Comparison of noble gas puff Z-Pinches on the 500 kA, 160 ns CEZSAR Linear Transformer Driver

The type of load in a z-pinch experiment affects energy transfer, plasma temperature and densities, radiation characteristics, and pinch dynamics. To investigate these effects, we conducted a first comparative study of hollow shell gas puff Z-pinch experiments using neon, argon, krypton and xenon on the CESZAR Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) capable of producing ~500 kA current with a ~160 ns rise time. Maintaining similar mass per unit length, and therefore implosion time, across different gas species allowed us to isolate the effects of the type of gas on the dynamics. Diagnostic techniques implemented included a four-frame time-gated XUV pinhole camera and a two-frame schlieren imaging system enabling detailed visualization of the implosion dynamics and stability characteristics. Filtered X-ray pin diodes were also included to capture precise timing of the pinch and relative X-ray yield for each shot. The results show significant variations in stability and dynamics among the tested gases providing implications for the optimization of Z-pinch configurations in applications such as magnetic direct drive plasma compression and fundamental understanding of gas puff Z-pinch behavior.

[1] F. Conti et al., Dynamics and energy coupling of gas puff Z-pinches on a fast linear transformer driver, J. Appl. Phys. 130, 023301 (2021).