Time-Resolved Temperature Measurement in a Z-Pinch Plasma using Continuum X-Rays

Summary form only given. A simplified technique to measure the plasma temperature in multiwire Z-pinch experiments is reported. Experiments were carried out in a small (36 kJ) Z-pinch machine and the diagnostics employed include X-ray detection using PIN diodes fitted with different transmission filters. The comparison of the relative intensities in each filtered X-ray band allows a time-resolved measurement of the electron temperature to be obtained. The method is implemented by convoluting a simple model of the continuum spectrum with the filter-detector response and calculating signal ratios for different filters. The computed ratios are then compared to the experimental ones to obtain the time-resolved temperature. When the method was applied to shots with 3-4 wire bundles the temperature was found to be in the interval 1 to 7 keV. Characteristic radiation had to be identified beforehand as this method is not suitable for line radiation