Studying How Plasma Jets are Generated in a Plasma Focus

Plasma Physics Reports - Plasma bunches with the characteristic size of approximately 1 mm and electron density larger than 1019 cm–3 are registered by the laser sounding methods on a...     

Correlation between the parameters of ion and X-ray emissions from the plasma of a micropinch discharge

Ion emission from the plasma of a micropinch discharge is studied by analyzing the plasma flow from the discharge region with the help of time-of-flight technique and probe diagnostics. Concurrently, soft Xray emission from the micropinch is recorded. The experimental data are interpreted using the radiative contraction model.     

Laser-optical measurements of the velocities of the plasma jets formed from different gases in a kilojoule-range plasma focus facility

The velocities of the plasma jets formed from Ne, N₂, Ar, and Xe gases in plasma focus facilities were determined by means of laser-optical shadowgraphy of the shock waves generated at the jet leading edge. In spite of the almost tenfold ratio between the atomic weights of these gases, the outflow velocities of the plasma jets formed in experiments with these gases differ by less than twice, in the range of (0.7–1.1) × 10⁷ cm/s under similar discharge conditions. The energies of the jet ions were found to vary from 0.7 keV for nitrogen to 4 keV for xenon.     

Magnetic and neutron measurements on the PF-400 plasma focus facility

Parasitic currents shunting up to one-half of the total discharge current were detected using magnetic probes on a Filippov-type plasma focus facility with a maximum total current of 1 MA and stored energy of 80 kJ. The measured time dependence of neutron emission from the discharge indicates that the parameters of the neutron pulse are closely related to those of the imploding current sheath.