Charged particles and x-ray emission studies on a dense plasma focus device

Abstract

The emission of charged particles, electron and ion beams, and radiation, soft and hard x-rays, from the pinching plasma have been investigated in the UofS-I dense plasma focus (DPF) device. The UofS-I DPF is in a Mather-type configuration, powered by a 2 kJ, 25 kV-charged capacitor bank, operated with 10–20 mTorr argon gas. The charged particles have been recorded using a Faraday cup for ion beam collection, and a charge collector and a Rogowski coil for the electron beam measurement. Moreover, the soft and hard x-rays have been detected using a BPX-65, filtered silicon PIN photodiode and a scintillator, respectively. The time delays of signals with respect to the pinch time have been compared. Strong correlations of the charged particles and the x-ray emission intensities with the voltage peak and current dip have been observed, and consequently indicate their dependence on the anode voltage and strength of pinching of plasma.