Diagnostics in a fast high-density z-pinch

A fast, high-density z-pinch discharge is suitable for the study of CO2 laser-plasma interactions. The plasma was investigated temporally and spatially using a variety of optical diagnostic techniques including streak and shadowgram photography, spectroscopy, and Thomson scattering off ion acoustic fluctuations. Peak electron densities of 4×1019 cm−3 and ion temperatures of 50 eV are observed. Shadowgrams show that at peak compression the plasma consists of an inner dense core ne ≳1019 cm−3 1 mm in diameter surrounded by a low-density region ne ∼1018 cm−3 that extends to a diameter of 4 mm.