Hybrid gas-puff z-pinch as a source of protons and deuterons up to 45 MeV

Efficient acceleration of deuterons has been observed in z-pinches and dense plasma foci since the 1950s. In 2013, we tested a hybrid configuration of a deuterium gas-puff z-pinch on the 3 MA GIT-12 generator (IHCE, Tomsk). In this configuration, a hollow cylindrical plasma shell was injected around an inner deuterium gas puff to form a uniformly conducting layer before z-pinch implosion [1]. The stable implosion at the maximum velocity of 650 km/s was important to deliver more current onto the z-pinch axis. After the implosion, one 10-20 ns pulse of multi-MeV photons and neutrons was observed. The average neutron yield was 2x10$^{\mathrm{12}}$. In the best shots, hydrogen ions were accelerated up to 45 MeV which is the highest energy observed in z-pinches and dense plasma foci. Detailed knowledge of the ion emission was used to increase neutron yields above 10$^{\mathrm{13}}$ with a neutron-producing catcher [2,3]. Recently, we have attempted to use accelerated deuterons to study magnetic fields in z-pinches via ion deflectometry. [1] D. Klir, et al., PRL 112, 095001 (2014). [2] D. Klir, et al., NJP 20, 053064 (2018). [3] D. Klir, et al., PPCF 61, 014018 (2019).