Two-component magnetic field/flux compression for improving Z-pinch radiative performance and power multiplication

Summary form only given, as follows. In order to generate K-shell radiation in the range of 10 keV and above, the existing schemes of Z-pinch plasma radiation sources (PRS) require high currents, short pulse rise times and stable implosions. For this, one needs to mitigate the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability of the plasma shell imploded by the rapidly rising magnetic pressure. To mitigate the RT instability, a somewhat non-conventional use of the externally applied axial magnetic field B/sub z/ combined with a double-shell gas-puff load is proposed. For stabilization, the whole implosion should be organized in such a way that the frozen-in axial field B/sub z/ /spl cong/ B/sub /spl theta// is concentrated in a thin layer of imploding plasma. The initially seeded axial magnetic field B/sub z0/ is amplified through flux compression in a low-density plasma between the two colliding plasma shells. Theoretical analysis of the thin plasma shell formation in the presence of a B/sub z/ magnetic field and results of a numerical simulation will be presented.