Effects of pulsed anode heating on self-magnetic-pinch radiographic performance using NRL's Mercury IVA

Previous proof-of-principle experiments at NRL used the Mercury IVA facility to test a self-magnetic-pinch (SMP) diode in conjunction with a pulsed resistive heating treatment that cleaned the SMP's anode surface. This heating treatment was tested as a method for mitigating the negative effects of low-Z ions, such as post-shot activation and potentially reduced diode impedance. These low-Z ions can form in the diode region from contaminants on the diode hardware that require in situ cleaning to remove.