Implosion characteristics and applications of combined tungsten–aluminum Z-pinch planar arrays

An exploration of the implosion properties and X-ray radiation pulses from tungsten-based planar wire array Z-pinch experiments is presented, with an emphasis on loads mixed with aluminum. These experiments were carried out on Zebra, the 1.0 MA pulse power generator at the Nevada Terawatt Facility. A suite of diagnostics was used to study these plasmas, including X-ray and EUV Si diodes, optical imaging, laser shadowgraphy, and time-gated and time-integrated X-ray pinhole imagers and spectrometers. Specifically, loads with relatively large inter-wire gaps where tungsten is placed in the center of a planar configuration composed primarily of aluminum showed unusual characteristics. These loads are shown to generate a “bubbling” effect in which plasma from the ablation of outer aluminum wires is temporarily hindered from converging at the center of the array where the tungsten wire is located. Reproduction of these experiments with variations to load geometry, materials, and mass distribution are also presented and discussed in an attempt to better understand the phenomenon. In addition, a theoretical model has also been applied to better understand the dynamics of the implosions of these loads. Applications of this effect to radiation pulse shaping, particularly with multi-planar arrays, are also discussed.