Characterization of a 500J dense plasma focus for producing soft x-rays

Abstract

The scaling of x-ray output with (stored energy)2 and ∼10ns radiation pulse width of the dense plasma focus make it an interesting source of soft x-ray radiation for lithography, biological imaging, nano imaging or soft x-ray diagnostic calibration. AASC was funded by DTRA to explore soft x-ray diagnostic calibration*. In this follow-on study, we explore an alternative electrode configuration with Ar. The soft x-radiation (≫1 keV) yield, radiation pulse width and debris are characterized for our 500J dense plasma focus over 100’s of pulses fired at 0.2 Hz. The radiation yield is compared with (current)4 scaling. A soft x-ray spectrometer is installed to examine the soft x-ray spectrum.