keV regime. This high efficiency in combination with suggested Z/sup 2/ and I/sup 2/ scaling of the nonthermal radiation motivated the present experiment to measure and model the radiation from the Z pinch formed from compact high-Z wire arrays at high current. In the experiment, tungsten wire arrays of length 20 mm on a mounting radius of 2 mm were imploded over the mass range 1 to 16 mg on the Saturn accelerator operating with a peak discharge current of 5 MA. As in the Gamble-II experiments, bright spots were observed to form at /spl sim/1-mm intervals along the z axis at the time of a first implosion and to be the source of the hard radiation measured. Maximum radiation occurred for masses less than or approximately equal to 4 mg. The experiment was simulated using the LASNEX and TIP numerical codes with a nonthermal model.