Experimental study of a plasma in the constriction of a fast Z-pinch

Experimental studies of the formation of constrictions in the dense hydrocarbonic Z-pinch plasma were performed in the Modul A-5 device (V = 100 kV, I = 4.5 MA, rho = 0.04 Ohm). The formation of the constriction was accompanied by the creation of a dense hot plasma with the large Lawson parameter nz. The plasma parameters were measured by using X-ray diagnostics: an X-ray crystal spectrograph, semiconductor detectors, a multihole pin-hole camera, and X-ray image tubes. The formation of hot dense plasma regions with the characteristic size less than or equal to 100 mu m, temperature from 0.6 to 0.8 keV, and density n(e) approximate to 10(22) cm(-3) was observed in the region where the initial constriction was preformed.