Effects of Pre-Ionization on Current Distribution in a Gas-Puff Z-Pinch

The Z-machine at Sandia National Laboratories is instrumental in plasma physics research across a range of applications. University-scale z-pinch experiments, such as gas-puff z-pinches, can inform the high-value experiments conducted on the Z facility. A gas-puff z-pinch requires gas to be puffed into the anode-cathode gap, which is then pulsed with a high voltage. The gas is ionized, accelerated, and compressed as the current flows across the electrodes, allowing for study of pinch phenomena including fusion reactions. The initial ionization or pre-ionization condition of the gas-puff prior to compression is poorly understood 1 . The effects of pre-ionization on the current distribution through the gas-puff as the implosion progresses is also an open question. Quantifying how the pre-ionization and current distribution affect x-ray and fusion production, which are largely the result of micro-pinch instabilities, is crucial to understanding z-pinch physics. We report on the development of and initial results from the gas-puff experiment for the 1-MA, 100-ns MAIZE Linear Transformer Driver.