DESIGN HARD X-RAY SOURCE CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATIONS OF A PLASMA FOCUS TAILORED FOR FLASH HARD X-RAY IMAGING

P. KNOBLAUCH; DI LORENZO; V. RASPA; A. CLAUSSE; C. MORENO

PHYSICA SCRIPTA

IOP

Año: 2008 vol. T131 p. 14033 - 14039

0281-1847

A low-energy (2.5 kJ, 30 kV) plasma focus tailored to perform as a hard x-ray radiation source for flash radiography, is presented. The device is operated in a mixture of deuterium and argon to enhance its performance. A study of the breakdown properties of the discharge chamber is presented. The hard x-ray emission was experimentally characterized by means of both: the spatial location of the radiation source inside the discharge chamber, and by an effective energy  analysis based on systematic measurements of the attenuation of thehard x-ray output through different metallic pieces. Samples of  admium, copper and nickel with thicknesses in the range from 1 to 6 mm, were employed. From single shot images of the set of plates, the effective energy of the radiation was estimated to be around 83 keV.Numerical calculations, based on validated codes, are presented to give an interpretation of the experimental results. Experimental demonstration of suitability for hard x-ray imaging applications, is also presented.