A High-Resolution, Multi-View Spectroscopic Analysis of Deuterium Plasmas Generated by a Local Mass Injection Dense Plasma Focus

A high-resolution spectroscopic characterization is conducted on a deuterium plasma in a local mass injection dense plasma focus (DPF). The DPF experiment is conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory’s plasma and gas injected Hawk pulsed-power generator, which features a high inductance driver (607 nH), a 640kV/670 kA peak voltage/current pulse, and a 1.2 μs pulse rise time. The characterization is conducted from near-UV to visible (300-650 nm) via a sub-angstrom resolution, 1.3 m focal length Czerny-Turner spectrometer. The characterization spans multiple phases of the DPF including initial deuterium plasma injection, axial run-down, and radial implosion of the central deuterium mass. Multiple spatial locations are sampled per pulse to measure positional variations of the plasma through a multi-fiber input array. Imaging of the spectra is conducted by a 2D intensified gated CCD, allowing for gated time-dependent measurements. Multiple plasma properties are deduced from the spectral line characteristics including electron temperature and density by line broadening mechanisms.