X-pinch Plasma Observations

The parameters of an X-pinch plasma produced by the discharge of a microsecond capacitor bank through fine wires of tungsten, molybdenum, nichrome, aluminum etc, have been studied with a number of diagnostic techniques. We report on the results of measurements with PIN diodes, a Nd:YAG laser based interferometer, and preliminary results from a crystal spectrograph using a flat mica crystal. We will also demonstrate that for certain applications, the X-pinch produced by the cheaper capacitive discharge technique performs sufficiently well compared to more expensive pulsed power systems.