A 10-TW Pulsed Facility “PIRIT” for Investigation of Short-Wave Radiation Generation

Abstract The results of experiments with a plasma x-ray source in the PIRIT-2000 facility are presented in this paper. The facility is designed with module capacitive energy storage energizing vacuum inductive storage. The formation of a rapidly growing current pulse as well as its commutation on a load was carried out by a plasma opening switch. A vacuum diode as well as various types of plasma loads can be used for the generation of a high-power x-ray flux. The storage energy of a 54-module capacitive storage is up to 2 MJ, its inductance is 15 nH, and its output voltage is 500 kV. The peak current in the plasma load constituted 4 MA with a 150-ns rise time. The maximum integral energy output of x radiation measured by an open thermocouple calorimeter was as high as 100 kJ, while the primary storage energy was 1 MJ. The plasma load usage at a current of 4 MA ensured a 100-kJ generation in x-ray radiation and the density of the radiation flux at a distance of 1 m from the source was as much as 0.8 J/cm 2 , while near the source it was 10 J/cm 2 .