Application of high-speed photography to the study of the plasma-focus PF1000 device

This paper presents the multi-frame image-capturing system based on a few simultaneously operating high-speed photography subsystems, capable of acquiring plasma images in different parts of radiation spectra, i.e. in a visible as well as soft X-ray spectral range. The passive optical diagnostic subsystem allows recording frame sequence and streak images of plasma in visible spectrum. It consists of the streak camera and the high-speed four-frame camera. The high-speed four-frame camera is based on of the first generation image intensifiers and is able to acquire images of plasma originating in plasma-focus phenomena with minimal estimated optical gate time of about 1 ns. The two cameras based on an open microchannel plate devices allow recording four-frame plasma images in a soft X-ray range with estimated X-ray gate time of about 2 ns. All presented high-speed photography subsystems are equipped with digital readout. Some examples of the results obtained by means of the multi-frame image-capturing system, are given in the final part of the paper.