Investigation of characteristics of hard x-rays produced during implosions of wire array loads on 1.6 MA Zebra generator

Experimental study of the characteristics of hard x-ray (HXR) emission from multi-planar wire arrays and compact-cylindrical wire arrays (CCWA) plasmas on the 1.6 MA Zebra generator at UNR has been carried out. The characteristics of HXR produced by multi-planar wire arrays such as single, double, and triple planar as well as compact-cylindrical wire arrays made from Al, Cu, brass, Mo, and W were analyzed. Data from spatially resolved time-integrated and spatially integrated time-gated x-ray spectra recorded by LiF spectrometers, x-ray pinhole images, and signals from fast x-ray detectors have been used to study spatial distribution and time history of HXR emission with different loads. The dependence of the HXR yield and power on the wire material, geometry of the load and load mass is observed. Both HXR yield and power are minimum for Al and maximum for W loads. The HXR yield increases with the rise of the atomic number of the material for all loads. The presence of aluminum wires in the load with the main material such as Cu, Mo, or W in combined wire arrays decreases HXR yield. For W plasma, the intensity of cold L-shell spectral lines (1–1.5 Å) correlates with corresponding amplitude of HXR signals which may suggest the evidence of generation of electron beams in plasma. It is found that HXRs are generated from different plasma regions by the interaction of electron-beam with the plasma trailing mass, with the material of anode and due to thermal radiation from plasma bright spots. The theoretical assumption of thermal mechanism of HXR emission predicts the different trends for dependency of HXR power on atomic number and load mass.