RESUMEN
We recently developed a one-dimensional imager of neutrons on the Z facility. The instrument is designed for Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiments, which produce D-D neutrons yields of â¼3 × 1012. X-ray imaging indicates that the MagLIF stagnation region is a 10-mm long, â¼100-µm diameter column. The small radial extents and present yields precluded useful radial resolution, so a one-dimensional imager was developed. The imaging component is a 100-mm thick tungsten slit; a rolled-edge slit limits variations in the acceptance angle along the source. CR39 was chosen as a detector due to its negligible sensitivity to the bright x-ray environment in Z. A layer of high density poly-ethylene is used to enhance the sensitivity of CR39. We present data from fielding the instrument on Z, demonstrating reliable imaging and track densities consistent with diagnosed yields. For yields â¼3 × 1012, we obtain resolutions of â¼500 µm.
RESUMEN
The distance radiation waves that supersonically propagate in optically thick, diffusive media are energy sensitive. A blast wave can form in a material when the initially diffusive, supersonic radiation wave becomes transonic. Under specific conditions, the blast wave is visible with radiography as a density perturbation. [Peterson et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 056901 (2006)] showed that the time-integrated drive energy can be measured using blast wave positions with uncertainties less than 10% at the Z Facility. In some cases, direct measurements of energy loss through diagnostic holes are not possible with bolometric and x-ray radiometric diagnostics. Thus, radiography of high compression blast waves can serve as a complementary technique that provides time-integrated energy loss through apertures. In this paper, we use blast waves to characterize the energy emerging through a 2.4 mm aperture and show experimental results in comparison to simulations.
RESUMEN
High-power Z pinches on Sandia National Laboratories' Z facility can be used in a variety of experiments to radiatively heat samples placed some distance away from the Z-pinch plasma. In such experiments, the heating radiation spectrum is influenced by both the Z-pinch emission and the re-emission of radiation from the high-Z surfaces that make up the Z-pinch diode. To test the understanding of the amplitude and spectral distribution of the heating radiation, thin foils containing both Al and MgF2 were heated by a 100-130 TW Z pinch. The heating of these samples was studied through the ionization distribution in each material as measured by x-ray absorption spectra. The resulting plasma conditions are inferred from a least-squares comparison between the measured spectra and calculations of the Al and Mg 1s-->2p absorption over a large range of temperatures and densities. These plasma conditions are then compared to radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of the sample dynamics and are found to agree within 1sigma to the best-fit conditions. This agreement indicates that both the driving radiation spectrum and the heating of the Al and MgF2 samples is understood within the accuracy of the spectroscopic method.