X-Ray Backlighting of Developments of -pinches and Wire-Array -pinches Using an -pinch

摘要

A pulsed-power generator (PPG-I) with a current of 400 kA in amplitude and 100 ns in pulsewidth was constructed. The development of $X$-pinches and the early stages of wire-array $Z$-pinches were investigated by X-ray backlighting using the $X$-pinch driven by PPG-I as X-ray source. The plasma explosion and implosion near the cross point of the X-shape wires can be clearly seen from a series of backlighting images taken at different times of $X$-pinch discharge. To study the early behavior of the plasma in wire-array $Z$-pinches, an $X$-pinch installed in the place of a current-return rod was used as the X-ray source to backlight a wire-array $Z$-pinch installed in the center between the anode and the cathode. The plasma formation, the interwire plasma merging, and the instabilities were also clearly observed, which can provide a better understanding of the physics of $Z$-pinches and the basic experimental data to validate simulation models.