Compact plasma focus devices: Flexible laboratory sources for applications

Small pinch plasma devices are intense sources of pulsed XUV-radiation. Because of their low costs and their compact sizes pinch plasmas seem well suited to supplement research ac- tivities based on synchrotrons. With correct optimisation, both continuous radiation and narrowband line radiation can be tailored for specific applications. For the special demand of optimising narrowband emission from these plasmas the scaling of K-shell line emission of intermediate atomic number pinch plasmas with respect to device parameters has been stud- ied. Scaling laws, especially taking into account the transient behaviour of the pinch plasma, give design criteria. Investigations of the transition between column and micropinch mode of- fer predictable access to shorter wavelengths and smaller source sizes. Results on proximity x-ray lithography, imaging and contact x-ray microscopy, x-ray fluorescence (XFA) micros- copy and photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) were achieved.