X-Ray Emission Characteristics of Insulated and Bare Wire X-Pinches

Abstract

X-ray emission characteristics of insulated wire X-pinch (IXP) and bare wire X-pinch (BXP) are presented. Insulated coating on wires has been suggested as a method for improving the implosion quality of wire array that affect x-ray emission. To understand the effect of insulated coating on x-ray emission of X-pinch, we conduct experiments with Cu BXP and IXP on SNU X-pinch and measure the emitted x-ray using AXUV diode array. Pinch time, x-ray emission time, power, and yield of BXP and IXP are compared; plasma states of X-pinches are estimated by comparing x-ray power ratios with the synthetic spectra from FLYCHK. Consequently, the number of x-ray peaks and the x-ray emission time are reduced in the IXP; the x-ray peak power and yield are also reduced, however a time-averaged x-ray powers of the IXP and the BXP are similar. Furthermore, hard x-ray (HXR) emission significantly decrease in the IXP. From the comparison of the synthetic spectra and the measurement data, we confirm that the reduction of HXR is due to the suppression of x-ray emission by electron beams. Through this study, we suggest the possibility of the IXP as a soft x-ray source.