Bright Spots in X-pinch Plasmas at 6 MA*

Bright, $\sim$1 $\mu$m, 10-100 ps x-ray sources with extreme plasma parameters are routinely created using X-pinch plasmas driven by 0.2 MA. Modeling suggests that even more extreme plasma parameters might be possible at higher current. We present data from the first 6 MA X-pinch experiments on the SATURN facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The mass required to pinch near peak current was surprisingly low ($\sim$14 mg/cm vs. $\sim$3 mg/cm at 1 MA) and the smallest x-ray source measured was $\sim$60 $\mu$m in size. Following up on recent work by Pikuz et al. at 1 MA, experiments in September will use nested-array X-pinch implosions to improve the symmetry.