Spatial structure and energy spectrum of ion beams studied with CN detectors within a small PF device

The paper reports the application of Solid-State Nuclear Track Detectors to study the pulsed plasma-ion streams emitted from plasma-focus (PF) type discharges, which were performed within a low-energy PACO device constructed at Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco. The PACO device was operated under static initial gas conditions or with dynamic gas puffing. Studies of the structure of the fast deuteron beams were carried out within an energy range from 80 keV to about 2 MeV. Studies of ion energy and an ion angular distribution were also performed. The measurements showed that the fast deuterons are emitted in many “narrow” micro-beams, as in other larger PF devices. The anisotropy of the deuteron angular distribution was explained by the stochastic character of the formation of local ion sources within the PF discharge column.