Multiwire screw-pinch loads for generation of terawatt x-ray radiation

A multiwire screw pinch (a variant of a Z pinch) for high-current 100 ns pu lsed power generators used for terawatt x-ray radiation is proposed and dis cussed. Wires, twisted along a curved load surface, are suggested to be an effective way to create the initial axial magnetic field, to begin the rota tion of the plasma, and to mitigate the growth of Rayleigh-Taylor instabili ties. A screw-pinch design is predicted by a zero-dimensional model to prov ide more efficient energy transfer from the pulse power generator to the lo ad compared with a straight, cylindrical wire array. (c) 1999 American Inst itute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)02324-4].