Filamentary structure of the pinch column in plasma focus discharges

The fine structure of a soft (0.8–3 keV) X-ray emitting zone in a 280 kJ neutron optimized plasma focus is investigated. Distinct continuous filaments are registered during the pinch phase. Time-resolved X-ray measurements show that the filamentation exists to ≈ 20–50 ns after the maximum compression. A comparison of these observations with those performed previously with a 56 kJ plasma focus device is also presented.