E. D. Kazakov

The role of hot electron refluxing in laser-generated K-alpha sources

A study of the contribution of refluxing electrons in the production of K-alpha radiation from high-intensity laser irradiated thin targets has been performed. Thin copper foils both freestanding, and backed by a thick substrate were irradiated with laser pulses of energies around 100 J at intensities ranging from below 1017 to above 1019 W/cm2. At high laser intensities we find a strong reduction in the K-alpha yield from targets backed by the substrate. The observed yield reduction is in good agreement with a simple model using hot electron spectra from particle-in-cell simulations or directly inferred from the measured bremsstrahlung emission and can therefore be interpreted as due to the suppression of hot electron refluxing. The study shows that refluxing electrons play a dominant role in high-intensity laser driven K- alpha generation and have to be taken into account in designing targets for laser driven high-flux K-alpha sources.

Efficient production of 100?keV deuterons in deuterium gas puff Z-pinches at 2?MA current

Deuterium gas puff experiments were carried out on the S-300 Z-pinch at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. Gas puffs imploded onto the axis before a current peak at about 100 ns. Fusion neutrons were generated after the gas puff implosion during global expansion of a plasma column. Neutron emission lasted on average 35 ± 5 ns (full width half maximum, FWHM). In the downstream direction (on the Z-pinch axis behind the cathode), a mean neutron energy was 2.6 ± 0.1 MeV. Side-on neutron energy spectra peaked at 2.40 ± 0.05 MeV with about 600 ± 150 keV FWHM. A broad width of side-on neutron spectra implied a high radial component of deuteron velocities. An average kinetic energy of fast deuterons, which produced fusion neutrons, was 150 keV. A peak neutron yield reached a value of 6 × 1010 on a current level of 1.5 MA. It was by one order higher in comparison with other deuterated loads used on the same current generator. On the basis of experimental observations, we concluded that a total energy of deuterons accelerated to fusion energies was above 1.5 kJ. It is more than 15% of the energy input into a plasma. Therefore gas puff Z-pinches seem to be not only powerful sources of x-ray radiation but also efficient sources of 100 keV deuterons. Such a result is consistent with high neutron yields observed on the Angara Z-pinch and plasma foci with similar currents.

Neutron emission generated during wire array Z-pinch implosion onto deuterated fiber

The implosion of both cylindrical and conical wire arrays onto a deuterated polyethylene fiber was studied on the S-300 pulsed power generator [A. S. Chernenko et al., Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on High Power Particle Beams (Academy of Science of Czech Republic, Prague, 1996), p. 154]. Neutron measurements were used to obtain information about acceleration of fast deuterons. An average neutron yield approached 109 on the current level of 2MA. In the case of conical wire arrays, side-on neutron energy spectra peaked at 2.48±0.05MeV with 450±100keV full width at half-maximum. In the downstream direction, the peak neutron energy and the width of a neutron spectrum were 2.65±0.10MeV and 350±100keV, respectively. The total number of fast deuterons was 1015 and their average kinetic energy was about 150keV. Most of the deuterons were directed toward the cathode. The broad width of neutron spectra in the side-on direction implied a high radial component of deuteron velocity. With regard to ...

Investigations of the Mega-Ampere Multiwire X Pinch

The results of experimental investigations into the dynamics of a plasma produced in the multiwire X pinch at currents up to 2.3 MA are presented. The materials, diameters, and the number of wires are varied. At such currents, the power of the soft x-ray radiation with the photon energy from 1 to 2 keV increases to 120 GW, and, since the size of a hot spot is less than 20 μm, it corresponds to a source brightness of ∼1015 W/(cm2 sr). The energy recorded in lines of neon-like molybdenum (in the range of 2.5–3 keV) is higher than 10 J. Hard x-ray radiation detected in experiments with tungsten and molybdenum X pinches has the photon energy ≥800 keV.

Transportation Properties of a High-Current Magnetically Insulated Transmission Line and Dynamics of the Electrode Plasma

Results are presented from experimental studies of a section of a magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) with a current density of up to 500 MA/cm2 and linear current density of up to 7 MA/cm (the parameters close to those in a fast-Z-pinch-driven fusion reactor projected at Sandia Laboratories). The experiments were performed in the S-300 facility (3 MA, 0.15 Ω, 100 ns). At high linear current densities, the surface of the ohmically heated MITL electrode can explode and a plasma layer can form near the electrode surface. As a result, the MITL can lose its transmission properties due to the shunting of the vacuum gap by the plasma produced. In this series of experiments, the dynamics of the electrode plasma and the dependence of the transmission properties of the MITL on the material and cleanness of the electrode surface were studied. It is shown experimentally that, when the current with a linear density of up to 7 MA/cm begins to flow along a model MITL, the input and output currents differ by less than 10% over a time interval of up to 230 ns for nickel electrodes and up to 350 ns for a line with a gold central electrode. No effect of the oil film present on the electrode surface on the loss of the transmission properties of the line was observed. It is also shown that electron losses insignificantly contribute to the total current balance. The experimental results are compared with calculations of the electrode explosion and the subsequent expansion of the plasma layer. A conclusion is made that the life-time of the model MITL satisfies the requirements imposed on the transmission lines intended for use in the projected thermonuclear reactor.

Generation and anisotropy of neutron emission from a condensed Z-pinch

The paper presents results of measurements of neutron emission generated in the constriction of a fast Z-pinch at the S-300 facility (2 MA, 100 ns). An increased energy concentration was achieved by using a combined load the central part of which was a microporous deuterated polyethylene neck with a mass density of 100 mg/cm3 and diameter of 1–1.5 mm. The neck was placed between two 5-mm-diameter agar-agar cylinders. The characteristics of neutron emission in two axial and two radial directions were measured by the time-of-flight method. The neutron spectrum was recovered from the measured neutron signals by the Monte Carlo method. In all experiments, the spatiotemporal characteristics of plasma in the Z-pinch constriction were measured by means of the diagnostic complex of the S-300 facility, which includes frame photography in the optical, VUV, and soft X-ray (SXR) spectral regions; optical streak imaging; SXR detection; and time-integrated SXR photography. The formation of hot dense plasma in the Z-pinch constriction was accompanied by the generation of hard X-ray (with photon energies E > 30 keV), SXR (with photon energies E > 1 keV and duration of 2–4 ns), and neutron emission. Anisotropy of the neutron energy distribution in the axial direction was revealed. The mean neutron energies measured in four directions at angles of 0° (above the anode), 90°, 180° (under the cathode), and 270° with respect to the load axis were found to be of 2.1 ± 0.1, 2.5 ± 0.1, 2.6 ± 0.2, and 2.4 ± 0.1 MeV, respectively. For a 1-mm-diameter neck, the maximum integral neutron yield was 6 × 109 neutrons. The anisotropy of neutron emission for a Z-pinch with a power-law distribution of high-energy ions is calculated.

Formation of hot spots in the plasma of a Z-pinch produced from low-density deuterated polyethylene

Results are presented from experimental studies of the plasma formation dynamics in a Z-pinch produced from a cylindrical microporous agar-agar load. The experiments were performed on the S-300 facility at a current of 2 MA and current rise time of 100 ns. To enhance the energy concentration, a deuterated polyethylene neck with a mass density of 50–75 μg/cm3 and diameter of 1–2 mm was made in the central part of the load. The spatiotemporal characteristics of the Z-pinch were studied using an optical streak camera and fast frame photography in the optical and soft X-ray spectral ranges. X-ray emission was detected using semiconductor and vacuum diodes, and neutron emission was studied by means of the time-of-flight method. It is found that, in the course of continuous plasma production, hot spots with a diameter of 100 μm form in the pinch plasma. The hot spots emit short soft X-ray pulses with a duration of 2–4 ns, as well as neutron pulses with an average neutron energy of about 2.45 MeV. The maximum neutron yield was found to be 4.5 × 109 neutrons per shot. The scenario of hot spot formation is adequately described by two-dimensional MHD simulations.

X-pinch-based neutron source

Results are presented from experimental studies of the parameters of an X-pinch-based neutron source made of 70- to 80-μm-diameter deuterated polyethylene fibers. At currents of up to 1.7 MA and a current rise time of ∼150 ns, hot plasma spots were observed in the fiber crossing region. The formation of hot spots was accompanied by the generation of short soft X-ray pulses with a duration of 2–4 ns, as well as by neutron emission. The neutron energy was measured using the time-of-flight technique in four directions, at 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° with respect to the load axis. The mean energy of the neutrons emitted along the axis towards the anode and cathode was found to be 2.0 ± 0.2 and 2.6 ± 0.1 MeV, respectively, and that of neutrons emitted in two opposite directions along the radius, 2.5 ± 0.1 and 2.4 ± 0.1 MeV. The maximum neutron yield at a current amplitude of 1.6 MA was of 1010 neutrons per shot.

Measurements of the parameters of a condensed deuterated Z-pinch on the angara-5-1 facility

Results are presented from measurements of the parameters of high-temperature plasma in the Z-pinch neck formed when a current of up to 3.5 MA flows through a low-density polymer load. To enhance the effect of energy concentration, a deuterated microporous polyethylene neck with a mass density of 100 mg/cm3 and diameter of 1–1.3 mm was placed in the central part of the load. During the discharge current pulse, short-lived local hot plasma spots with typical dimensions of about 200–300 μm formed in the neck region. Their formation was accompanied by the generation of soft X-ray pulses with photon energies of E > 0.8 keV and durations of 3–4 ns. The plasma electron temperature in the vicinity of the hot spot was measured from the vacuum UV emission spectra of the iron diagnostic admixture and was found to be about 200–400 eV. The appearance of hot plasma spots was also accompanied by neutron emission with the maximum yield of 3 × 1010 neutrons/shot. The neutron energy spectra were studied by means of the time-of-flight method and were found to be anisotropic with respect to the direction of the discharge current.

A calorimetric dosimeter of high-power pulses of hard X rays with a lead absorber

A simple small calorimetric dosimeter for proximate measurements of the dose of high-power pulse bremsstrahlung γ-radiation was developed. The dose was measured by the heating of a lead absorber. The dosimeter was tested on a generator of a high-current relativistic electron beam with an exposure dose rate of up to 5 × 109 R/s with a total dose per pulse of up to 800 R. The maximum possible measured dose is evaluated as 3 × 105 R at a sensitivity threshold of ∼20 R under our experimental conditions.