Plasma-focus-based tabletop hard x-ray source for 50ns resolution introspective imaging of metallic objects through metallic walls

A tabletop 4.7kJ, 30kV plasma focus device was used as a pulsed hard x-ray source for fast radiography (50ns exposure time) of metallic pieces even through several millimeter thick metallic walls. An experimental estimation of the effective average energy of the x-ray beam (found to be around 100keV) and a numerical estimation of the induced voltage on the focus during the compressional stage of a plasma focus are briefly discussed.