Quantitative Analysis of Plasma Ablation Using Inverse Wire Array Z-pinches

An inverse (exploding) wire array configuration, in which the wires form a cylinder around a current carrying electrode on axis, was used to study the ablation phase of the pinch. This configuration allows the parameters of the plasma from individual wires of the array to be measured as the ablated plasma streams propagate in the outward radial direction. The density distribution and the evolution of the natural mode of modulation of the ablation was measured with interferometry and soft x-ray imaging. Measurements of the voltage across the array, which in this configuration is determined by the private magnetic flux around the individual wires, allows information on the localisation of the current to be obtained.