Physical processes taking place in dense plasma focus devices at the interaction of hot plasma and fast ion streams with materials under test

Abstract

The dense plasma focus (DPF) device represents a source of powerful streams of penetrating radiations (hot plasma, fast electron and ion beams, x-rays and neutrons) of ns-scale pulse durations. Power flux densities of the radiation types may reach in certain cases the values up to 1013 W cm − 2. They are widely used at present time in more than 30 labs in the world in the field of radiation material science. Areas of their implementations are testing of the materials perspective for use in modern fusion reactors (FR) of both types, modification of surface layers with an aim of improvements their properties, production of some nanostructures on their surface, and so on. To use a DPF correctly in these applications it is important to understand the mechanisms of generation of the above-mentioned radiations, their dynamics inside and outside of the pinch and processes of interaction of these streams with targets. In this paper, the most important issues on the above matter we discuss in relation to the cumulative hot plasma stream and the beam of fast ions with illustration of experimental results obtained at four DPF devices ranged in the limits of bank energies from 1 kJ to 1 MJ. Among them mechanisms of a jet formation, a current abruption phenomenon, a super-Alfven ion beam propagation inside and outside of DPF plasma, generation of secondary plasma and formation of shock waves in plasma and inside a solid-state target, etc. Nanosecond time-resolved techniques (electric probes, laser interferometry, frame self-luminescent imaging, x-ray/neutron probes, etc) give an opportunity to investigate the above-mentioned events and to observe the process of interaction of the radiation types with targets. After irradiation, we analyzed the specimens by contemporary instrumentation: optical and scanning electron microscopy, local x-ray spectral and structure analysis, atomic force microscopy, the portable x-ray diffractometer that combines x-ray single photon detection with high spectroscopic and angular resolutions, an x-ray microCT system with Cobra 7.4 and DIGIX CT software, microhardness measurements, etc. Some results in this area are presented.