Neutron Production from a Deuterium Gas Puff at the Z Accelerator

Summary form only given. Experiments have been performed at the Z accelerator to study the neutron production from a deuterium gas puff. The current scaling of the neutron production was of primary interest, so shots were fielded at approximately 12 MA, and 16 MA. The shots at both current levels were fielded with similar implosion times. The gas puff nozzle used was a nested shell configuration, with the inner shell extending from 3 to 2 cm, and the outer shell from 3 to 4 cm; the load length was 2 cm. Dopant gases were added to the deuterium (argon and chlorine) to track the implosion characteristics of the gas through X-ray yield and spectroscopy measurements. Indium detectors, as well as lead and beryllium probes were fielded. Neutron time-of-flight measurements were also obtained. Neutron outputs near 1e13 were measured for the 12 MA shot, and greater than 1e13 was observed for the 16 MA shot. These results will be compared with computational predictions and previous neutron measurements from Z-pinch sources