Measurements of magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth in solid liners on the 20 MA Z facility

The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability is the most important instability for determining whether a cylindrical liner can be compressed to its axis in a relatively intact form, a requirement for achieving the high pressures needed for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and other high energy-density physics applications. While there are many published RT studies, there are a handful of well-characterized MRT experiments at time scales $>$1 $\mu$s and none for 100 ns z-pinch implosions. Experiments used solid Al liners with outer radii of 3.16 mm and thicknesses of 292 $\mu$m, dimensions similar to magnetically-driven ICF target designs [1]. In most tests the MRT instability was seeded with sinusoidal perturbations ($\lambda$=200, 400 $\mu$m, peak-to-valley amplitudes of 10, 20 $\mu$m, respectively), wavelengths similar to those predicted to dominate near stagnation. Radiographs show the evolution of the MRT instability and the effects of current-induced ablation of mass from the liner surface. Additional Al liner tests used 25-200 $\mu$m wavelengths and flat surfaces. Codes being used to design magnetized liner ICF loads [1] match the features seen except at the smallest scales ($<$50 $\mu$m). Recent experiments used Be liners to enable penetrating radiography using the same 6.151 keV diagnostics and provide an in-flight measurement of the liner density profile.\\[4pt] [1] S.A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010).