Investigation of asymmetry of wire-array Z pinches at stagnation using a 4-channel laser diagnostic

Abstract

Asymmetry of wire-array Z-pinches at stagnation was investigated using four synchronized laser beams at the wavelength of 266 nm. These beams were spaced at 45° with respect to each other, allowing a full view of the pinch from four directions. The laser pulse duration was 0.2 ns, with a <0.1 ns temporal accuracy between the four channels. Strong asymmetry was found in Z pinches produced by implosion of asymmetrical wire array loads. Anisotropy of the wire-array Z pinch arises due to the asymmetric implosion and development of plasma instabilities. Understanding the three-dimension structure of Z-pinches is important for interpretation of data from x-ray and laser diagnostics.

Two-axis XUV/SR Imaging System with Temporal-spatial Resolution for Wire Array Z-pinch on Qin-1

“…In this study, two identical XUV/SR framing cameras (XFCs) were synchronized by an electrical control system to investigate the spatial distribution of Z-pinch plasma produced by the implosion of symmetrical and asymmetrical wire array loads at a small pulsed power facility known as Qin-1 [12]. The two synchronized cameras can provide sequenced photographs of changing plasma from two azimuthal directions.…”