Characterization of Ne gas puff Z-pinch on Linear Transformer Driver using spectroscopy*

Characterizing gas puff Z-pinch is of significant importance for the alternate fusion schemes and intense X-ray sources. We propose for the first time to study gas puff on a Linear Transformer Driver (LTD). Such data would help to understand in more detail the plasma behavior and validate numerical results. We performed an experiment on an LTD with \textasciitilde 200 kA peak and 150~ns rise time at UC San Diego. We used fairly high-resolution spectroscopy and 2-D interferometry to characterize the plasma at stagnation at various plenum pressures. An imaging spectrometer equipped with an ICCD allowed detection of Ne spectra from 320 nm to 460 nm, time-integrated over 50 ns. In addition, the measurements were spatially resolved along the z-axis. The experimental data are compared to hydrodynamic simulations and are part of a larger campaign dedicated to collect reliable data on the current distribution in gas puff Z-pinch plasmas.