Investigation of intense XUV emission of nitrogen-puff Z-pinch with small energy input

Light elements like nitrogen or carbon are suggested as optimum working media for small Z-pinches (several kJ energy input). It is shown that such elements can be ionized up to K-shell ionization stages not only in hotspots, but also in the bulk plasma. The yield of nitrogen K-shell radiation (about 10 J/shot) is therefore substantially higher than that of traditionaly used neon. Besides the pinch physics and radiation dynamics, such radiation could be of interest for applications in "water window" spectral region.