Recent progress with a 500-kJ plasma focus

Summary form only given. The plasma focus facility at Los Alamos has successfully made the transition to operating with two of the 250-kV Maxwell capacitor modules. The primary goal of the present research is to extend the plasma-focus neutron yield from the D(D,n)/sup 3/ He reaction beyond the yields observed by Mather's group in 1973. At that time, this group had produced neutron yields of /spl ges/10/sup 12/ n/shot with a maximum machine current of 2.3 MA. Following their lead, one is carefully remaining in the "high-pressure" operating mode of the plasma focus. At present this earlier performance but the machine parameters are presently not optimized.