X-Pinch Characteristics on A Microsecond Capacitive Discharge

Two wire x-pinches of tungsten, molybdenum, nichrome, aluminum, titanium, etc., with diameters ranging from 10 -- 25 microns have been imploded with a 280 kA, 1 microsecond capacitor bank. The x-pinch plasma has been characterized with diagnostics which include soft x-ray PIN diodes, pinhole cameras, a flat crystal spectrograph and a Nd:YAG laser based interferometer. Time integrated x-ray data obtained with pinhole cameras and the spectrograph have enabled the estimation of the x-pinch source size and plasma temperature, respectively. X-rays from the pinch have been used to demonstrate point projection radiography of a simple biological system and a fine wire mesh. Plasma density measurements will also be reported from the Mach-Zender interferometer.