Author Affiliations
Abstract
1 Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
2 Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA
3 State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, China
Fast Z-pinches, plasma implosions driven by MA-level ~100-ns duration current pulses, are an active research area with applications to a broad range of High Energy Density Physics studies, including investigations of properties of materials at extreme pressures,1 opacities of various plasmas at conditions found in stellar interiors,2 and scaled modelling of astrophysical magnetohydrodynamics.3 The ability of fast Z-pinches to generate extremely bright pulses of X-ray radiation is of significant interest for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) studies. The highest X-ray powers and yields are achieved using wire-array Z-pinch loads, which are capable of generating 2-MJ, 250-TW,<10-ns X-ray pulses at the largest currently operating pulsed power facility, the 25-MA Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories (New Mexico, USA). The physics of wire-array loads continue to attract significant interest from the Z-pinch community, with research aiming to further improve their operation.
Matter and Radiation at Extremes
2019, 4(6): 063001