INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS & IWPDA2009

APPLICATIONS 2-3 July 2009

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 Plasma focus device
The dense plasma focus devices were developed by J.W.Mather in
the USA and N.V.Filippov in former Soviet Union.
It is a device which produces an electrical discharge in a rarefied
gas with current that can vary from a few kA to several MA.

Mather type Filippov type

1)insulator sleeve, 2)anode, 3)cathode, 4)current sheath

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Importance and the goal

- Dense Plasma Focus:

Density: ~1025 m-3 Temperature: ~1keV

-Plasma focus discharges

hot plasma bunches and fast streams
fast neutrons
hard and soft X-rays
energetic ions and electrons
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Simulation and design of system

-The three phase current sheath dynamic model by

MATLAB
-input parameters
Results:
anode length=14.8cm anode radius=1.39cm
cathode radius=4.47cm axial peak current=224kA
current sheath radial motion
velocity=10.86 cm/µs time=0.013µs
axial phase time=2.94µs S factor =92.52
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computed discharge current 5
 (a)

a) computed current sheath curvature at the end of

breakdown phase
b) simulated velocity of current sheath in the axial phase
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Design of mechanical structure

- The anode is a cylindrical tube with a length of

14.8cm, and a diameter of 2.78cm.
- The cathode is in the form of a squirrel cage
consisting 6 rods arranged concentrically around
the anode with a diameter of 4.47cm, and a length
of 14.5cm.
- These electrodes are made of copper and they are
mounted on a knife edge copper collector plate.

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Design of mechanical structure

-The Pyrex glass insulator with a length of 5.1

cm and a thick of 3mm slides over the anode
- A thick Perspex disc is used as the insulator
between collector plates.
- The discharge chamber is a stainless steel
cylinder of 26.5cm in internal diameter and
38cm height.
- Upper cover of the cathode is a stainless steel
plate with diameter of 34.5 cm.
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 Design

1-anode, 2-cathode bars, 3-lateral wall, 4-pyrex insulator, 5-knife

edge cathode disc, 6-copper cathode disc, 7-perspex insulator disc,
8-anode brass disc, 9-lateral window, 10-vacuum chamber
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 Design

-The vacuum system is intended for evacuation

of the chamber up to pressure ~5×10-3 Torr and
for puffing the working gases into the chamber
with density ~ 1015-1017 particle/cm3.

-The electrical structure is used for charging the

capacitor up to the adjusted voltage, its
discharging both through the discharge chamber,
and in the case of necessity, from it to the ground.

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 Design

-Energy is stored in 36µf, 16kV, and 100nH

capacitor by charging up to 15kV.
-Transfer of energy from capacitor to coaxial
electrodes is made by a rail gap switch.
-The rail gap is mounted directly on the top of
the capacitor using parallel plate configuration.
-This switch consists of three parallel 35.5 cm
electrodes which act as multiple spark channels.
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1- plexi disc between anode and cathode plates, 2- soft robber, 3- cathode disc, 4- knife
edge disc, 5- cathode bars, 6- anode, 7- rail gap switch, 8-coaxial cables, 9- upper cover
of chamber, 10- control and command unit, 11-capacitor, 12- six lateral windows, 13-
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pinhole camera, 14- gas puffing system
APF plasma focus device
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diagnostics
The diagnostic systems consist of PC based oscilloscopes
to record the output of the following diagnostics:
- Rogowski coils to measure the current flowing into the anode
and the current derivative signals.

- NaIscintillators and fast plastic scintillators followed by an

appropriate photomultiplier to register neutron and HXR yields.

- Pinhole camera with single and two emission zones to study

SXR and HXR signals

- Magnetic probes to study the dynamics of current sheath in

the axial phase.

-SXR spectrometer to X-ray spectroscopy in the range of 5-14 Å.

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Experiments Pinch current

current signals measured by a rogowski coil

(I) Ar(11.5kV, 0.95torr) with high intensity plasma pinch ,
(II) Ar(11.5kV, 0.95torr) without plasma pinch( simple RLC)
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 Experiments Focusing time

(a)- current signals

(I)- Ar(11.5kV, 2 torr), (II)- Ar(11.5kV, 0.95torr), (III)- Ne(11.5kV,
1.2torr), (IV)- Ne(11.5kV, 2.5torr),
(b)- Focusing time Ar : (I)- 11.5kV, (II)- 13.5kV 16
Experiments Pinch visible light

Visible light
emitted by
plasma pinch.

a) Ar(11.5kV,0.95torr)
b) Ar (14.5 kV, 2torr)
c) Ne (11.5kV,1.2torr)
d) Ne (14.5kV,2.5torr)

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 Experiments Insulator effect

Signals of current discharge (Ar,11.5kV, 0.95torr) with

different insulator sleeve dimensions:
(a)- (I) - L=4.8cm, DL=3.2cm, (II) - L=4.8cm, DL=3 cm,
(III) -L=4.8cm, DL=3.4cm, (b)-(I)-L=6.5cm, DL=3cm,
(II) - L=4.6cm, DL=3cm, (III)-L=5.2 cm, DL=3cm.
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 Experiments Optimum pressure

(a)-Optimum pressure vs. applied voltage with Ar and Ne

(b)- discharge current vs. applied voltage at the optimum
pressure.
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 Experiments HXR intensity

Time profile of HXR signals (I)-Ar(11.5kV,0.95torr) and

Ne(11.5kV,1.2torr)
(b): HXR intensity as a function of applied pressure when
Ne puffed to the chamber
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Experiments HXR anisotropy

Angular distribution of HXR by APF plasma focus

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 Experiments magnetic probe

As the current sweeps past the probe, the coils of magnetic

probe will pick up a sudden increase.

(a) - Magnetic probe structure

(b) - Setting positions of magnetic probes
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 Experiments magnetic probe

recorded signals by three symmetric magnetic probes and

discharge current signal with Ar (11.5kV, 0.95torr) 23
Experiments
magnetic probe

recorded signals by three symmetric magnetic probes and

discharge current signal with Ar (11.5kV, 0.95torr)
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 Experiments Velocity of current sheath
the measurement of the passing time of current sheath
through the magnetic probes
Shots Z tfirst probe tsecondprobe tthird probe Current signal Average
(cm)
(µs) (µs) (µs) behavior velocity
(cm/µs)
Shot-1 4.3 2.42 2.39 2.42 High intensity pinch
Shot-2 6.3 3.6 3.63 3.61 High intensity pinch
1.72
Shot-3 4.3 2.38 2.36 2.40 High intensity pinch
Shot-4 6.3 3.48 3.52 3.51 High intensity pinch
1.80
Shot-5 4.3 2.76 3.83 1.9 Weak pinch
Shot-6 6.3 3.91 4.32 2.1 Weak pinch
1.51
Shot-7 4.3 2.4 1.68 3.49 Simple RLC
Shot-8 6.3 2.1 4.2 4.8 Simple RLC
1.7
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 Experiments

intensity of HXR signals correlated with the

magnetic probes signals 26
 Results
-Variation of pinch current versus working
voltages at the optimum pressure was
obtained experimentally when we used Ar
and Ne as working gases.
-optimum pressure has an important effect on
plasma pinch formation and when we applied
non optimum pressures, intensity of plasma
pinch was weak.

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 Results
-Effect of the insulator sleeve length on
plasma focus operation investigated by others
and the experimental results by different
diameters of insulator sleeve show that
insulator diameter can influence on plasma
pinch quality.
-optimum pressure tends to increase as we
tried to higher voltage levels for any of
working gases.
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 Results

-HXR signal intensity versus operating

pressure, when Ne puffed into the chamber
obtained among 20 shots at the nearly
constant conditions.
-Decrease of HXR intensity with the
increase of working pressure was obvious.

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Results

-The distribution of HXR intensity shows a

large anisotropy with a maximum intensity
between 22.5o and 45o at the right hand and
between -22.5o and 67.5o at the left hand.
-The anisotropic distribution of HXR
indicates that their origin isn’t due to a
simple mechanism.

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Results
- when discharge resulted to a high intensity
plasma pinch, the first peak of signals recorded
by three magnetic probes occurred at the same
time obviously.
- when the first peak of magnetic signals
registered at the different times, occurrence of
plasma pinch disruption at the first peak of
discharge current wasn’t observed.
- there is a noticeable correlation between
plasma pinch intensity and current sheath
symmetry. 31
Results
-velocity of current sheath computed by these
recorded signals and average velocity of
current sheath at this point obtained 1.68 cm/μs
at the optimum condition.
-in the case of a symmetric plasma layer
formation between the electrodes, intensity of
HXR signal is more intense than a bad shot
which results to an asymmetric plasma
sheath.
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 Results
-Close correlation among plasma sheath
symmetry, HXR intensity, and current
signal behavior illustrate that not only
quality of pinched plasma column influence
on HXR yield, but also symmetry of plasma
layer at the axial acceleration phase has a
direct relationship with the yield of HXR.

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Refrences
[1] J. W. Mather, Dense Plasma Focus, Methods of Experimental Physics, Vol.9, Part B, Academic Press,
New York, (1971), pp. 187-249
[2] J. W.Mather, Formation of high density deuterium plasma focus, Physics of Fluid, 8 (2) (1965), pp. 366-
377
[3] M. G. Haines, Dense Plasma in Z-pinches and the Plasma Focus, Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and PhysicalSciences,300(1456) (1981), pp.649-663
[4] Y. H. Chen and S. Lee, Coaxial plasma gun in mode 1 operation,International journal of electronics,
35(3) (1973), pp.341-352
[5] S. Lee, T. Y. Tou, S. P. Moo, M. A. Eissa, A. V. Golap, K. H. Kwek, S. Mulyodrono, A. J. Smith, Suryadi,
W. Usada, and M. Zakaullah, A simple facility for the teaching of plasma dynamics and plasma nuclear
fusion, American Journal of Physics, 56 (1) (1988), pp. 62-68
[6] L. Soto, New trends and future perspectives on plasma focus research, Plasma Physics and Control
Fusion, 47(5A) (2005), pp. 361-381
[7] H Bruzzone , D Grondona, Magnetic probe measurements of the initial phase in a plasma focus device,
Plasma Physics and Control Fusion, 39(9) (1997), pp.1315–1326
[8] J. O. Pouzo, Application of the Dense Plasma Focus to Nuclear Fusion and Plasma Astrophysics, IEEE
TRANSACTION OF PLASMA SCIENCE, 31(6) (2003), pp.1237-1242
[9] M. Mathuthu, T. G. Zengeni, and A. V. Gholap, The Three-Phase Theory for Plasma Focus Devices,
IEEE TRANSACTION OF PLASMA SCIENCE,25(6) (1997),pp.1382-1388
[10] M. Habibi, R. Amrollahi, M. attaran, R. Etaati, Design, Construction and the First Experiments on the
Amirkabir Plasma Focus (APF) Facility, Plasma Device and Operations, 16(3) (2008), pp.163-169
[11] M. Mathuthu, T. G. Zengeni, A. V. Gholap, Measurement of magnetic field and velocity profiles in 3.6
kJ United Nations University/International Center For Theoretical Physics plasma focus fusion device,
Physics of Plasmas 3 (12) (1996),pp.4572-4576

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 Thank You for Your Attention

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