A Portable X-pinch Source for Dispersive X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Dynamic compression experiments on pulsed-power machines produce more uniform extreme states of matter that can reach mm in size. It is of interest to material science and planetary science to study the phase transitions and long-range structure in these extreme states. Recently, X-ray sources of high fluence and short pulse duration have been used in dispersive geometry to employ X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy as an ideal element-specific structural probe. These experiments are traditionally driven by (inter)national scale laser facilities, and more recently synchrotrons$^{\mathrm{.}}$ Our next generation portable X-pinch driver -- Dry Pinch 1 -- is only 30cm x 70cm, weight @50kg and produces \textgreater 100kA currents in a few 100ns pulse. The X-pinch emits \textasciitilde 100mJ of radiation \textgreater 10KeV, directly comparable to 3$^{\mathrm{rd}}$ generation synchrotron at a distance of \textless 20cm from the pinch. Dry pinch 1 is ideally suited as a complementary source for optimization of experimental setups before high-precision campaigns at large facilities. I will present the recent developments, preliminary results, and future milestones in our spectroscopy campaign.