Pulsed-power-generated plasma of high reproducibility

Plasmas of high reproducibility that are suitable for beam-plasma experiments are generated by a pulsed-power z-pinch discharge. The z-pinch device is designed as a plasma target for the investigation of ion beam-plasma interactions. The dynamic plasma state is characterized by the electron densities of up to (2.6 plus 0.1) x 10high18 electrons/cmhigh3 were measured interferometrically. Electron temperatures in the range 2 - 7 eV are determinated by time-resolved spectroscopy. The reproducibility of the electron density of the z-pinch discharge in terms of shot-to-shot fluctuations is estimated to be better than 3%. This is a favorable condition for performing beam-plasma experiments.