Time-Varying Inductance of the Plasma Sheet in the PF1000 Plasma-Focus Device

The time-varying inductance of the plasma-electrode system in the large plasma focus (PF) device PF1000 is experimentally determined from voltage and current-time derivative signals. The signals were acquired in several shots performed at the same conditions (2.4 mbar of D
₂
, 24 kV). Using these results, the temporal evolution of the voltage drop on the pinch column is also assessed. The maximum values of these voltage drops exceed 100 kV in all the shots.