Deuterium Plasma Implosion Experiments on the PFZ-200 Plasma Focus with the Help of Novel Schlieren Diagnostics

In this contribution, we present deuterium implosion experiments on the PFZ-200 plasma focus. The experiments are performed with the initial deuterium gas pressure in a range of 280–360 Pa and the capacitor battery charging voltage of 18 kV corresponding with 2.6 kJ of electrical energy and a current of about 200 kA at the maximum of plasma compression. Instabilities and subsequent disruptions of the imploded plasma generate electric fields that accelerate deuterons. The beam-target nuclear fusion reactions of the accelerated deuterons lead to neutron emission with a yield of
$\sim 10^{8}$
per single shot. The imploded plasma is investigated with the help of a comprehensive diagnostic system including a multiframe fast x-ray camera and laser imaging (interferometry and schlieren). The novel modification of the schlieren diagnostics allows us to detect different laser-path-integrated density gradients. The experimental results are compared with simulated schlieren images of assumed electron density profiles.