Time-resolved energy measurement of electron beams in fiber Z-pinch discharges

The emission of hard x rays with energies much greater than the applied anode-cathode voltage is a common feature of Z-pinch plasmas. Here time-resolved measurements of such emission from fiber Z pinches at the mega-ampere current level are reported. The x-ray spectrum measured by an array of detectors is used to calculate the energy of the electron beam producing the emission. Pulses of between 20 and 100 ns duration were observed and electron-beam energy measurements of around 2 MeV obtained. It is thought that these high-energy beams are generated by the plasma becoming resistive at the time of x-ray emission.