Scaling of Radiation Parameters of Planar and Compact Cylindrical Wire Arrays at the 1 MA Zebra Generator

Abstract

Analysis is presented on scaling of radiated x‐ray power, energy and implosion timing of single planar wire arrays (SPWA), double planar wire array (DPWA), and compact cylindrical wire array (CCWA) loads (diameter is 3 and 6 mm) of Mo and W with respect to current peak (0.8–1.4 MA), mass and array dimensions at 100 ns current pulse. Such scaling investigations are important for understanding the potential of these loads as an ICF radiation source7. These data are used to identify promising directions to pursue with regard to highest x‐ray output, smallest load size, and most consistent shot‐to‐shot performance. It is shown that W SPWA and DPWA total energy yield and peak power increased near‐quadratically with current. DPWA scans of inter‐planar gaps from 1.5 mm to 9 mm show an output maximum at 1.5 mm with decreasing output for 6 mm and 9 mm. A DPWA width scan shows that radiation yields decrease slowly as the width is decreased, which may allow for more compact loads without significant sacrifice to the...