Francisl wrote: On a related topic, since tungsten electrodes will be used, can the tungsten ions be used to measure the energy levels in the different parts of the plasma wave and pinch as suggested by this article?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909111623.htm
My understanding is the Be will be used as electrodes. Be would fully strip if it could reach the pinch. Very little electrode material seems to make it into the pinch plasma. Measurements of high Z materials in deuterium pinches seldom reveal anything other than deuterium. Some people intentionally dope Z-pinches with high Z gases to measure the state of the plasma. For example, Ar pinches are commonly doped with Cl. The Ar lines become optically thick in pinch plasmas making the measurement of temperature and density more difficult. Cl is close to Ar so it doesn’t radiate away too much energy but it remains optically thin so you can measure temperature. It is a common trick. Other people dope deuterium plasma with Ne, Ar and Kr to enhance the radiation yield by cooling the plasma. It is counter-intuitive but cooling the imploding plasma is actually beneficial in some situations. There are several papers on deuterium doping. Plasma focus diagnostics typically operate in the visible, soft x-ray (>200 eV) and hard x-ray (>10 keV). EUV is not typically examined because the spectrometer are costly and must operate in vacuum without filters. Debris from the pinch and plasma can damage the camera if one is not careful. Visible emission can be measured through a window. Soft x-ray is penetrating enough that thin filters can protect a CCD or other recording medium. X-rays are penetrating enough to leave the vacuum through a thin x-ray window.
.
